West Virginia

Population
	2000	2007
Population	1,808,344	1,812,035
State Rank	37	37
Median Age	38.9	40.4
Total 8 year-olds	23,065	20,492
Boys	11,762	10,245
Girls	11,303	10,247
Total 9 year-olds	23,413	20,544
Boys	11,963	10,552
Girls	11,450	9,992
Total 10 year-olds	23,474	20,769
Boys	12,056	10,636
Girls	11,418	10,133
Total 11 year-olds	22,741	21,264
Boys	11,701	10,772
Girls	11,040	10,492
Total 12 year-olds	22,850	21,520
Boys	11,789	11,212
Girls	11,061	10,308

How People Get to Work:
Drive Alone	80%	81%
Car Pool	13%	11%
Public Transportation	1%	1%

Geography
Capital	Charleston
Largest City	Charleston
Second Largest City	Huntington
Persons per square mile	75

Business
	2000	2006
Dentist Offices	576	563
Amusement Parks	1	1
FastFood Restaurants	1,337	1,476
Toy Stores	64	41
Video/Disc Rental Stores	130	137
Zoos & Botanical Gardens	0	3
Candy & Nut Stores	16	6
Pet & Pet Supply Stores	46	40
Ice Cream & Frozen Dessert Makers	2	1

Note: As is the case with all surveys, statistics from sample surveys are subject to sampling and nonsampling error.

A value of NA indicates that data are not available for the indicated time period, or is not applicable for the current region.

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History

Date of Statehood: June 20, 1863
Population 1860: 376,688
Population 1900: 958,800
Population 1950: 2,005,552

I never knew that! *

Nickname: Mountain State
Flower: Rhododendron
Tree: Sugar Maple
Bird: Cardinal
Animal: Black Bear
Fruit: Golden Delicious Apple
Insect: Honeybee

Teachers: Download the Picture Your State lesson plan. [pdf]

Who told you this stuff?

The U.S. Census Bureau takes a census of the population every 10 years, and censuses of economic activity and governments every five years. And every year, the Census Bureau conducts more than 100 other surveys. Data on this page come from Population Estimates, the Census of Population and Housing, the American Community Survey, and County Business Patterns.

How are these data collected?

The U.S. Census Bureau sends questionnaires in the mail or contacts businesses and households to participate in its surveys.

* State symbol information was obtained from various non-Census Bureau resources including state web sites, educational web sites, and commercial entities.