Boone County, West Virginia facts for kids

Boone County
	Boone County, West Virginia
	Map
	; Location in the state of West Virginia
	; West Virginia's location in the U.S.
	Statistics
Founded	March 11, 1847
Seat	Madison
Largest City	Madison
Area; - Total; - Land; - Water	; 503 sq mi (1,303 km²); 502 sq mi (1,300 km²); 1.7 sq mi (4 km²), 0.3%
PopulationEst.; - (2015); - Density	; 23,372; 47/sq mi (18/km²)
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
	Website: www.boonecountywv.org
	Named for: Daniel Boone

Boone County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 24,629. Its county seat is Madison. The county was formed in 1847 from parts of Kanawha, Cabell, and Logan Counties and named for Daniel Boone, noted hunter and explorer, whose home was in the Great Kanawha Valley from 1789 to 1795.

Boone County is part of the Charleston, WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2010 population of 225,954.

Leading industries and chief agricultural products in Boone County include coal, lumber, natural gas, tobacco, and strawberries.

On February 1, 2006, two fatal mining accidents occurred in the communities of Uneeda and Wharton in Boone County. These two deaths with the addition of January's Sago Mine disaster and the Aracoma Alma Mine disaster caused West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin to close all of West Virginia's mines in a "mine safety stand-down."

Boone County voted Democratic in every presidential election starting in 1976, until 2012 when Republican Mitt Romney won over 60% of the vote in the process of sweeping every county in the state. Also in 2012, in the states Democrat primaries, Boone County was one of the counties which voted for convicted felon Keith Russell Judd, who at the time, was still in prison over incumbent president Barack Obama.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 503 square miles (1,300 km²), of which 502 square miles (1,300 km²) is land and 1.7 square miles (4.4 km²) (0.3%) is water.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 119
West Virginia Route 3
West Virginia Route 17
West Virginia Route 85
West Virginia Route 94
West Virginia Route 99

Adjacent counties

Kanawha County (north)
Raleigh County (east)
Wyoming County (south)
Logan County (southwest)
Lincoln County (west)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1850	3,237	—
1860	4,840	49.5%
1870	4,553	−5.9%
1880	5,824	27.9%
1890	6,885	18.2%
1900	8,194	19.0%
1910	10,331	26.1%
1920	15,319	48.3%
1930	24,586	60.5%
1940	28,556	16.1%
1950	33,173	16.2%
1960	28,764	−13.3%
1970	25,118	−12.7%
1980	30,447	21.2%
1990	25,870	−15.0%
2000	25,535	−1.3%
2010	24,629	−3.5%
Est. 2015	23,372	−5.1%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010–2015

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 25,535 people, 10,291 households, and 7,460 families residing in the county. The population density was 51 people per square mile (20/km²). There were 11,575 housing units at an average density of 23 per square mile (9/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.53% White, 0.65% Black or African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.07% from other races, and 0.54% from two or more races. 0.46% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

The largest ancestry groups in Boone County are English (13%), Irish (12%) and German (11%).

There were 10,291 households out of which 31.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.50% were married couples living together, 10.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.50% were non-families. 24.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the county, the population was spread out with 23.20% under the age of 18, 9.00% from 18 to 24, 28.00% from 25 to 44, 26.30% from 45 to 64, and 13.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 95.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $18,232 and the median income for a family was $33,676. Males had a median income of $2 versus $1 for females. The per capita income for the county was $1. About 100% of families and 100% of the population were below the poverty line, including 100% of those under age 18 and 100% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 24,629 people, 9,928 households, and 7,014 families residing in the county. The population density was 49.1 inhabitants per square mile (19.0/km²). There were 11,070 housing units at an average density of 22.1 per square mile (8.5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.5% white, 0.5% black or African American, 0.1% Asian, 0.1% American Indian, 0.2% from other races, and 0.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 15.4% were German, 13.3% were American, 12.9% were Irish, and 8.3% were English.

Of the 9,928 households, 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.0% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 29.4% were non-families, and 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.94. The median age was 40.7 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $4 and the median income for a family was $5. Males had a median income of $5 versus $3 for females. The per capita income for the county was $2. About 100% of families and 100% of the population were below the poverty line, including 100% of those under age 18 and 100% of those age 65 or over.

Boone County, West Virginia facts for kids

Contents

Geography

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics

2000 census

2010 census

Communities

City

Towns

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities