Wirt County, West Virginia

Wirt County is a county located in the state of West Virginia in the United States. The administrative headquarters ( County Seat) is Elizabeth.

Geography

The County is located north-west of the geographic center of West Virginia and has an area of 608 square kilometers, of which five square miles are water. It is bordered clockwise to the following counties: Wood County, Ritchie County, Calhoun County, Roane County and Jackson County.

History

Wirt County was formed on January 19, 1848 from parts of Jackson County and Wood County. It was named after William Wirt, a North American author, statesman and attorney general.

Demographic data

1900-1990

According to the census of 2000, there were 5,873 people in Wirt County in 2,284 households and 1,699 families. The population density was 10 people per square kilometer. The racial the population was made ​​up of 98.55 percent White, 0.29 percent African American, 0.20 percent Native American, 0.10 percent Asian, and 0.10 percent from other races; 0.75 percent were descended from two or more races. 0.31 percent of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 2,284 households out of which 35.2 percent have children under the age of 18 living with them. 61.5 percent were married couples living together, 8.9 percent were single mothers, 25.6 percent were non-families, 22.2 percent of all households and 11.6 percent lived in people aged 65 years or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 2.97.

Based on the county the population was spread from 25.4 percent population under 18 years, 7.6 percent between 18 and 24 years, 29.6 percent between 25 and 44 years, 24.4 percent between 45 and 64 years and 13.0 percent were 65 years old or older. The average age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 100.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.0 men statistically.

The median income for a household was $ 30,748, and the median income for a family was $ 33,872. Males have a median income of $ 29,088, women $ 17,965. The per capita income was $ 14,000. 17.0 percent of families and 19.6 percent of the population lived below the poverty line. Of these, 25.6 percent were children or adolescents under age 18 and 13.9 percent of those 65 years.