West Virginia State Fact Sheet

USDA Economic Research Service
http://www.ers.usda.gov/statefacts/

Data updated December 15, 2008

Population, Income, Education, and Employment

Population
  Rural * Urban * Total
Year
    1980 945,023 1,005,163 1,950,186
    1990 842,172 951,305 1,793,477
    2000 825,070 983,274 1,808,344
    2007 (latest estimates) 807,957 1,004,078 1,812,035

More information on West Virginia population
• County-level Population Data
• Rural Population and Migration Briefing Room
• Contact John Cromartie, 202-694-5421.

Income
  Rural * Urban * Total
Per-capita income (2006 dollars)
    2005 24,877 29,408 27,378
    2006 25,746 30,193 28,206
    Percent change 3.5 2.7 3.0
 
Earnings per job (2006 dollars)
    2005 34,504 40,212 37,912
    2006 34,717 40,075 37,910
    Percent change 0.6 -0.3 -0.0
 
Poverty rate (percent)
    1979 17.0 13.1 15.0
    1989 23.0 16.7 19.7
    1999 20.4 15.8 17.9
    2007 (latest model-based estimates) 19.8 15.0 17.1

More information on West Virginia poverty rates
• County-level Poverty Data
• Rural Income, Poverty, and Welfare Briefing Room
• See important notes about decennial and model-based intercensal poverty estimates
• Contact Robert Gibbs, 202-694-5423

Education (Persons 25 and older)
  Rural * Urban * Total
Percent not completing high school
    1980 48.9 39.5 44.0
    1990 38.7 29.9 34.0
    2000 28.9 21.3 24.8
 
Percent completing high school only
    1980 34.0 37.1 35.6
    1990 36.6 36.6 36.6
    2000 40.3 38.7 39.4
 
Percent completing some college
    1980 8.7 11.1 10.0
    1990 15.1 18.7 17.0
    2000 19.1 22.5 21.0
 
Percent completing college
    1980 8.4 12.3 10.4
    1990 9.5 14.8 12.3
    2000 11.6 17.6 14.8

More information on West Virginia education
• County-level Education Data
• Rural Labor and Education Briefing Room
• Contact Robert Gibbs, 202-694-5423

Employment
  Rural * Urban * Total
Total number of jobs
    2005 366,433 542,789 909,222
    2006 374,652 552,633 927,285
 
Unemployment rate (percent)
    2006 5.1 4.4 4.7
    2007 5.1 4.2 4.6

More information on West Virginia unemployment rates
• County-level Unemployment and Median Household Income Data
• Rural Labor and Education Briefing Room
• Contact Lorin Kusmin, 202-694-5429
 
Percent employment change
    2004-2005 1.4 1.4 1.4
    2005-2006 2.1 1.5 1.7
    2006-2007 0.2 0.8 0.5
 

* Urban and rural (metro and nonmetro) defintions are based on the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) June 2003 classification. See Measuring Rurality: New Definitions in 2003 for more information.
 
More information on socioeconomic conditions
• Rural Emphasis Page
• Contact Tim Parker, 202-694-5435.

Farm Characteristics

1992, 1997 and 2002 Census of Agriculture
 
  1992 1997 2002
Total land area (million acres) 15.42 15.42 15.41
    Total farmland (million acres) 3.27 3.70 3.58
        Percent of total land area 21.2 24.0 23.3
 
        Cropland (million acres) 1.29 1.42 1.17
            Percent of total farmland 39.6 38.4 32.7
            Percent in pasture 51.1 48.8 40.3
            Percent irrigated 0.2 0.2 0.0
 
            Harvested Cropland
            (million acres)		 0.56 0.66 0.65
 
        Woodland (million acres) 1.32 1.53 1.48
            Percent of total farmland 40.5 41.4 41.3
            Percent in pasture 36.3 33.3 33.3
 
        Pastureland (million acres) 0.52 0.56 0.75
            Percent of total farmland 15.8 15.2 21.0
 
        Land in house lots, ponds,
        roads, wasteland, etc.
        (million acres)		 0.13 0.19 0.18
            Percent of total farmland 4.0 5.0 4.9
 
Conservation practices
        Farmland in conservation or
        wetlands reserve programs
        (million acres)		 0.00 0.01 0.01
            Percent of total farmland 0.1 0.2 0.4
 
Average farm size (acres) 192 172 172
 
Farms by size (percent)
            1 to 99 acres 43.2 48.3 49.7
            100 to 499 acres 49.4 45.7 44.0
            500 to 999 acres 5.6 4.5 4.6
            1000 to 1,999 acres 1.4 1.2 1.3
            2,000 or more acres 0.4 0.3 0.4
 
