Upshur County (West Virginia)
Upshur County is a county located in the state of West Virginia in the United States. The County Seat is Buckhannon.
Geography
The County is located northeast of the geographical center of West Virginia and has an area of 919 square kilometers without significant water surface. It is bordered clockwise to the following counties: Harrison County, Barbour County, Randolph County, Webster County and Lewis County.
History
Upshur County was formed on March 26, 1851 from parts of Barbour County, Lewis County and Randolph County. It was named after Abel P. Upshur, a U.S. lawyer, politician and Foreign Minister.
Demographic data
1900-1990
According to the census in 2000 lived in Upshur County 23,404 people in 8,972 households and 6,352 families. The population density was 25 people per square kilometer. The racial the population was made up of 98.19 percent White, 0.62 percent African American, 0.17 percent Native American, 0.31 percent Asian, 0.01 percent of residents from the Pacific Islander and 0.13 percent from other races groups; 0.58 percent were descended from two or more races. 0.59 percent of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 8,972 households out of which 31.1 percent have children under the age of 18 living with them. 58.2 percent were married couples living together, 9.1 percent were single mothers, 29.2 percent were non-families, 25.2 percent of all households and 11.8 percent lived in people aged 65 years or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.92.
Based on the county the population was spread from 22.6 percent population under 18 years, 12.6 percent between 18 and 24 years, 25.7 percent between 25 and 44 years, 24.5 percent between 45 and 64 years and 14.7 percent were 65 years old or older. The average age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 94.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.4 men statistically.
The median income for a household was $ 26,973, and the median income for a family was $ 32,399. Males had a median income of $ 29,020, women $ 18,087. The per capita income was $ 13,559. 16.0 percent of families and 20.0 percent of the population lived below the poverty line. Of these, 27.3 percent were children or adolescents under age 18 and 10.5 percent of those 65 years.