Preston County, West Virginia

Preston County population, land area and income

Preston County had 34,055 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 648.8 square miles of land. It ranks 15th of 55 in West Virginia by population and 7th by land area. That works out to 52.5 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; Preston County is somewhat larger.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $54,881 is below the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Preston County's population changed since 2020

Preston County lost 136 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 0.4%. That ranks 10th 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, Preston County recorded 1,236 births and 1,907 deaths, a natural change of -671. Net international migration added +128 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +396. The largest single component was natural change, which removed 671 people.

Where Preston County is

The Census internal point of Preston County is at 39.469000, -79.668900. 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 Preston County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Preston County

2 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Preston County, 4,366 people together, or 13% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Preston County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Kingwood with 2,953.

Counties bordering Preston County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 7 neighbors for Preston County, including 2 across a state line. The most populous is Fayette County, PA, with 123,941 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• PA

  Fayette County, PA

  123,941 people

  31 mi N

• Monongalia County

  108,697 people

  24 mi WNW

• MD

  Garrett County, MD

  28,393 people

  22 mi ENE

• Taylor County

  16,438 people

  22 mi WSW

• Barbour County

  15,369 people

  29 mi SW

• Grant County

  10,971 people

  36 mi SE

• Tucker County

  6,573 people

  25 mi SSE

Distance to Charleston and the nearest big city

Charleston is 130.5 miles SW of Preston County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Pittsburgh, PA (population 307,668), 69.0 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Morgantown, WV (population 30,490), 18.8 miles away.

Preston County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Preston County is 54077: state code 54 for West Virginia plus county code 077. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $54,881.