County Maps US

Kanawha County, West Virginia

The most populous of West Virginia's 55 counties.

CountyFIPS 54039

Within West Virginia
Kanawha County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data. The dot marks Charleston, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

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Population
172,381
-7,834 (-4.3%) since 2020
Land area
901.7
square miles. A further 1.0% of the total area is water
Population density
191
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Charleston
Seat of county government.
Established
1788
237 years ago
Largest city
Charleston city
Population 46,117.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; Wikidata (CC0), Wikidata. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of Kanawha County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.

Aerial view of Kanawha County, West Virginia from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined
Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 699 by 800 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where Kanawha County ranks

Position among the 55 counties of West Virginia, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

MeasureValueIn West VirginiaNationally
Population172,3811st of 55410th of 3,144
Land area901.7 sq mi4th of 55844th of 3,144
Population density191 per sq mi9th of 55578th of 3,144
Median household income$60,94314th of 551,998th of 3,143

Full data for Kanawha County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population172,381Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 2020180,215Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?180,733Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area901.7 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area9.3 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area911 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?191 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$60,943American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$147,300American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age43.8American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households76,459American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units90,408American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

How the population changed

The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:

Births minus deaths
-1,001
1,632 births, 2,633 deaths
Net migration
-51
More people moved out than moved in.

Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The 9 areas bordering Kanawha County

Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.

Bordering areaStateShared borderPopulation
Boone CountyWest Virginia55 mi20,251
Putnam CountyWest Virginia33 mi56,885
Fayette CountyWest Virginia23 mi38,165
Roane CountyWest Virginia21 mi13,317
Clay CountyWest Virginia21 mi7,538
Lincoln CountyWest Virginia19 mi19,177
Jackson CountyWest Virginia13 mi27,450
Raleigh CountyWest Virginia6.3 mi71,775
Nicholas CountyWest Virginia148 ft23,848

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

All 55 counties of West Virginia

Open the interactive West Virginia county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.