county

Mercer County, WV

Demographic and economic profile of Mercer County, WV, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Mercer County is a small Appalachian county of 59,062 residents with an older median age of 43.5 years and a notably low labor force participation rate of 49.6%, reflecting structural workforce constraints common to the region. Educational attainment is modest, with 20.7% holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and median worker earnings stand at $35,467 against a poverty rate of 18.0%. Housing costs are low—median home value of $118,600 and median gross rent of $813/month—though the county has shed population at a rate of -2.4% over the past five years.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

59,062

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$53,210

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

43.5 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-2.4% since 2018

Mercer County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone52,059 (88.9%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races2,760 (4.7%)
  • Black or African American Alone2,372 (4.1%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race746 (1.3%)
  • Some Other Race Alone254 (0.4%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone245 (0.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish653
  2. 2.Arabic152
  3. 3.Other Indo-European150
  4. 4.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)75
  5. 5.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic55

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

20.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

56.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

22.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

0.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

3,416

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$30,151

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$28,201

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

4.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

18.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance6,986
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)3,386
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services2,225
  4. 4.Manufacturing (Group)1,824
  5. 5.Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services1,559

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations8,230
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations4,858
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations3,867
  4. 4.Service Occupations3,863
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations2,520

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 1.55×)566
  2. 2.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.35×)7,209
  3. 3.Retail Trade (LQ 1.22×)3,034
  4. 4.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.20×)1,608
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.06×)2,126

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$118,600

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$813/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

72.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,9992,008 (11.4%)
  • $100,000 to $124,9991,672 (9.5%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9991,431 (8.1%)
  • $125,000 to $149,9991,273 (7.2%)
  • $80,000 to $89,9991,034 (5.9%)
  • $175,000 to $199,9991,022 (5.8%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

20.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

86.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

49.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$35,467

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

24.0 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

8.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone18,991 (81.9%)
  • Carpooled1,625 (7.0%)
  • Worked At Home1,530 (6.6%)
  • Walked490 (2.1%)
  • Other392 (1.7%)
  • Public Transit113 (0.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.