Lincoln County, West Virginia

Lincoln County population, land area and income

Lincoln County had 19,377 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 437.1 square miles of land. It ranks 31st of 55 in West Virginia by population and 24th by land area. That works out to 44.3 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, about the same as Lincoln County.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $47,435 is in the bottom quarter among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Lincoln County's population changed since 2020

Lincoln County lost 991 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 4.9%. That ranks 46th 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, Lincoln County recorded 810 births and 1,522 deaths, a natural change of -712. Net international migration added +14 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -382. The largest single component was natural change, which removed 712 people.

Where Lincoln County is

The Census internal point of Lincoln County is at 38.171800, -82.077600. 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 Lincoln County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Lincoln County

No incorporated place of 1,000 or more people has residents in Lincoln County. Its 19,377 residents live in smaller towns, census-designated places, or unincorporated land, which the subcounty estimates do not list at this size.

Counties bordering Lincoln County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 7 neighbors for Lincoln County. 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

  32 mi ENE

• Cabell County

  91,489 people

  19 mi NNW

• Putnam County

  57,067 people

  25 mi NNE

• Wayne County

  37,589 people

  19 mi W

• Logan County

  30,560 people

  25 mi SSE

• Mingo County

  21,712 people

  31 mi S

• Boone County

  20,496 people

  22 mi ESE

Distance to Charleston and the nearest big city

Charleston is 27.7 miles ENE of Lincoln County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Lexington-Fayette, KY (population 329,437), 129.7 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is St. Albans, WV (population 10,301), 19.9 miles away.

Lincoln County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Lincoln County is 54043: state code 54 for West Virginia plus county code 043. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $47,435.