Raleigh County, West Virginia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Raleigh County
U.S. county
The Raleigh County Courthouse in Beckley
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of West Virginia
West Virginia's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	West Virginia
Founded	January 23, 1850
Named for	Sir Walter Raleigh
Seat	Beckley
Largest city	Beckley
Area
• Total	609 sq mi (1,580 km2)
• Land	605 sq mi (1,570 km2)
• Water	4.0 sq mi (10 km2)  0.7%
Population  (2010)
• Total	78,859
• Estimate  (2019)	73,361
• Density	129.49/sq mi (50.00/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	3rd

Raleigh County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 78,859. Its county seat is Beckley. The county was founded in 1850 and is named for Sir Walter Raleigh. Raleigh County is included in the Beckley, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Raleigh County was formed on January 23, 1850 from portions of Fayette County, then a part of Virginia.

Alfred Beckley (1802–1888) said he gave Raleigh County its name in honor of Sir Walter Raleigh (1552–1618), the "enterprising and far-seeing patron of the earliest attempts to colonize our old Mother State of Virginia", according to Raleigh County: West Virginia by Jim Wood.

The county was the scene in 1914 of the Eccles Mine Disaster, the second-worst coal mining disaster in West Virginia history. The death toll was at least 180. More recently, the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster of 2010, which killed 29, also occurred in Raleigh County.

Longtime Senator Robert Byrd's home town was Sophia.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 609 square miles (1,580 km²), of which 605 square miles (1,570 km²) is land and 4.0 square miles (10 km²) (0.7%) is water.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

• Kanawha County (north)
• Fayette County (northeast)
• Summers County (east)
• Mercer County (southeast)
• Wyoming County (southwest)
• Boone County (northwest)

National protected area

• New River Gorge National River (part)

Demographics

The Flag Of Raleigh County in Beckley

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 78,859 people, 31,831 households, and 21,322 families in the county. The population density was 130/sqmi (50.3/km²). There were 35,931 housing units at an average density of 59.4/sqmi (22.9/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 88.5% white, 8.2% black or African American, 0.9% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.4% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.3% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 41.8% were American, 9.1% were English, 8.6% were German, and 8.5% were Irish.

Of the 31,831 households, 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.2% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.0% were non-families, and 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.87. The median age was 41.1 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,036 and the median income for a family was $49,837. Males had a median income of $42,405 versus $27,347 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,457. About 14.5% of families and 17.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.1% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

• Beckley (county seat)

Towns

• Lester
• Mabscott
• Rhodell
• Sophia

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Raleigh para niños