W.Va. Population Continues To Fall

The U.S. Census Bureau recently released adjusted data on the population from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025. West Virginia didn’t fare well overall.  

The Population Estimates Program uses current data on births, deaths and migration to calculate population change since the 2020 Census and produce annual estimates. 

The only counties and metro areas in West Virginia to gain population in that period were from Monongalia County to the Eastern Panhandle. The Hagerstown metro area gained more than 4,000 residents, and the Winchester, Virginia metro area gained more than 2,000.  

By contrast, central West Virginia from Beckley to Charleston and Huntington to Parkersburg lost more than 3,500 residents.  

The census bureau places the state population today at between 1.76 to 1.77 million. The 2020 census had the state’s population at almost 1.8 million people.  

Using the more optimistic number, the state’s population has declined by more than 24,000 people in five years. The U.S. population grew by roughly 10 million residents in that same period.  

Nationwide, population growth continued to slow as net international migration slowed or reversed in the second half of 2025. Major metropolitan areas and border states have seen the greatest decline.  

The total U.S. population is at 342,400,000. That is roughly 10 million residents higher than the 2020 census.