Kentucky vs West Virginia

The two states, county by county

Both maps share one density scale, so the same shade means the same number of people per square mile on either side of the border. Darker counties are denser. Select a county to open its page.

Side by side

Population and density

Kentucky has 4,588,372 residents, 2.6 times West Virginia's 1,769,979. Kentucky ranks 26th and West Virginia 39th of the 50 states and DC. Kentucky is the more crowded, with 116.2 people per square mile against 73.6, 58% more.

Land area

Kentucky has 39,485 square miles of land, 64% more than West Virginia's 24,041. The largest county-equivalent in Kentucky is Pike County at 786 square miles; in West Virginia it is Randolph County at 1,040.

Counties

Kentucky is divided into 120 county-equivalents and West Virginia into 55, so an average Kentucky county covers 329 square miles against 437. The typical county in Kentucky has 19,740 residents, against 21,285 in West Virginia. The most populous are Jefferson County (793,881) and Kanawha County (173,906).

23 county names appear on both sides of the border: Boone, Clay, Fayette, Grant, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Lewis, Lincoln, Logan, Marion, Marshall, Mason, Mercer, Monroe, Morgan, Nicholas, Ohio, Pendleton, Taylor, Wayne, Webster. Use the FIPS code, not the name, when joining data across the two states.

Household income

The median county in Kentucky has a household income of $55,510, 4% above West Virginia's $53,187. The highest county incomes are Oldham County ($120,818) in Kentucky and Jefferson County ($92,747) in West Virginia, from SAIPE 2023.

Capitals and daylight

Frankfort and Charleston are 177 miles apart in a straight line; from Frankfort the initial bearing is 86°, E. On June 21, 2026, Frankfort gets 14 h 49 min of daylight and Charleston 14 h 50 min; on December 21 the figures are 9 h 30 min and 9 h 30 min. Month by month tables are on the Frankfort and Charleston daylight pages.

Where they sit

Both are in the South region, but Kentucky is in the East South Central division and West Virginia in the South Atlantic division. By county internal points, Kentucky spans 2 UTM zones and West Virginia 2.