Wetzel County, West Virginia

• White (non-Hispanic) 13,197 93.7%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race) 196 1.4%
• Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 26 0.2%
• Asian (non-Hispanic) 6 0.0%
• Two or more races (non-Hispanic) 583 4.1%
• American Indian / Alaska Native (non-Hispanic) 0 0.0%
• Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic) 0 0.0%
• Some other race (non-Hispanic) 70 0.5%

• Under 18 2,988 21.2%
• 18–24 995 7.1%
• 25–44 3,035 21.6%
• 45–64 3,841 27.3%
• 65 and over 3,219 22.9%

Median household income

$58,389

90% interval $52,483–$64,295

−$2,273 vs WV · 25th of 55

Below poverty line

16.5%

90% interval 12.8%–20.2%

+0.3 pp vs WV · 30th of 55

Unemployment (12-mo)

5.9%

+1.47 pp vs. state

County GDP

$1.4B

1.29% of state

Avg. annual pay

$53,311

Establishments

443

• Education & health services 1,257 28.3%
• Trade, transportation & utilities 1,020 23.0%
• Natural resources & mining 546 12.3%
• Leisure & hospitality 441 9.9%
• Public administration 279 6.3%
• Construction 271 6.1%
• Professional & business services 191 4.3%
• Financial activities 134 3.0%
• Manufacturing 120 2.7%
• Other services 113 2.5%
• Information 70 1.6%
• Unclassified 2 0.0%

Home ownership

83.2%

+8.3 pp vs WV · 11th of 55

Median gross rent

$688

−$184 vs WV · 41st of 55

Owner-occupied

5,083

Renter-occupied

1,030

• Moderately concentrated

  Top three sectors employ 64% 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, $110,903/yr) pays 6.3× the lowest (Other services, $17,642/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 4,718 76.5%
• Democratic 1,294 21.0%
• Other / third-party 156 2.5%

• Spanish 31 0.2%
• German or other West Germanic 15 0.1%
• French, Haitian, or Cajun 14 0.1%
• Arabic 9 0.1%
• Tagalog 6 0.0%
• Russian, Polish, or other Slavic 2 0.0%

Households

6,113

Family households

3,780

61.8% of households

Married couples w/ children

1,013

26.8% of families

Single-mother families

200

5.3% of families

Veterans

951

8.6% of civilians 18+

• Evangelical Protestant 3,094 21.4%
• Mainline Protestant 2,228 15.4%
• Catholic 988 6.8%
• Other (non-Christian + minor traditions) 337 2.3%

Health insured

96.3%

±1.4 pp

Uninsured

3.7%

±1.4 pp

55th of 55

With a disability

21.6%

±2.6 pp

20th of 55

Bachelor's or higher

17.1%

±2.8 pp

−7.0 pp vs WV · 33rd of 55

Uninsured, under 65 (2024)

6.5%

90% interval 5.6%–7.4% · Census SAHIE

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

Trial court

2nd 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

Middlebourne, Moundsville, New Martinsville

This judicial district spans multiple counties.

Traffic fatalities

2

18.03 per 100k adults (18+)

Fatal crashes

2