Pocahontas County, West Virginia Population and Demographics

In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Pocahontas County, West Virginia, including popular demographics data like median age, number of households, household income, gender, employment and unemployment rates, occupations, religion, and more.

We are using the latest American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey data from the US Census Bureau, which is accurate up to 2021.

Table of Contents

Population

There is a lot of data that lets us see how many people live in Pocahontas County, West Virginia. The most basic data is the total population, which is the total number of people living in Pocahontas County, West Virginia. The estimated population of Pocahontas County, West Virginia is 8,006 people, with a median age of 49.6.

We can look at the total population in Pocahontas County over the last 5 years to see how much it has changed.

Year Population Change 5-Year Change
2021
8,006
 -4.49% -6.62%
2020
8,382
 -0.8% -
2019
8,450
 -0.95% -
2018
8,531
 -0.5% -
2017
8,574
 - -

Population of Pocahontas County, West Virginia by Race and Ethnicity

We can also look at how the population has changed over the last 5 years by each of the race/ethnicity types as defined by the US Census Bureau.

Race 2021 2017 Change
White
98.7%
95.6%
 +3.24%
Black/African American
0.2%
0.9%
 -77.78%
Native
0%
0%
 0.00%
Hispanic
0.3%
1.6%
 -81.25%
Asian
0.2%
0%
 0.00%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0%
0%
 0.00%
Two Or More Races
0.7%
1.7%
 -58.82%
Other
0%
0.2%
 -100.00%

This data can be very important for a number of reasons, including social and economic research, planning and development, and marketing to a multi-cultural population.

Note that the Native group includes both Native American and Alaskan Native people.

Population of Pocahontas County, West Virginia by Age and Gender

The age and gender of a population is another interesting demographic statistic because it lets us track trends in the population over time. For example, we can see how the population has changed over the last 5 years by median age as a total, and also by male and female.

Year Total Male Female
2021 49.6 +0.2% 49.7 +0.4% 48.9 -0.81%
2020 49.5 +0.81% 49.5 +1.23% 49.3 -1.4%
2019 49.1 +0.82% 48.9 +1.24% 50 +1.21%
2018 48.7 +0.21% 48.3 0% 49.4 +1.23%
2017 48.6 - 48.3 - 48.8 -

The median age of Pocahontas County, West Virginia gives you an idea of the age distribution, with half of the population being older than the median age and half being younger.

This can then be used to infer and compare against birth rates, parent ages, and more metrics to understand the population. For example, an increasing median age indicates an aging population, which can be a sign of a declining population in terms of birth rates and workforce participation.

Age 2021 2017
(Years) Male Female Male Female
0 to 9 356 +8.78% 452 -22.15% 384 359
10 to 19 438 -24.74% 356 +46.67% 331 544
20 to 29 471 -15.59% 408 -31.96% 399 291
30 to 39 589 -9.95% 438 -23.99% 532 334
40 to 49 485 -10.69% 455 +4.75% 433 465
50 to 59 717 -17% 639 -20.65% 602 513
60 to 69 848 -19.89% 681 +7.23% 691 719
70+ 563 +21.27% 678 +6.43% 690 719

Median Household Income

The latest median household income of Pocahontas County, West Virginia is $37,225.00.

In simple terms, the median income is the middle income of a group of people. Half of the people in the group make more than the median income, and half make less. The median income is a good indicator of the overall income of a group of people, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more.

Median Income by Age

We can also look at the median income by age to see how the median income varies by age, and how it compares to the overall median income for Pocahontas County.

  • Under 25
    $0.00
  • 25 to 44
    $47,396.00
  • 45 to 64
    $45,761.00
  • 65 and over
    $32,766.00

Average Household Income

Whenever we ask what is the average household income in Pocahontas County, we are actually talking about the mean household income.

This is calculated by adding up all the incomes of all the households in Pocahontas County, and then dividing that number by the total number of households. This is a good way to get a general idea of the average income of a group of people, but it can be skewed by a very high or very low incomes.

The average household income of Pocahontas County, West Virginia is currently $51,846.00.

In terms of accurately summarizing income at a geographic level, the median income is a better metric than the average income because it isn't affected by a small number of very high or very low incomes.

If you had an area where the average income was greater than the median, it can mean that there is significant income inequality, with income being concentrated in a small number of wealthy households.

1.65% of households in Pocahontas County are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

Household Income Tiers

The US Census Bureau divides households into income tiers based on the median income for the area. This is a good way to compare the income of Pocahontas County against other areas.

  • Less than $24,999
    31.77%
  • $25,000 to $49,999
    29.16%
  • $50,000 to $74,999
    18.13%
  • $75,000 to $99,999
    11.47%
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    7.04%
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    0.79%
  • $200,000 or more
    1.65%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income in Pocahontas County is $21,639.00.

Per capita income is the average income of a person in a given area. It is calculated by dividing the total income of Pocahontas County by the total population of Pocahontas County.

