Charleston, West Virginia

Charleston population, 2020 to 2024

Charleston lost 2,157 residents from July 2020 to July 2024, a change of -4.4%. In the latest year it moved by -305. Among 26 West Virginia places of 5,000 or more, that growth ranks 19th; the median place changed by -3.4%. The median place of 5,000+ in West Virginia has 9,849 people, so Charleston is 4.7 times that size.

Charleston covers 31.40 square miles of land and 1.14 of water, for 1,480 people per square mile of land. The median West Virginia place of 5,000+ has 1,823, so Charleston is less dense than the typical town.

What county Charleston is in

All of Charleston's residents live in Kanawha County, which had 173,906 residents in 2024. Charleston holds 26.7% of the county's population. The shaded shape is on the map above; dots mark the eight nearest places.

ZIP codes in Charleston

8 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) overlap Charleston by at least 10% of the ZCTA's or the city's land: 25301, 25302, 25303, 25304, 25305, 25311, 25314, 25387. ZCTAs are Census approximations of USPS ZIP code delivery areas. The list comes from the 2020 ZCTA to place relationship file, so a city that annexed land after 2020 may reach into ZIP codes not listed here.

Where Charleston is

The Census internal point of Charleston is at 38.348700, -81.632300. Charleston, the capital, is 1.4 miles SE in a straight line. The nearest larger place is Roanoke, VA (97,912 people), 117.6 miles away. The nearest city of 100,000 or more is Columbus, OH, 134.2 miles away.

Daylight in Charleston

At 38.35° N, Charleston gets about 14 h 50 min of daylight around the June solstice and 9 h 30 min around the December solstice, a swing of 5 h 21 min. Figures are sunrise to sunset from the SunCalc model for June 21 and December 21, 2026.

Places near Charleston

The eight nearest incorporated places of 1,000+ in West Virginia, measured between internal points. The closest is South Charleston, 4.3 miles away, with 13,177 people.