Bordering states

Pennsylvania vs West Virginia

Short answer

Pennsylvania has 13,078,751 residents, 7.4 times West Virginia's 1,769,979. Pennsylvania is the larger by land, 1.86 times the size of West Virginia.
PA
13,078,751
WV
1,769,979

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.

Pennsylvania

Adams County: 208.1 per sq miPotter County: 14.8 per sq miSullivan County: 13.2 per sq miBucks County: 1,075.6 per sq miCarbon County: 172.4 per sq miMcKean County: 40.3 per sq miMontour County: 139.0 per sq miFulton County: 33.0 per sq miColumbia County: 136.6 per sq miCameron County: 11.0 per sq miElk County: 36.4 per sq miBradford County: 52.0 per sq miBedford County: 47.1 per sq miYork County: 521.1 per sq miMonroe County: 273.7 per sq miForest County: 15.4 per sq miBerks County: 512.7 per sq miCambria County: 189.1 per sq miFranklin County: 206.3 per sq miSnyder County: 120.5 per sq miSomerset County: 67.1 per sq miClarion County: 61.3 per sq miIndiana County: 100.3 per sq miLackawanna County: 472.6 per sq miWyoming County: 64.9 per sq miLawrence County: 235.7 per sq miMercer County: 160.8 per sq miLehigh County: 1,116.7 per sq miNorthampton County: 873.4 per sq miCumberland County: 505.1 per sq miFayette County: 156.7 per sq miJefferson County: 66.5 per sq miCentre County: 144.3 per sq miLebanon County: 401.6 per sq miUnion County: 133.4 per sq miClinton County: 42.6 per sq miChester County: 747.1 per sq miMontgomery County: 1,820.5 per sq miWayne County: 70.8 per sq miPike County: 114.5 per sq miSusquehanna County: 46.3 per sq miAllegheny County: 1,687.5 per sq miClearfield County: 68.2 per sq miButler County: 252.5 per sq miBeaver County: 380.8 per sq miCrawford County: 81.1 per sq miWashington County: 245.5 per sq miVenango County: 73.4 per sq miWarren County: 42.3 per sq miBlair County: 229.1 per sq miHuntingdon County: 49.6 per sq miLancaster County: 596.8 per sq miLuzerne County: 372.4 per sq miWestmoreland County: 341.5 per sq miJuniata County: 59.8 per sq miArmstrong County: 97.5 per sq miTioga County: 35.9 per sq miDelaware County: 3,182.0 per sq miNorthumberland County: 196.7 per sq miMifflin County: 111.8 per sq miLycoming County: 92.1 per sq miPerry County: 84.9 per sq miPhiladelphia County: 11,717.7 per sq miSchuylkill County: 185.6 per sq miDauphin County: 558.3 per sq miGreene County: 59.0 per sq miErie County: 335.1 per sq mi

West Virginia

Wirt County: 21.2 per sq miMcDowell County: 32.1 per sq miLincoln County: 44.3 per sq miDoddridge County: 23.8 per sq miCalhoun County: 21.0 per sq miOhio County: 388.3 per sq miBarbour County: 45.1 per sq miSummers County: 32.0 per sq miMorgan County: 77.6 per sq miRaleigh County: 119.6 per sq miHardy County: 24.6 per sq miPendleton County: 8.5 per sq miMarshall County: 96.1 per sq miMarion County: 180.2 per sq miRitchie County: 18.1 per sq miLewis County: 42.6 per sq miHarrison County: 155.0 per sq miNicholas County: 37.1 per sq miTaylor County: 95.1 per sq miWetzel County: 38.4 per sq miFayette County: 58.3 per sq miMonroe County: 26.4 per sq miPocahontas County: 8.1 per sq miRoane County: 28.0 per sq miMason County: 57.5 per sq miWayne County: 74.3 per sq miMonongalia County: 301.9 per sq miBerkeley County: 424.4 per sq miBrooke County: 238.6 per sq miRandolph County: 26.2 per sq miTucker County: 15.7 per sq miBraxton County: 23.6 per sq miTyler County: 30.6 per sq miWood County: 225.8 per sq miClay County: 22.5 per sq miHampshire County: 37.2 per sq miBoone County: 40.8 per sq miJackson County: 59.7 per sq miHancock County: 339.6 per sq miGilmer County: 21.0 per sq miKanawha County: 192.9 per sq miWebster County: 14.4 per sq miMingo County: 51.3 per sq miWyoming County: 40.0 per sq miPreston County: 52.5 per sq miJefferson County: 292.7 per sq miMercer County: 137.3 per sq miPutnam County: 165.1 per sq miCabell County: 325.6 per sq miLogan County: 67.5 per sq miGreenbrier County: 31.2 per sq miGrant County: 23.0 per sq miMineral County: 81.7 per sq miUpshur County: 66.7 per sq miPleasants County: 56.5 per sq mi
People per sq mi
  1. < 33
  2. < 60
  3. < 121
  4. < 274
  5. ≥ 274
no data

