Monroe County, West Virginia

Monroe County population, land area and income

Monroe County had 12,462 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 472.8 square miles of land. It ranks 40th of 55 in West Virginia by population and 20th by land area. That works out to 26.4 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; Monroe County is somewhat smaller.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $47,797 is in the bottom quarter among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Monroe County's population changed since 2020

Monroe County gained 76 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a rise of 0.6%. That ranks 7th 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, Monroe County recorded 559 births and 904 deaths, a natural change of -345. Net international migration added +14 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +418. The largest single component was domestic migration, which added 418 people.

Where Monroe County is

The Census internal point of Monroe County is at 37.554100, -80.550300. 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 Monroe County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Monroe County

No incorporated place of 1,000 or more people has residents in Monroe County. Its 12,462 residents live in smaller towns, census-designated places, or unincorporated land, which the subcounty estimates do not list at this size.

Counties bordering Monroe County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 5 neighbors for Monroe County, including 3 across a state line. The most populous is Greenbrier County, WV, with 31,851 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• Greenbrier County

  31,851 people

  26 mi NNE

• VA

  Giles County, VA

  16,533 people

  18 mi SSW

• VA

  Alleghany County, VA

  14,632 people

  34 mi ENE

• Summers County

  11,544 people

  18 mi WNW

• VA

  Craig County, VA

  4,829 people

  18 mi ESE

Distance to Charleston and the nearest big city

Charleston is 79.2 miles NW of Monroe County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Winston-Salem, NC (population 255,769), 101.5 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Blacksburg, VA (population 45,452), 23.3 miles away.

Monroe County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Monroe County is 54063: state code 54 for West Virginia plus county code 063. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $47,797.