This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, including people like children, the elderly, unemployed people, retired people, and more.

Education Levels

We can also look at the education levels in Pocahontas County to see how many people have a high school degree, a bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree.

Educational attainment is a good indicator of the overall education level of a population, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more to see how education levels affect income, unemployment rates, and more.

  • Master's degree or higher
    7.13%
  • Bachelor's degree
    16.15%
  • Some college or associate's degree
    4.76%
  • High school diploma or equivalent
    69.38%
  • Less than high school diploma
    2.57%

Employment

Employment rates are all based around the total population in Pocahontas County that are over the age of 16.

The total population of Pocahontas County over the age of 16 is 6,781.

Of those people, a total of 42.30% are working or actively looking for work. This is called the labor force participation rate.

The participation rate is a useful market measure because it shows the relative amount of labor resources available to the economy.

The employment to total population rate in Pocahontas County is 38.40%.

Employment by Age

We can look at the employment rates by age to see how it compares to the overall employment rate.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
16 to 19 years 393 35.40% 18.00%
20 to 24 years 274 80.30% 14.50%
25 to 29 years 416 76.00% 0.60%
30 to 34 years 434 59.70% 5.80%
35 to 44 years 880 58.10% 24.70%
45 to 54 years 979 45.30% 9.00%
55 to 59 years 586 68.80% 0.00%
60 to 64 years 758 32.60% 0.00%
65 to 74 years 1,215 23.80% 9.70%
75 years and over 846 5.00% 0.00%

Employment by Race

Another very interesting employment statistic we can look at is the employment and unemployment rates by race in Pocahontas County. The table below shows the rates for each of the ethnicity groups types defined by the US Census Bureau.

Age Population Participation Unemployment Rate
White 6,703 42.40% 9.40%
Black or African American 16 0.00% 0.00%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0 0.00% 0.00%
Asian 15 20.00% 0.00%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0 0.00% 0.00%
Other 3 100.00% 0.00%
Two or more races 44 54.50% 0.00%
Hispanic or Latino 9 66.70% 0.00%
Not Hispanic or Latino 6,700 42.30% 9.40%

Occupations

In this section we can look at the most common occupations in Pocahontas County as well as the gender breakdown and earnings of them.

The total population of civilian employees that are 16 years old or older in Pocahontas County is 2,601, with median earnings of $26,590.00.

Women in Pocahontas County, West Virginia earning approximately 76.20% of the men's earnings.

Population Earnings
Total 2,601 $26,590.00
Male 1,355 $30,587.00
Female 1,246 $23,315.00

Occupations by Category

In the table below, we can break down the population and earnings even further by occupation. The list of occupation categories below will show you how many people are employed in each category and the median earnings of each profession.

Occupation Employed Earnings
Management 207 $42,417.00
Business and Financial 45 $59,821.00
Computer and Mathematical 2 $0.00
Architecture and Engineering 19 $90,469.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 16 $0.00
Community and Social Service 74 $23,580.00
Legal 11 $0.00
Educational and Library 132 $28,438.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 36 $23,500.00
Healthcare Practitioners 182 $37,714.00
Healthcare Support 54 $12,333.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 2 $0.00
Law Enforcement 28 $49,118.00
Food Preparation and Serving 317 $16,677.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 82 $21,250.00
Personal Care and Service 117 $19,637.00
Sales 172 $12,315.00
Office and Administrative Support 327 $25,221.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 36 $10,909.00
Construction and Extraction 179 $38,750.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 88 $24,167.00
Production 139 $36,354.00
Transportation and Material Moving 104 $34,130.00

Occupations by Gender

The table below shows the same occupations from the list above, but we have split them by male and female to see how many male and females work in each occupation, the median earnings, and the male to female ratio of earnings.

That last metric is important because it can be used to look at the gender pay gap between men and women.

Occupation Male Female
Population Earnings Population Earnings
Management 108 $38,750.00 99 $60,417.00
Business and Financial 29 $64,583.00 16 $0.00
Computer and Mathematical 0 $0.00 2 $0.00
Architecture and Engineering 19 $90,469.00 0 $0.00
Life, Physical, and Social Science 16 $0.00 0 $0.00
Community and Social Service 12 $43,750.00 62 $0.00
Legal 0 $0.00 11 $0.00
Educational and Library 25 $31,250.00 107 $24,821.00
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 28 $23,900.00 8 $0.00
Healthcare Practitioners 24 $26,250.00 158 $37,714.00
Healthcare Support 3 $0.00 51 $13,125.00
Firefighters and Protective Service 2 $0.00 0 $0.00
Law Enforcement 28 $49,118.00 0 $0.00
Food Preparation and Serving 156 $17,348.00 161 $16,422.00
Building and Grounds Cleaning 53 $28,068.00 29 $11,375.00
Personal Care and Service 65 $19,856.00 52 $18,500.00
Sales 90 $24,167.00 82 $11,898.00
Office and Administrative Support 20 $42,000.00 307 $25,025.00
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 36 $10,909.00 0 $0.00
Construction and Extraction 175 $40,625.00 4 $0.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 78 $26,250.00 10 $0.00
Production 97 $36,771.00 42 $8,333.00
Transportation and Material Moving 95 $34,563.00 9 $13,750.00

Households and Family Size

A household defined bu the US Census Bureau is a group of people who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, group of rooms, or single room occupied as separate living quarters.

