county

Roane County, WV

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

AI Overview

Roane County is a small, rural West Virginia county of 13,921 residents with an economic profile shaped by low labor force participation (41.3%) and a 9.1% unemployment rate, reflecting a workforce that skews older (median age 46.9) and has limited formal educational attainment, with only 14.2% holding a bachelor's degree or higher. Median household income stands at $45,778 and median worker earnings at $35,444, against a poverty rate of 20.2%, while housing costs remain notably low—median home value of $121,100 and median gross rent of $590 per month support a homeownership rate of 78.9%. The county's population has contracted 2.0% over the past five years, and a mean commute of 34.2 minutes suggests workers travel outside the county for a significant share of employment.

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

Population

13,921

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$45,778

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

46.9 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-2.0% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone13,227 (95.9%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races287 (2.1%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race208 (1.5%)
  • Asian Alone34 (0.2%)
  • Some Other Race Alone15 (0.1%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone7 (0.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.German or other West Germanic50
  2. 2.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)30
  3. 3.Spanish18
  4. 4.Other Asian and Pacific Island12
  5. 5.Arabic7

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

20.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

56.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

23.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

0.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

897

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$21,295

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$26,492

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

9.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

20.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,094
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)451
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)448
  4. 4.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining408
  5. 5.Construction (Group)365

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations1,518
  2. 2.Service Occupations818
  3. 3.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations756
  4. 4.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations646
  5. 5.Sales & Office Occupations613

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 3.66×)250
  2. 2.Public Administration (LQ 1.55×)313
  3. 3.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.38×)345
  4. 4.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.31×)129
  5. 5.Construction (LQ 1.19×)352

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$121,100

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$590/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

78.9%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $100,000 to $124,999589 (13.1%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999571 (12.7%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999384 (8.5%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999330 (7.3%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999287 (6.4%)
  • $40,000 to $49,999256 (5.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

14.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

82.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

41.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$35,444

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

32.7 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

9.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone3,453 (78.6%)
  • Carpooled580 (13.2%)
  • Worked At Home270 (6.1%)
  • Walked91 (2.1%)
  • Public Transit0 (0.0%)
  • Taxi0 (0.0%)

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.