McDowell County, West Virginia

• White (non-Hispanic) 15,515 86.5%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race) 373 2.1%
• Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 1,577 8.8%
• Asian (non-Hispanic) 9 0.1%
• Two or more races (non-Hispanic) 449 2.5%
• American Indian / Alaska Native (non-Hispanic) 17 0.1%
• Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic) 0 0.0%
• Some other race (non-Hispanic) 3 0.0%

• Under 18 3,266 18.2%
• 18–24 1,227 6.8%
• 25–44 4,750 26.5%
• 45–64 4,779 26.6%
• 65 and over 3,921 21.9%

Median household income

$35,721

90% interval $32,021–$39,421

−$24,941 vs WV · 55th of 55

Below poverty line

38.4%

90% interval 30.3%–46.5%

+22.2 pp vs WV · 1st of 55

Unemployment (12-mo)

10.8%

+6.34 pp vs. state

County GDP

$727.8M

0.68% of state

Avg. annual pay

$56,867

Establishments

370

• Education & health services 1,020 27.3%
• Public administration 715 19.1%
• Trade, transportation & utilities 636 17.0%
• Natural resources & mining 626 16.7%
• Professional & business services 222 5.9%
• Leisure & hospitality 169 4.5%
• Financial activities 125 3.3%
• Other services 64 1.7%
• Construction 37 1.0%
• Information 8 0.2%

The sectors listed cover 96.9% of covered employment; BLS withholds the rest to avoid disclosing individual employers.

Home ownership

77.3%

+2.4 pp vs WV · 33rd of 55

Median gross rent

$643

−$229 vs WV · 50th of 55

Owner-occupied

4,997

Renter-occupied

1,470

• Moderately concentrated

  Top three sectors employ 63% of the county workforce. Substantial intra-sector overlap among panelists is likely; confirm employer relationships before sector-specific framing.

• Wide wage spread

  Highest-paid sector (Natural resources & mining, $111,986/yr) pays 5.0× the lowest (Leisure & hospitality, $22,298/yr). Stark intra-economy class divisions on the panel; calibrate damages and lost-wages framing to that range.

• Mixed business scale

  Average establishment employs 10 workers, a mix of institutional employers and small businesses. Both employed-by-large-institution and small-business-owner perspectives are likely on the panel.

• Republican 4,310 79.4%
• Democratic 1,036 19.1%
• Other / third-party 79 1.5%

• Spanish 294 1.7%
• Arabic 32 0.2%
• German or other West Germanic 27 0.2%
• French, Haitian, or Cajun 18 0.1%
• Russian, Polish, or other Slavic 9 0.1%

Households

6,467

Family households

4,020

62.2% of households

Married couples w/ children

805

20.0% of families

Single-mother families

209

5.2% of families

Veterans

694

4.7% of civilians 18+

• Black Protestant 1,421 7.4%
• Evangelical Protestant 1,403 7.3%
• Mainline Protestant 712 3.7%
• Other (non-Christian + minor traditions) 361 1.9%
• Catholic 290 1.5%
• Orthodox 10 0.1%

Health insured

91.2%

±2 pp

Uninsured

8.8%

±2 pp

3rd of 55

With a disability

29.8%

±3 pp

3rd of 55

Bachelor's or higher

6.8%

±2.2 pp

−17.3 pp vs WV · 55th of 55

Uninsured, under 65 (2024)

10.4%

90% interval 9.1%–11.7% · Census SAHIE

The under-65 uninsured rate is not comparable to the ACS insurance figures, which cover all ages.

Trial court

12th Judicial Circuit Court

Judges

2 (Circuit Court judges per circuit (general civil + felony criminal jurisdiction); vintage 2026 courtswv.gov; cross-checked against W. Va. Code § 51-2-1a. Magistrate Courts (limited jurisdiction: misdemeanors, traffic, small civil up to $10K) are separately allocated one per county and not counted here. Family Court judges (domestic relations) also separate.)

Court seats

Pineville, Welch

This judicial district spans multiple counties.

Traffic fatalities

3

20.44 per 100k adults (18+)

Fatal crashes

2