Preston County, West Virginia

• White (non-Hispanic) 29,815 87.3%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race) 661 1.9%
• Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 2,208 6.5%
• Asian (non-Hispanic) 125 0.4%
• Two or more races (non-Hispanic) 1,189 3.5%
• American Indian / Alaska Native (non-Hispanic) 97 0.3%
• Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic) 0 0.0%
• Some other race (non-Hispanic) 65 0.2%

• Under 18 6,104 17.9%
• 18–24 2,225 6.5%
• 25–44 9,672 28.3%
• 45–64 9,173 26.9%
• 65 and over 6,986 20.5%

Median household income

$63,370

90% interval $57,774–$68,966

+$2,708 vs WV · 11th of 55

Below poverty line

15.4%

90% interval 11.8%–19.0%

−0.8 pp vs WV · 37th of 55

Unemployment (12-mo)

4.2%

−0.21 pp vs. state

County GDP

$1.0B

0.95% of state

Avg. annual pay

$57,547

Establishments

884

• Education & health services 1,692 23.0%
• Trade, transportation & utilities 1,213 16.5%
• Public administration 1,165 15.8%
• Construction 1,103 15.0%
• Manufacturing 641 8.7%
• Leisure & hospitality 579 7.9%
• Professional & business services 423 5.7%
• Other services 193 2.6%
• Financial activities 165 2.2%
• Information 135 1.8%
• Natural resources & mining 54 0.7%

Home ownership

81.5%

+6.6 pp vs WV · 17th of 55

Median gross rent

$750

−$122 vs WV · 31st of 55

Owner-occupied

10,438

Renter-occupied

2,371

• Moderately concentrated

  Top three sectors employ 55% 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 (Public administration, $88,828/yr) pays 4.2× the lowest (Leisure & hospitality, $21,229/yr). Stark intra-economy class divisions on the panel; calibrate damages and lost-wages framing to that range.

• Small-business scale

  Average establishment employs only 8.3 workers, a small-business-dominated local economy. Expect more self-employed and small-business-owner panelists than in institutional-employer venues.

• Republican 11,176 77.5%
• Democratic 2,953 20.5%
• Other / third-party 297 2.1%

• Spanish 473 1.4%
• German or other West Germanic 58 0.2%
• French, Haitian, or Cajun 29 0.1%
• Tagalog 11 0.0%
• Chinese 8 0.0%

Households

12,809

Family households

8,631

67.4% of households

Married couples w/ children

2,291

26.5% of families

Single-mother families

588

6.8% of families

Veterans

1,921

6.8% of civilians 18+

• Evangelical Protestant 5,114 14.9%
• Mainline Protestant 3,966 11.6%
• Catholic 1,196 3.5%
• Other (non-Christian + minor traditions) 797 2.3%

Health insured

92.1%

±1.3 pp

Uninsured

7.9%

±1.3 pp

6th of 55

With a disability

18.2%

±1.4 pp

36th of 55

Bachelor's or higher

17.5%

±1.5 pp

−6.6 pp vs WV · 32nd of 55

Uninsured, under 65 (2024)

8.5%

90% interval 7.5%–9.5% · Census SAHIE

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

Trial court

22nd 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

Kingwood, Parsons

This judicial district spans multiple counties.

Traffic fatalities

2

7.13 per 100k adults (18+)

Fatal crashes

2