Gilmer County, West Virginia

Gilmer County population, land area and income

Gilmer County had 7,116 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 338.5 square miles of land. It ranks 51st of 55 in West Virginia by population and 39th by land area. That works out to 21.0 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and below the national county median.

The median county-equivalent in West Virginia has 21,285 residents, so Gilmer County has 33% of the typical county's population.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $43,671 is in the bottom quarter among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Gilmer County's population changed since 2020

Gilmer County lost 283 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 3.8%. That ranks 39th of 55 in West Virginia for growth. The median West Virginia county changed by -2.9%, and the state as a whole by -1.2%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Gilmer County recorded 192 births and 462 deaths, a natural change of -270. Net international migration added +69 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -103. The largest single component was natural change, which removed 270 people.

Where Gilmer County is

The Census internal point of Gilmer County is at 38.915900, -80.849400. It sits in UTM zone 17N. The map shades West Virginia's 55 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Gilmer County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Gilmer County

One incorporated place of 1,000+ people has residents in Gilmer County, 1,054 people together, or 15% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Gilmer County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Glenville with 1,054.

Counties bordering Gilmer County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 5 neighbors for Gilmer County. The most populous is Lewis County, WV, with 16,477 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• Lewis County

  16,477 people

  20 mi ENE

• Braxton County

  12,051 people

  16 mi SSE

• Ritchie County

  8,170 people

  21 mi NNW

• Doddridge County

  7,615 people

  25 mi NNE

• Calhoun County

  5,873 people

  15 mi WSW

Distance to Charleston and the nearest big city

Charleston is 57.4 miles SW of Gilmer County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Pittsburgh, PA (population 307,668), 115.1 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Clarksburg, WV (population 15,262), 35.9 miles away.

Gilmer County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Gilmer County is 54021: state code 54 for West Virginia plus county code 021. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $43,671.