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Monongalia County, West Virginia facts for kids

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Monongalia County
U.S. county
Monongalia County Courthouse
Official seal of Monongalia County
Seal
Map of West Virginia highlighting Monongalia County
Location within the U.S. state of West Virginia
Map of the United States highlighting West Virginia
West Virginia's location within the U.S.
Country  United States
State  West Virginia
Founded October 9, 1776
Seat Morgantown
Largest city Morgantown
Area
 • Total 366 sq mi (950 km2)
 • Land 360 sq mi (900 km2)
 • Water 5.8 sq mi (15 km2)  1.6%%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 105,822
 • Estimate 
(2021)
 105,822
 • Density 296/sq mi (114/km2)
Time zone UTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district 1st
Monongalia Justice Center 2017
New Monongalia County Justice Center in 2017

Monongalia County, known locally as Mon County, is located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 105,822, making it West Virginia's third-most populous county. Its county seat is at Morgantown. The county was founded in 1776. Monongalia County is included in the Morgantown, WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the largest county in North-Central West Virginia. It is part of the Pittsburgh media market.

History

Map of Ohio, Monongalia, & Yohogania Counties
Map of Ohio, Monongalia, & Yohogania Counties circa 1776. Monongalia County is in magenta.

Monongalia County takes its name from the Monongahela River. The name Monongalia may be a misspelling of Monongahela. Alternatively, the conventional Latinate ending "-ia" (designating "land of..." or "country of..." — as in Arabia, Bolivia or Columbia) may have been added to Monongahela (i.e., "Land of the Monongahela").

Monongalia County was formed in 1776 when Virginia's remote District of West Augusta was divided into three counties: Ohio, Yohogania and Monongalia, all named for their most prominent rivers. Ohio County then encompassed most of the western region of the district bordering the Ohio River, including parts of what is now southwestern Pennsylvania. Yohogania County consisted of much of what is now southwestern Pennsylvania and the present counties of Hancock and the northern part of Brooke in West Virginia. Monongalia County also encompassed what are now the counties of Tucker, Randolph, Harrison and Barbour in north-central West Virginia, as well as parts of what are now Washington, Greene and Fayette Counties in Pennsylvania. In 1780, in his Notes on the State of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson gave the militia enrollment of what was then the vast Monongalia County at 1,000 troops.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 366 square miles (950 km2), of which 360 sq mi (930 km2) is land and 5.8 sq mi (15 km2) (1.6%) is water.

Rivers, streams, and lakes

Major highways

  • I-68 (WV).svg Interstate 68
  • I-79 (WV).svg Interstate 79
  • US 19.svg U.S. Highway 19
  • US 119.svg U.S. Highway 119
  • WV-7.svg West Virginia Route 7
  • WV-43.svg West Virginia Route 43 (Mon-Fayette Expressway)
  • WV-100.svg West Virginia Route 100
  • WV-218.svg West Virginia Route 218
  • WV-705.svg West Virginia Route 705

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1790 4,768 —
1800 8,540 79.1%
1810 12,793 49.8%
1820 11,060 −13.5%
1830 14,056 27.1%
1840 17,368 23.6%
1850 12,387 −28.7%
1860 13,048 5.3%
1870 13,547 3.8%
1880 14,985 10.6%
1890 15,705 4.8%
1900 19,049 21.3%
1910 24,334 27.7%
1920 33,618 38.2%
1930 50,083 49.0%
1940 51,252 2.3%
1950 60,797 18.6%
1960 55,617 −8.5%
1970 63,714 14.6%
1980 75,024 17.8%
1990 75,509 0.6%
2000 81,866 8.4%
2010 96,189 17.5%
2020 105,822 10.0%
U.S. Decennial Census
1790–1960 1900–1990
1990–2000 2010–2019

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 96,189 people, 39,777 households, and 20,032 families living in the county. The population density was 267.1 inhabitants per square mile (103.1/km2). There were 43,238 housing units at an average density of 120.1 per square mile (46.4/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 91.0% white, 3.6% black or African American, 3.1% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.4% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.8% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 25.7% were German, 17.1% were Irish, 13.0% were English, 11.0% were Italian, 7.5% were American, and 5.0% were Polish.

Of the 39,777 households, 22.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.3% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 49.6% were non-families, and 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.87. The median age was 29.1 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $39,167 and the median income for a family was $62,966. Males had a median income of $43,383 versus $32,164 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,116. About 8.6% of families and 21.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.2% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Towns

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Education

The county's public schools are operated by Monongalia County Schools. The county is also home to West Virginia's largest university, West Virginia University, located in Morgantown.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Condado de Monongalia (Virginia Occidental) para niños

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