Upshur County, West Virginia

Upshur County population, land area and income

Upshur County had 23,650 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 354.6 square miles of land. It ranks 26th of 55 in West Virginia by population and 35th by land area. That works out to 66.7 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; Upshur County is somewhat larger.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $53,380 is in the bottom quarter among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Upshur County's population changed since 2020

Upshur County lost 168 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 0.7%. That ranks 14th 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, Upshur County recorded 930 births and 1,322 deaths, a natural change of -392. Net international migration added +82 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +144. The largest single component was natural change, which removed 392 people.

Where Upshur County is

The Census internal point of Upshur County is at 38.902500, -80.231600. 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 Upshur County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Upshur County

One incorporated place of 1,000+ people has residents in Upshur County, 5,049 people together, or 21% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Upshur County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Buckhannon with 5,049.

Counties bordering Upshur County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 5 neighbors for Upshur County. The most populous is Harrison County, WV, with 64,472 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• Harrison County

  64,472 people

  27 mi NNW

• Randolph County

  27,190 people

  21 mi ESE

• Lewis County

  16,477 people

  15 mi WNW

• Barbour County

  15,369 people

  21 mi NE

• Webster County

  7,947 people

  31 mi SSW

Distance to Charleston and the nearest big city

Charleston is 84.2 miles WSW of Upshur County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Pittsburgh, PA (population 307,668), 107.1 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Clarksburg, WV (population 15,262), 26.3 miles away.

Upshur County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Upshur County is 54097: state code 54 for West Virginia plus county code 097. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $53,380.