Residents, 2024

  1. 01Pennsylvania13,078,751
  2. 02West Virginia1,769,979

Land, square miles

  1. 01Pennsylvania44,742
  2. 02West Virginia24,041

People per square mile

  1. 01Pennsylvania292.3
  2. 02West Virginia73.6

Median county household income

  1. 01Pennsylvania$62,918
  2. 02West Virginia$53,187

Side by side

MeasurePennsylvaniaWest Virginia
Residents, 202413,078,7511,769,979
Rank by population5th39th
Land, sq mi44,74224,041
People per sq mi292.373.6
County-equivalents6755
Median county residents82,95321,285
Median county income$62,918$53,187
Most populous countyPhiladelphia CountyKanawha County
Largest county by landLycoming CountyRandolph County
CapitalHarrisburgCharleston
Daylight at capital, June 2115 h 03 min14 h 50 min
Census divisionMiddle AtlanticSouth Atlantic
Census Vintage 2024 population, 2024 Gazetteer land area, SAIPE 2023 income. Daylight computed with SunCalc.

Population and density

Pennsylvania has 13,078,751 residents, 7.4 times West Virginia's 1,769,979. Pennsylvania ranks 5th and West Virginia 39th of the 50 states and DC. Pennsylvania is the more crowded, with 292.3 people per square mile against 73.6, 4.0 times.

Land area

Pennsylvania has 44,742 square miles of land, 86% more than West Virginia's 24,041. The largest county-equivalent in Pennsylvania is Lycoming County at 1,229 square miles; in West Virginia it is Randolph County at 1,040.

Counties

Pennsylvania is divided into 67 county-equivalents and West Virginia into 55, so an average Pennsylvania county covers 668 square miles against 437. The typical county in Pennsylvania has 82,953 residents, against 21,285 in West Virginia. The most populous are Philadelphia County (1,573,916) and Kanawha County (173,906).

6 county names appear on both sides of the border: Fayette, Jefferson, Mercer, Monroe, Wayne, Wyoming. Use the FIPS code, not the name, when joining data across the two states.

Household income

The median county in Pennsylvania has a household income of $62,918, 18% above West Virginia's $53,187. The highest county incomes are Chester County ($120,925) in Pennsylvania and Jefferson County ($92,747) in West Virginia, from SAIPE 2023.

Capitals and daylight

Harrisburg and Charleston are 286 miles apart in a straight line; from Harrisburg the initial bearing is 244°, WSW. On June 21, 2026, Harrisburg gets 15 h 03 min of daylight and Charleston 14 h 50 min; on December 21 the figures are 9 h 18 min and 9 h 30 min. Month by month tables are on the Harrisburg and Charleston daylight pages.

Where they sit

The border between them is also a Census region boundary: Pennsylvania is in the Northeast and West Virginia in the South. By county internal points, Pennsylvania spans 2 UTM zones and West Virginia 2.

Questions people ask

Which is bigger, Pennsylvania or West Virginia?

Pennsylvania, with 44,742 square miles of land against 24,041, 1.86 times as large.

Which has more people, Pennsylvania or West Virginia?

Pennsylvania has 13,078,751 residents, 7.4 times West Virginia's 1,769,979.

How far is Harrisburg from Charleston?

286 miles in a straight line, heading WSW (244°) from Harrisburg.

Do Pennsylvania and West Virginia have counties with the same name?

Yes, 6: Fayette, Jefferson, Mercer, Monroe, Wayne, Wyoming.

Sources and data as of

Data as of: Census Vintage 2024 population estimates, 2024 Gazetteer land area and internal points, SAIPE 2023 median household income.

  1. 01Census Vintage 2024 county population estimates
  2. 02Census 2024 Gazetteer, counties
  3. 03Census SAIPE 2023 state and county estimates
  4. 04Census Bureau regions and divisions of the United States (last verified 2026-09-30)

How every number is computed: methodology. Spotted a wrong figure? Report an error.