Jackson County, West Virginia

Jackson County population, land area and income

Jackson County had 27,718 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 464.4 square miles of land. It ranks 20th of 55 in West Virginia by population and 21st by land area. That works out to 59.7 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and above the national county median.

The median county-equivalent in West Virginia has 21,285 residents; Jackson County is somewhat larger.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $52,503 is in the bottom quarter among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Jackson County's population changed since 2020

Jackson County lost 8 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 0.0%. That ranks 8th 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, Jackson County recorded 1,173 births and 1,846 deaths, a natural change of -673. Net international migration added +368 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +229. The largest single component was natural change, which removed 673 people.

Where Jackson County is

The Census internal point of Jackson County is at 38.834200, -81.677700. 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 Jackson County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Jackson County

2 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Jackson County, 6,888 people together, or 25% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Jackson County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Ravenswood with 3,821.

Counties bordering Jackson County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 7 neighbors for Jackson County, including 1 across a state line. The most populous is Kanawha County, WV, with 173,906 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• Kanawha County

  173,906 people

  36 mi SSE

• Wood County

  82,757 people

  27 mi NNE

• Putnam County

  57,067 people

  26 mi SSW

• Mason County

  24,770 people

  19 mi WSW

• OH

  Meigs County, OH

  21,491 people

  26 mi NW

• Roane County

  13,540 people

  19 mi ESE

• Wirt County

  4,924 people

  20 mi NE

Distance to Charleston and the nearest big city

Charleston is 34.6 miles S of Jackson County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Columbus, OH (population 933,263), 105.8 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Parkersburg, WV (population 28,834), 30.4 miles away.

Jackson County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Jackson County is 54035: state code 54 for West Virginia plus county code 035. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $52,503.