List of counties in West Virginia

There are 55 counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia.

List.

County	FIPS code	County seat^[1]	Created^[2]	Formed from^[2]^[3]	Meaning of name^[2]^[3]	Population (2020)^[4]	Area^[1]
Barbour County	001	Philippi	1843	Harrison, Lewis, and Randolph counties	Philip P. Barbour (1783–1841) United States Speaker of the House (1821–23)	15,465	341 sq mi (883 km²)
Berkeley County	003	Martinsburg	1772	Frederick County (Virginia)	Norborne Berkeley (1717–70) Royal Governor of Virginia (1768–70)	122,076	321 sq mi (831 km²)
Boone County	005	Madison	1847	Cabell, Kanawha, and Logan counties	Daniel Boone (1734–1820) American frontiersman	21,809	503 sq mi (1,303 km²)
Braxton County	007	Sutton	1836	Kanawha, Lewis, and Nicholas counties	Carter Braxton (1736–97) Signer of the Declaration of Independence	12,447	514 sq mi (1,331 km²)
Brooke County	009	Wellsburg	1796	Ohio County	Robert Brooke (1761–1800) Governor of Virginia (1794–96)	22,559	89 sq mi (231 km²)
Cabell County	011	Huntington	1809	Kanawha County	William H. Cabell (1772–1853) Governor of Virginia (1805–08)	94,350	282 sq mi (730 km²)
Calhoun County	013	Grantsville	1856	Gilmer County	John C. Calhoun (1782–1850) United States Vice President (1825–32)	6,229	281 sq mi (728 km²)
Clay County	015	Clay	1858	Braxton and Nicholas counties	Henry Clay (1777–1852) United States Senator Kentucky (1823–25) United States Speaker of the House (1849–52)	8,051	342 sq mi (886 km²)
Doddridge County	017	West Union	1845	Harrison, Lewis, Ritchie, and Tyler counties	Philip Doddridge (1773–1832) United States Congressman (Virginia) (1829–32)	7,808	320 sq mi (829 km²)
Fayette County	019	Fayetteville	1831	Kanawha, Greenbrier, Logan, and Nicholas counties	Marquis de Lafayette (1757–1834) French-born American Revolutionary War General	40,488	664 sq mi (1,720 km²)
Gilmer County	021	Glenville	1845	Kanawha and Lewis counties	Thomas Walker Gilmer (1802–44) United States Secretary of the Navy (1844) Governor of Virginia (1840–41)	7,408	340 sq mi (881 km²)
Grant County	023	Petersburg	1866	Hardy County	Ulysses S. Grant (1822–85) United States President (1869–77)	10,976	477 sq mi (1,235 km²)
Greenbrier County	025	Lewisburg	1778	Montgomery County (Virginia) and Botetourt County (Virginia)	Greenbrier River	32,977	1,021 sq mi (2,644 km²)
Hampshire County	027	Romney	1754	Augusta County (Virginia) and Frederick County (Virginia)	County of Hampshire in England	23,093	642 sq mi (1,663 km²)
Hancock County	029	New Cumberland	1848	Brooke County	John Hancock (1737–93) One of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence Governor of Massachusetts (1780–85) and (1787–93)	29,095	83 sq mi (215 km²)
Hardy County	031	Moorefield	1786	Hampshire County	Samuel Hardy (1758–85) Virginia delegate to the Continental Congress (1783–85)	14,299	583 sq mi (1,510 km²)
Harrison County	033	Clarksburg	1784	Monongalia County	Benjamin Harrison V (1726–91) Governor of Virginia (1781–84)	65,921	416 sq mi (1,077 km²)
Jackson County	035	Ripley	1831	Kanawha, Mason, and Wood counties	Andrew Jackson (1767–1845) United States President (1829–37)	27,791	466 sq mi (1,207 km²)
Jefferson County	037	Charles Town	1801	Berkeley County	Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) United States President (1801–09)	57,701	210 sq mi (544 km²)
Kanawha County	039	Charleston	1789	Greenbrier and Montgomery County (Virginia)	Kanawha River	180,745	903 sq mi (2,339 km²)
Lewis County	041	Weston	1816	Harrison County	Charles Lewis (1736–74) American Colonel killed at the Battle of Point Pleasant^[5]	17,033	389 sq mi (1,008 km²)
Lincoln County	043	Hamlin	1867	Boone, Cabell, Kanawha, and Putnam counties	Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) United States President (1861–65)	20,463	438 sq mi (1,134 km²)
Logan County	045	Logan	1824	Cabell and Kanawha counties, Giles County (Virginia), and Tazewell County (Virginia)	Chief Logan (c.1723-80) Mingo leader	32,567	454 sq mi (1,176 km²)
Marion County	049	Fairmont	1842	Harrison and Monongalia counties	Francis Marion (1732–95) American Revolutionary War General (1757–82)	56,205	310 sq mi (803 km²)
Marshall County	051	Moundsville	1835	Ohio County	John Marshall (1755–1835) United States Secretary of State (1800–01) Chief Justice of the United States (1801–35)	30,591	307 sq mi (795 km²)
Mason County	053	Point Pleasant	1804	Kanawha County	George Mason (1725–92) United States Constitutional Convention "Father of the Bill of Rights"	25,453	432 sq mi (1,119 km²)
McDowell County	047	Welch	1858	Tazewell County (Virginia)	James McDowell (1795–1851) Governor of Virginia (1843–46)	19,111	535 sq mi (1,386 km²)
