Preston County, West Virginia
Preston County is a county located in the state of West Virginia in the United States. In the 2000 census, the county had 29,334 inhabitants and a population density of 17 inhabitants per square kilometer. The administrative headquarters ( County Seat) is Kingwood.
Geography
The County is located in the northeast of West Virginia, on the east by Maryland, to the north by Pennsylvania and has an area of 1687 square kilometers, of which eight square kilometers of water surface. It is bordered clockwise to the following counties: Fayette County (Pennsylvania), Garrett County ( Maryland), Grant County, Tucker County, Barbour County, Taylor County and Monongalia County.
History
Preston County was formed on January 19, 1818 from parts of Monongalia County. It was named after James Patton Preston, a governor of Virginia.
Demographic data
1900-1990
According to the census of 2000, there were 29,334 people in Preston County. Of these, 429 people were living in collective centers, the other inhabitants lived in 11,544 households and 8,357 families. The population density was 17 people per square kilometer. The racial the population was made up of 98.84 percent White, 0.29 percent African American, 0.11 percent Native American, 0.15 percent Asian, 0.02 percent of residents from the Pacific Islander, and 0.05 percent from other races groups; 0.54 percent were descended from two or more races. 0.57 percent of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 11,544 households out of which 31.5 percent have children under the age of 18 living with them. 59.4 percent were married couples living together, 9.1 percent were single mothers, 27.6 percent were non-families, 23.7 percent of all households and 11.7 percent lived in people aged 65 years or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.94.
Based on the county the population was spread from 23.7 percent population under 18 years, 8.0 percent between 18 and 24 years, 27.8 percent between 25 and 44 years, 25.6 percent between 45 and 64 years and 15.0 percent were 65 years old or older. The average age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 98.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.9 men statistically.
The median income for a household was $ 27,927, and the median income for a family was $ 32,904. Males have a median income of $ 26,440, women $ 17,905. The per capita income was $ 13,596. 14.7 percent of families and 18.3 percent of the population lived below the poverty line. This included 24.4 percent of children and adolescents under 18 years and 14.5 percent of the population aged 65 years.