Roane County, West Virginia

Roane County population, land area and income

Roane County had 13,540 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 483.6 square miles of land. It ranks 39th of 55 in West Virginia by population and 18th by land area. That works out to 28.0 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; Roane County is somewhat smaller.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $48,285 is in the bottom quarter among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Roane County's population changed since 2020

Roane County lost 444 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 3.2%. That ranks 31st 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, Roane County recorded 488 births and 941 deaths, a natural change of -453. Net international migration added +10 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -38. The largest single component was natural change, which removed 453 people.

Where Roane County is

The Census internal point of Roane County is at 38.743000, -81.354500. 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 Roane County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Roane County

One incorporated place of 1,000+ people has residents in Roane County, 1,936 people together, or 14% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Roane County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Spencer with 1,936.

Counties bordering Roane County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 5 neighbors for Roane 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

  30 mi SSW

• Jackson County

  27,718 people

  19 mi WNW

• Clay County

  7,689 people

  24 mi SE

• Calhoun County

  5,873 people

  15 mi ENE

• Wirt County

  4,924 people

  19 mi N

Distance to Charleston and the nearest big city

Charleston is 31.4 miles SSW of Roane County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Columbus, OH (population 933,263), 122.2 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Charleston, WV (population 46,482), 31.1 miles away.

Roane County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Roane County is 54087: state code 54 for West Virginia plus county code 087. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $48,285.