Farms by sales (percent)
            Less than $9,999 78.0 82.5 82.5
            $10,000 to $49,999 16.0 13.0 12.3
            $50,000 to $99,999 2.5 2.0 1.8
            $100,000 to $499,999 3.0 2.1 2.3
            More than $500,000 0.7 0.9 1.1
 
Tenure of farmers
        Full owner (farms) 12,428 15,952 15,534
            Percent of total 73.0 74.1 74.6
 
        Part owner (farms) 3,866 4,714 4,637
            Percent of total 22.7 21.9 22.3
 
        Tenant owner (farms) 726 865 641
            Percent of total 4.3 4.0 3.1
 
Farm organization
        Individuals/family, sole
        proprietorship (farms)		 15,737 20,068 19,862
            Percent of total 92.5 93.2 95.4
 
        Family-held corporations
        (farms)		 191 275 199
            Percent of total 1.1 1.3 1.0
 
        Partnerships (farms) 977 1,037 639
            Percent of total 5.7 4.8 3.1
 
        Non-family corporations (farms) 35 42 21
            Percent of total 0.2 0.2 0.1
 
        Others - cooperative, estate or
        trust, institutional, etc. (farms)		 80 109 91
            Percent of total 0.5 0.5 0.4
 
Characteristics of principal farm operators
        Average operator age (years) 56.4 56.2 56.3
        Percent with farming as their
         primary occupation		 42.1 37.7 50.5
        Men (persons) 15,541 19,436 18,490
        Women (persons) 1,479 2,095 2,322
 

More information on farm characteristics
• Census of Agriculture
• Contact NASS Customer Service, 1-800-727-9540.

Data from the 1992 Census of Agriculture is not adjusted for coverage. See Coverage Adjustment from NASS.

Farm Financial Indicators

Farm income and value added data
  2006 2007
 
Number of farms 21,200 21,400
 
  Thousands $
       Final crop output 72,171 77,589
+     Final animal output 373,255 397,457
+     Services and forestry 194,158 215,491
=   Final agricultural sector output 639,584 690,536
 
-      Intermediate consumption outlays 398,513 421,727
+     Net government transactions -6,972 -11,973
=   Gross value added 234,098 256,837
 
-      Capital consumption 138,281 144,233
 
=   Net value added 95,817 112,604
 
-    Factor payments 65,365 63,500
         Employee compensation (total hired labor) 35,136 30,301
         Net rent received by nonoperator landlords -1,940 -1,028
         Real estate and nonreal estate interest 32,169 34,227
 
=   Net farm income 30,452 49,104
 

More information on farm income
• Farm Income Data
• Farm Income and Costs Briefing Room
• Contact Roger Strickland, 202-694-5592.

Farm balance sheet
 
• Estimation of State-level Balance Sheets has been suspended. See the Farm Balance Sheet data page for more information.
 

Top Commodities, Exports, and Counties

Top 5 agriculture commodities, 2007
  Value of receipts
thousand $		 Percent of state total
farm receipts		 Percent of US value
1. Broilers 160,020 33.3 0.7
2. Cattle and calves 115,360 24.0 0.2
3. Turkeys 40,611 8.5 1.1
4. Dairy products 39,006 8.1 0.1
5. Chicken eggs 32,723 6.8 0.5
 
All commodities 479,881   0.2
 

More information on West Virginia's top agriculture commodities
• Leading commodities for cash receipts in Excel
• Contact Roger Strickland, 202-694-5592.

Top 5 agriculture exports, estimates, FY 2007
  Rank among states Value
million $
1. Poultry and products 24 25.7
2. Feeds and fodders 38 6.5
3. Fruits and preparations 24 4.4
4. Live animals and meat 40 2.8
5. Feed grains and products 41 2.5
 
Overall rank 46 45.7
 

More information on agricultural exports
• State Export Data
• Agricultural Trade Briefing Room
• Contact Nora Brooks, 202-694-5211.

Top 5 counties in agricultural sales 2002
  Percent of state total receipts Million $
1. Hardy County 25.6 123.6
2. Pendleton County 15.3 74.0
3. Grant County 8.1 39.3
4. Greenbrier County 7.2 35.0
5. Hampshire County 4.1 19.6
 
State total   482.8
 

More information on agricultural sales
• Census of Agriculture
• Contact NASS Customer Service, 1-800-727-9540.

Data Sources

Prepared by Economic Research Service, USDA, Washington, DC.