Ritchie County, West Virginia

Ritchie County population, land area and income

Ritchie County had 8,170 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 452.0 square miles of land. It ranks 44th of 55 in West Virginia by population and 23rd by land area. That works out to 18.1 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, so Ritchie County has 38% of the typical county's population.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $55,110 is below the national county median among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Ritchie County's population changed since 2020

Ritchie County lost 252 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 3.0%. That ranks 29th 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, Ritchie County recorded 359 births and 567 deaths, a natural change of -208. Net international migration added +21 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -97. The largest single component was natural change, which removed 208 people.

Where Ritchie County is

The Census internal point of Ritchie County is at 39.177100, -81.066300. 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 Ritchie County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Ritchie County

2 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Ritchie County, 2,556 people together, or 31% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Ritchie County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Harrisville with 1,547.

Counties bordering Ritchie County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 7 neighbors for Ritchie County. The most populous is Wood County, WV, with 82,757 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• Wood County

  82,757 people

  24 mi W

• Tyler County

  7,843 people

  22 mi NNE

• Doddridge County

  7,615 people

  20 mi ENE

• Pleasants County

  7,358 people

  14 mi NNW

• Gilmer County

  7,116 people

  21 mi SSE

• Calhoun County

  5,873 people

  23 mi S

• Wirt County

  4,924 people

  20 mi WSW

Distance to Charleston and the nearest big city

Charleston is 65.1 miles SSW of Ritchie County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Pittsburgh, PA (population 307,668), 104.7 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Parkersburg, WV (population 28,834), 26.2 miles away.

Ritchie County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Ritchie County is 54085: state code 54 for West Virginia plus county code 085. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $55,110.