There are currently 2,912 households in Pocahontas County, with an average household size of 2.65 people.

A family is defined as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together in the same household.

There are 1,736 families in Pocahontas County with an average family size of 3.48 people.

Households by Marital Status

The four categories of household by marital status are:

  • Married-couple family
  • Male householder with no spouse present
  • Female household with no spouse present
  • Nonfamily household

The table below shows the total number of households and families, with the average sizes of each.

Married Male Female Nonfamily
Total Households 1,372 177 187 1,176
Average Household Size 3.26 4.97 5.27 1.17
Total Families 1,372 177 187 0
Average Household Size 3.2 4.42 4.65 0

Poverty

Of the 1,736 families in Pocahontas County, 12.50% are considered to be below the poverty threshold.

The table below shows the latest poverty thresholds in Pocahontas County:

Household Size Poverty Threshold
1 Person $14,580.00
2 People $19,720.00
3 People $24,860.00
4 People $30,000.00
5 People $35,140.00
6 People $40,280.00
7 People $45,420.00
8 People $50,560.00

Housing

There are 7,023 housing units in Pocahontas County, West Virginia.

The table below shows the split between occupied and vacant units:

Total Percentage
Occupied 2,912 41.46%
Vacant 4,111 58.54%

2.52% of the total 7,023 housing units in Pocahontas County are rental units. This is approximately 177 properties.

For owner-occupied housing units, a total of 2,501 are occupied by the owner - or 35.61% of the total.

Rental Rates

The median rent for a property in Pocahontas County is $657.00.

In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Pocahontas County that fall into a particular rent range. These can then be used to compare with other areas, or to see how they have changed over time.

  • No rent paid
    234
  • Less than $500
    26
  • $500 to $999
    125
  • $1,000 to $1,499
    26
  • $1,500 to $1,999
    0
  • $2,000 to $2,499
    0
  • $2,500 to $2,999
    0
  • $3,000 or more
    0

Property Value

The median value of a property in Pocahontas County is $130,200.00.

Just like with rental rates, we can look at the number of properties in Pocahontas County that fall into a particular value range.

  • Less than $50,000
    537
  • $50,000 to $99,999
    512
  • $100,000 to $149,999
    408
  • $150,000 to $199,999
    450
  • $200,000 to $299,999
    338
  • $300,000 to $499,999
    221
  • $500,000 to $999,999
    35
  • $1,000,000 or more
    0

Property Age

We can also look at the age of properties in Pocahontas County. The chart below shows the number of properties in Pocahontas County that fall into a particular age range.

  • 1939 or earlier
    967
  • 1940 to 1949
    262
  • 1950 to 1959
    318
  • 1960 to 1969
    466
  • 1970 to 1979
    1,414
  • 1980 to 1989
    1,443
  • 1990 to 1999
    1,071
  • 2000 to 2009
    836
  • 2010 to 2013
    246
  • 2014 or later
    0

Vehicles per Household

The number of vehicles available per household can be a good indicator of the level of affluence in an area. The chart below shows the number of households in Pocahontas County that have a particular number of vehicles available.

  • No vehicles available
    266
  • 1 vehicle available
    884
  • 2 vehicles available
    1,049
  • 3 or more vehicles available
    713

Commuting to Work

In this section, we can also look at how people in Pocahontas County get to work. The chart below shows the number of people in Pocahontas County that commute to work in a particular way.

20.8 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Pocahontas County.

These commute times can be compared to other date like income and educational levels to see how they relate to each other and if there are any trends in the data that might suggest a correlation.

  • Less than 5 minutes
    232
  • 5 to 9 minutes
    507
  • 10 to 14 minutes
    315
  • 15 to 19 minutes
    315
  • 20 to 24 minutes
    184
  • 25 to 29 minutes
    65
  • 30 to 34 minutes
    208
  • 35 to 39 minutes
    39
  • 40 to 44 minutes
    60
  • 45 to 59 minutes
    317
  • 60 to 89 minutes
    63
  • 90 or more minutes
    27

Summary

We've covered a LOT of demographic and population data for Pocahontas County, West Virginia in this article! Hopefully you have found it very useful in your research of the area.

If you use any of the data found on this page, please consider linking back to USPopulation.org as the source and if you have any feedback or data requests, click here to contact us.

Places in Pocahontas County, West Virginia

We have data for 11 places in Pocahontas County, West Virginia. Click on a place below to see more information about the demographics of that place.