Mercer County	055	Princeton	1837	Giles County (Virginia) and Tazewell County (Virginia)	Hugh Mercer (1726–77) American Revolutionary War General (1775–76)	59,664	420 sq mi (1,088 km²)
Mineral County	057	Keyser	1866	Hampshire County	abundant mineral resources	26,938	328 sq mi (850 km²)
Mingo County	059	Williamson	1895	Logan County	Mingo Native Americans	23,568	423 sq mi (1,096 km²)
Monongalia County	061	Morgantown	1776	Augusta County (Virginia)	Latin derivation for Monongahela River	105,822	361 sq mi (935 km²)
Monroe County	063	Union	1799	Greenbrier County	James Monroe (1758–1831) United States Senator (Virginia) (1790–94) Governor of Virginia (1799–1802) and (1811) United States President (1817–25)	12,376	473 sq mi (1,225 km²)
Morgan County	065	Berkeley Springs	1820	Berkeley and Hampshire counties	Daniel Morgan (1736–1802) United States Congressman (Virginia) (1797–99)	17,063	229 sq mi (593 km²)
Nicholas County	067	Summersville	1818	Greenbrier, Kanawha, and Randolph counties	Wilson Cary Nicholas (1761–1820) United States Senator (Virginia) (1799–1804) Governor of Virginia (1814–16)	24,604	649 sq mi (1,681 km²)
Ohio County	069	Wheeling	1776	Augusta County (Virginia)	Ohio River	42,425	106 sq mi (275 km²)
Pendleton County	071	Franklin	1788	Augusta County (Virginia), Rockingham County (Virginia), and Hardy	Edmund Pendleton (1721–1803) First Continental Congress (1774)	6,143	698 sq mi (1,808 km²)
Pleasants County	073	Saint Marys	1851	Ritchie, Tyler, and Wood counties	James Pleasants, Jr. (1769–1836) United States Senator (Virginia) (1819–22) Governor of Virginia (1822–25)	7,653	131 sq mi (339 km²)
Pocahontas County	075	Marlinton	1821	Bath County (Virginia), Pendleton, and Randolph	Pocahontas (c. 1595–1617) Powhatan Native American who assisted early English settlers	7,869	940 sq mi (2,435 km²)
Preston County	077	Kingwood	1818	Monongalia County	James Patton Preston (1774–1843) Governor of Virginia (1816–19)	34,216	648 sq mi (1,678 km²)
Putnam County	079	Winfield	1848	Cabell, Kanawha, and Mason counties	Israel Putnam (1718–90) American Revolutionary War General	57,440	346 sq mi (896 km²)
Raleigh County	081	Beckley	1850	Fayette County	Sir Walter Raleigh (1554–1618) English explorer and poet	74,591	607 sq mi (1,572 km²)
Randolph County	083	Elkins	1787	Harrison County	Edmund Jennings Randolph (1753–1813) Governor of Virginia (1786–88) First United States Attorney General (1789–94)	27,932	1,040 sq mi (2,694 km²)
Ritchie County	085	Harrisville	1843	Harrison, Lewis, and Wood counties	Thomas Ritchie (1778–1854) nationally influential Virginia newspaper publisher	8,444	454 sq mi (1,176 km²)
Roane County	087	Spencer	1856	Gilmer, Jackson, and Kanawha counties	Spencer Roane (1762–1822) Virginia Supreme Court Justice (1794–1822)	14,028	484 sq mi (1,254 km²)
Summers County	089	Hinton	1871	Fayette, Greenbrier, Mercer, and Monroe counties	George W. Summers (1804–68) United States Congressman (Virginia) (1843)	11,959	361 sq mi (935 km²)
Taylor County	091	Grafton	1844	Barbour, Harrison, Marion counties	John Taylor of Caroline (1753–1824) United States Senator (Virginia) (1792–94) and (1803) and (1822–24)	16,705	173 sq mi (448 km²)
Tucker County	093	Parsons	1856	Randolph County	Henry St. George Tucker (1780–1848) United States Congressman (Virginia) (1815–19) Virginia Supreme Court (1831–41)	6,762	419 sq mi (1,085 km²)
Tyler County	095	Middlebourne	1814	Ohio County	John Tyler, Sr. (1747–1813) Governor of Virginia (1808–11)	8,313	258 sq mi (668 km²)
Upshur County	097	Buckhannon	1851	Barbour, Lewis, and Randolph counties	Abel Parker Upshur (1790–1844) United States Secretary of the Navy (1841–43) United States Secretary of State (1843–44)	23,816	355 sq mi (919 km²)
Wayne County	099	Wayne	1842	Cabell County	"Mad" Anthony Wayne Major General (1745–96) American Revolutionary War (1775–83) and (1792–96) United States Congressman Georgia (1791)	38,982	506 sq mi (1,311 km²)
Webster County	101	Webster Springs	1860	Braxton, Nicholas, and Randolph counties	Daniel Webster (1782–1852) United States Senator Massachusetts (1827–41) and (1845–50) United States Secretary of State (1841–53) and (1850–52)	8,378	556 sq mi (1,440 km²)
Wetzel County	103	New Martinsville	1846	Tyler County	Lewis Wetzel (1763–1808) noted frontiersman	14,442	359 sq mi (930 km²)
Wirt County	105	Elizabeth	1848	Jackson and Wood counties	William Wirt (1772–1834) United States Attorney General (1817–29)	5,194	233 sq mi (603 km²)
Wood County	107	Parkersburg	1798	Harrison County	James Wood (1741–1813) Governor of Virginia (1796–99)	84,296	367 sq mi (951 km²)
Wyoming County	109	Pineville	1850	Logan County	derived from Lenape Native American term for "wide plain"	21,382	501 sq mi (1,298 km²)

