Kanawha County, West Virginia

Kanawha County population, land area and income

Kanawha County had 173,906 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 901.7 square miles of land. It is the most populous of West Virginia's 55 county-equivalents. That works out to 192.9 people per square mile, 2.0 times the US average of 96.3, and in the top quarter nationally.

The median county-equivalent in West Virginia has 21,285 residents, so Kanawha County is 8.2 times that size.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $56,633 is below the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Kanawha County's population changed since 2020

Kanawha County lost 6,302 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 3.5%. That ranks 38th 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, Kanawha County recorded 6,966 births and 11,952 deaths, a natural change of -4,986. Net international migration added +982 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -2,792. The largest single component was natural change, which removed 4,986 people.

Where Kanawha County is

The Census internal point of Kanawha County is at 38.328100, -81.523500. 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 Kanawha County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Kanawha County

9 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Kanawha County, 86,720 people together, or 50% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Kanawha County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Charleston with 46,482.

Counties bordering Kanawha County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 9 neighbors for Kanawha County. The most populous is Raleigh County, WV, with 72,379 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• Raleigh County

  72,379 people

  42 mi SSE

• Putnam County

  57,067 people

  24 mi WNW

• Fayette County

  38,600 people

  31 mi SE

• Jackson County

  27,718 people

  36 mi NNW

• Nicholas County

  24,017 people

  39 mi E

• Boone County

  20,496 people

  23 mi SSW

• Lincoln County

  19,377 people

  32 mi WSW

• Roane County

  13,540 people

  30 mi NNE

• Clay County

  7,689 people

  26 mi ENE

Distance to Charleston and the nearest big city

Charleston is 4.8 miles W of Kanawha County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Columbus, OH (population 933,263), 138.6 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Charleston, WV (population 46,482), 6.1 miles away.

Kanawha County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Kanawha County is 54039: state code 54 for West Virginia plus county code 039. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $56,633.