Wayne County, West Virginia

Wayne County population, land area and income

Wayne County had 37,589 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 506.0 square miles of land. It ranks 14th of 55 in West Virginia by population and 15th by land area. That works out to 74.3 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; Wayne County is somewhat larger.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $51,532 is in the bottom quarter among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Wayne County's population changed since 2020

Wayne County lost 1,276 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 3.3%. That ranks 34th 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, Wayne County recorded 1,607 births and 2,649 deaths, a natural change of -1,042. Net international migration added +95 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to -457. The largest single component was natural change, which removed 1,042 people.

Where Wayne County is

The Census internal point of Wayne County is at 38.143600, -82.422700. 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 Wayne County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Wayne County

4 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Wayne County, 9,137 people together, or 24% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Wayne County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Huntington with 3,532.

Counties bordering Wayne County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 7 neighbors for Wayne County, including 4 across a state line. The most populous is Cabell County, WV, with 91,489 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• Cabell County

  91,489 people

  21 mi NNE

• OH

  Lawrence County, OH

  55,829 people

  32 mi N

• KY

  Boyd County, KY

  47,777 people

  21 mi NW

• Mingo County

  21,712 people

  33 mi SSE

• Lincoln County

  19,377 people

  19 mi E

• KY

  Lawrence County, KY

  15,798 people

  18 mi WSW

• KY

  Martin County, KY

  10,696 people

  24 mi S

Distance to Charleston and the nearest big city

Charleston is 46.0 miles ENE of Wayne County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Lexington-Fayette, KY (population 329,437), 110.9 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Huntington, WV (population 44,942), 18.5 miles away.

Wayne County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Wayne County is 54099: state code 54 for West Virginia plus county code 099. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $51,532.