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 "Find A County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved February 4, 2013. (Find a county)
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 Lewis, Virgil (1896). History and Government of West Virginia (1st ed.). New York: Werner School Book Company. pp. 264–270. (WV County Founding Dates and Etymology). Other editions available at ASIN B009CI6FRI and Google Books.
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 "West Virginia Counties". West Virginia Division of Culture and History. Archived from the original on September 23, 2001. Retrieved February 4, 2013. (WV County Formation)
↑ "West Virginia QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 16, 2021. (2020 Census)
↑ McCulloch, Delia (1908). American Historical Magazine Volume 3. New York NY: Americana Society. pp. 628–629. Available at ISBN 1144825210 and Google Books.

[NACO-1] 1.0 ^1.1 "Find A County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved February 4, 2013. (Find a county)

[WV_County_Founding_Dates_and_Etymology-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 Lewis, Virgil (1896). History and Government of West Virginia (1st ed.). New York: Werner School Book Company. pp. 264–270. (WV County Founding Dates and Etymology). Other editions available at ASIN B009CI6FRI and Google Books.

[WV_Culture_and_History-3] 3.0 ^3.1 "West Virginia Counties". West Virginia Division of Culture and History. Archived from the original on September 23, 2001. Retrieved February 4, 2013. (WV County Formation)

[Census-4] "West Virginia QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 16, 2021. (2020 Census)

[Charles_Lewis_bio_data-5] McCulloch, Delia (1908). American Historical Magazine Volume 3. New York NY: Americana Society. pp. 628–629. Available at ISBN 1144825210 and Google Books.

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