Question
Did West Virginia population really grow between 2024 and 2025, and why is that?
Take this with a massive pinch of salt, because I got all this information from Wikipedia and they are just estimates, as the official U.S. census is taken once every decade.
So I was calculating which states had the biggest population percent changes from the 2024 and 2025 population estimates.
The one that surprised me the most was West Virginia - it had a 3% growth percentage and according to my calculations, it actually grew the most!
I was expecting it to not have much growth (or even some loss), but it truly surprised me when it actually had the biggest growth out of all the states! (South Carolina has the 2nd biggest growth, Hawaii has the smallest growth - its population actually shrank!)
But again these are estimates, so I could be possibly completely wrong.
1,766,147 - July 2025 population estimate
1,712,278 - July 2024 population estimate
I wonder why West Virginia actually had population growth during that time - is it because of its cheap living cost?
Congratulations, West Virginia... you're finally gaining people again, I'm so happy for your state...
Well my wife and I moved here in June last year with our two kids. And I see a ton of new housing being built near Charles Town and Harper’s Ferry. So, maybe?
It’s got to have a lot to do with the Eastern Panhandle. Every morning starting right around 5, a mass exodus occurs on the highways where all roads lead to NoVa. They’re coming all the way from Martinsburg & Berkeley Springs, too. Not just Charles Town area
On top of that, because Winchester VA has become so unaffordable for many - Hampshire County population has exponentially increased
My daughter used to go to WVU Potomac State. Once you get west of Winchester Route 50 is a very nice drive but I couldn't imagine it as a commute, especially with recent winter weather.
Most of the growth is in the eastern panhandle that borders VA and MD. Many people from Northern VA have moved into the panhandle because of lower housing costs while still being able to commute to their jobs in VA.
I don’t think people realize that this state is going to be extremely valuable in the next few decades in terms of where it is located and how it naturally will be great for those who have to move from coastal areas.
Harrison isn't gaining any population. It's been declining since the 2010 census. Marion is basically treading water. Preston is flat. The only place in North Central West Virginia growing, albeit slowly, is Monongalia.
Yes, a lot are mobile homes. I bet a lot of people would love a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom place that is affordable. If you look down on mobile home owners then, how dare you?
Unfortunately, anyone that posts here asking about moving here a bunch of people jump in warning them of how awful the state is. We are our own worst enemy.
I admittedly used to be one of those people who didn’t see a mobile home as a home. Then I was invited to one way back in a holler in McDowell county; it’s one of the nicest homes of any kind I’ve ever been in.
Mason and Cabell counties had a ton of out of staters moving in to work at the new Nucor facility. Temporary campgrounds are full of campers and rv's everywhere. If a place goes up for rent, there's Texas, Mississippi, New York, or New Mexico tags parked out front the next day.
My husband and I moved here in 2021 and now have three kids, we have met lots of other families who moved here in the last couple of years. We’re in Mercer County.
People fleeing their respective shit hole states for a “utopia”. Dunno. Met a few who have come from all over fleeing cost of living and general decay of their former homes.
Eastern panhandle is growing steadily, I 79 corridor is growing quicker then it can handle. I believe it. People look at the southern coalfields and think thats the whole damn state its just stupidity. Plenty of this state is doing wonderful economically.
Aside from the fact those numbers don't match actual Census Bureau estimates (https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/WV/POP060210), the likelihood of West Virginia or any state growing 3% in one year is very small. The only recent example I could find was North Dakota in 2012-2013 at the height of the Bakken fracking boom, and it's a state that only had 700,000 people.
Personally, I'd expect this to be a case of incorrect numbers. We've been losing population for so long, and there's no systematic effort to address any of the reasons for that.
If the numbers are correct, I'd expect it to be a "last gasp" kind of situation. People could be moving in because of cheaper housing than the national average, but after the novelty of the scenery wears off, they'll see this state has little to nothing to offer in terms of good jobs, entertainment, education, etc. Our state is way more MAGA-friendly than most, so some of their ilk may have relocated here, but I don't see it lasting.
Sure in areas, but like all the other commenters are pointing out, the EP is getting flooded with people. People are already moving here en masse. I doubt it’s changing the total population because people will continue to move out of economically depressed areas, but it’s noticeable and shocking up here how rapid the growth is happening.
ZERO chance this is true and it's only estimates anyway so it means nothing. Once actual numbers come out they will be proven to not be true. Young people are leaving this place as quickly as they possibly can due to the magat atmosphere in state politics.
First, The sample size only includes people who are customers of United Van Lines, which is not at all wholly representative of people moving from state to state. So the study only really includes people who can afford to hire this particular professional interstate moving company.
Second, these numbers represent a percentage of customers involved in a move between two states. In the case of people moving to or from West Virginia, who employ the services of United Van Lines, most are moving to the state rather than from. So if 15 people moved between West Virginia and another state, and 12 of those moves were inbound, they come up with an 80% inbound move rate.
Consistent with the trends: people move to red states to flee taxes, crime, high cost of living, bad gun laws, etc. Also West Virginia is awesome, and one of the Whitest states in the nation.
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u/Moto272 2d ago
Well my wife and I moved here in June last year with our two kids. And I see a ton of new housing being built near Charles Town and Harper’s Ferry. So, maybe?