Roane County (West Virginia)
Roane County is a county located in the state of West Virginia in the United States. The administrative headquarters ( County Seat) is Spencer.
Geography
The County is located in west-central West Virginia and has an area of 1253 square kilometers without significant water surface. It is bordered clockwise to the following counties: Wirt County, Calhoun County, Clay County, Kanawha County and Jackson County.
History
Roane County was formed on March 11, 1856 from parts of Gilmer County, Jackson County and the Kanawha County. It was named after Spencer Roane, a judge from Virginia.
Demographic data
1900-1990
According to the census in 2000 lived in Roane County 15,446 people in 6,161 households and 4,479 families. The population density was 12 people per square kilometer. The racial the population was made up of 98.56 percent White, 0.22 percent African American, 0.21 percent Native American, 0.23 percent Asian, and 0.19 percent from other races; 0.60 percent were descended from two or more races. 0.67 percent of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 6,161 households out of which 30.7 percent have children under the age of 18 living with them. 59.1 percent were married couples living together, 9.3 percent were single mothers, 27.3 percent were non-families, 23.5 percent of all households and 11.9 percent lived in people aged 65 years or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.91.
Based on the county the population was spread from 23.4 percent population under 18 years, 8.7 percent between 18 and 24 years, 26.6 percent between 25 and 44 years, 26.5 percent between 45 and 64 years and 14.8 percent were 65 years old or older. The average age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 men statistically.
The median income for a household was $ 24,511, and the median income for a family was $ 29,280. Males have a median income of $ 28,738, women $ 17,207. The per capita income was $ 13,195. 17.8 percent of families and 22.6 percent of the population lived below the poverty line. Of these, 32.1 percent were children or adolescents under age 18 and 15.5 percent of those 65 years.