The 10 Most Diverse Cities In West Virginia For 2024


The most diverse cities in West Virginia are Martinsburg and Bluefield for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.


Most Diverse Cities In West Virginia

Racial diversity in West Virginia is a mixed bag.

There are parts of West Virginia where there’s a high level of diversity. But where will you find the most diverse places in West Virginia?

To answer that question, we went to the US Census data. Using Saturday Night Science, we measured the Gini coefficient for all 25 cities in West Virginia to rank them from most to least diverse.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


Here are the 10 most diverse places in West Virginia for 2024:

  1. Martinsburg
  2. Bluefield
  3. Charles Town
  4. Beckley
  5. Dunbar
  6. Charleston
  7. South Charleston
  8. Huntington
  9. Morgantown
  10. Buckhannon

So what city is the most diverse in West Virginia? According to the most Census data, Martinsburg took the number one over all spot for diversity in West Virginia.

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town ranked. To see where West Virginia ranked as a state, we have a ranking of the most diverse states in Ameria.

For more West Virginia reading:

The 10 Most Diverse Places In West Virginia For 2024

Martinsburg, WV

Source: Wikipedia User Howcheng | Attribution
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 18,678
HHI: 5,072
% White: 69.1%
% African American: 13.4%
% Hispanic: 6.0%
% Asian: 1.4%
More on Martinsburg: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Bluefield, WV

Source: Wikipedia User SheepNotGoats (Talk) | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 9,619
HHI: 5,190
% White: 68.2%
% African American: 22.1%
% Hispanic: 3.0%
% Asian: 0.3%
More on Bluefield: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Charles Town, WV

Source: Wikipedia User Acroterion | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 6,584
HHI: 5,289
% White: 70.6%
% African American: 14.4%
% Hispanic: 8.9%
% Asian: 1.8%
More on Charles Town: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Beckley, WV

Source: Wikipedia User Tim Kiser (w:User:Malepheasant) | CC BY-SA 3.0 us
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 17,132
HHI: 5,682
% White: 73.1%
% African American: 17.1%
% Hispanic: 1.9%
% Asian: 2.1%
More on Beckley: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Dunbar, WV

Source: Flickr User ForestWander.com | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 7,418
HHI: 6,022
% White: 76.4%
% African American: 12.1%
% Hispanic: 2.8%
% Asian: 1.0%
More on Dunbar: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Charleston, WV

Source: Wikipedia User Andreas Faessler | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 48,415
HHI: 6,157
% White: 77.1%
% African American: 12.8%
% Hispanic: 1.6%
% Asian: 2.5%
More on Charleston: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

South Charleston, WV

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 13,527
HHI: 6,944
% White: 82.6%
% African American: 8.8%
% Hispanic: 0.5%
% Asian: 2.0%
More on South Charleston: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Huntington, WV

Source: Wikipedia User Wvfunnyman | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 46,637
HHI: 7,237
% White: 84.6%
% African American: 7.0%
% Hispanic: 1.7%
% Asian: 1.3%
More on Huntington: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Morgantown, WV

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 30,220
HHI: 7,280
% White: 85.0%
% African American: 4.1%
% Hispanic: 3.2%
% Asian: 3.1%
More on Morgantown: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Buckhannon, WV

Source: Wikipedia User Tim Kiser (w:User:Malepheasant) | CC BY-SA 2.5
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 5,201
HHI: 7,448
% White: 86.0%
% African American: 6.2%
% Hispanic: 3.5%
% Asian: 1.7%
More on Buckhannon: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Methodology: How we determined the most diverse cities in West Virginia for 2024

We still believe in the accuracy of data — especially from the Census — and Saturday Night Science. So that’s where we went to get the race breakdown across West Virginia.

That leads us to the Census’s most recently available data, the 2018-2022 American Community Survey data from the US Census.

Specifically, we looked at table B03002: HISPANIC OR LATINO ORIGIN BY RACE. Here are the category names as defined by the Census:

  • White alone*
  • Black or African American alone*
  • American Indian and Alaska Native alone*
  • Asian alone*
  • Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone*
  • Some other race alone*
  • Two or more races*
  • Hispanic or Latino
* Not Hispanic or latino

We limited our analysis to non-CDPs with a population greater than 5,000 people. That left us with 25 cities.

We then calculated the HHI for each city by finding the racial breakdown of a city in percent terms, squaring them, and then adding the squares together. This left us with scores ranging from 5,072 (Martinsburg) to 9,468 (New Martinsville).

Finally, we ranked each city based on the HHI, with a lower score being more diverse than a high score. Martinsburg took the distinction of being the most diverse, while New Martinsville was the least diverse city.

We updated this article for 2024. This report is our tenth time ranking the most diverse places in West Virginia.

Summary: Diversity Across West Virginia

If you’re looking for a scientific breakdown of diversity across West Virginia, this is an accurate list.

The most diverse cities in West Virginia are Martinsburg, Bluefield, Charles Town, Beckley, Dunbar, Charleston, South Charleston, Huntington, Morgantown, and Buckhannon.

If you’re curious enough, here are the least diverse places in West Virginia:

  1. New Martinsville
  2. Moundsville
  3. Hurricane

For more West Virginia reading, check out:

Race By City In West Virginia For 2024

Rank City Population HHI % White % Black % Hispanic % Asian
1 Martinsburg, WV 18,678 5,072 69.1% 13.4% 6.0% 1.4%
2 Bluefield, WV 9,619 5,190 68.2% 22.1% 3.0% 0.3%
3 Charles Town, WV 6,584 5,289 70.6% 14.4% 8.9% 1.8%
4 Beckley, WV 17,132 5,682 73.1% 17.1% 1.9% 2.1%
5 Dunbar, WV 7,418 6,022 76.4% 12.1% 2.8% 1.0%
6 Charleston, WV 48,415 6,157 77.1% 12.8% 1.6% 2.5%
7 South Charleston, WV 13,527 6,944 82.6% 8.8% 0.5% 2.0%
8 Huntington, WV 46,637 7,237 84.6% 7.0% 1.7% 1.3%
9 Morgantown, WV 30,220 7,280 85.0% 4.1% 3.2% 3.1%
10 Buckhannon, WV 5,201 7,448 86.0% 6.2% 3.5% 1.7%
11 Fairmont, WV 18,402 7,578 86.7% 6.5% 1.1% 0.3%
12 Princeton, WV 5,833 8,022 89.3% 6.2% 0.6% 0.5%
13 St. Albans, WV 10,753 8,089 89.7% 4.5% 1.3% 0.3%
14 Wheeling, WV 26,900 8,094 89.8% 4.3% 1.1% 0.5%
15 Bridgeport, WV 9,255 8,164 90.2% 1.8% 3.1% 3.5%
16 Elkins, WV 6,935 8,235 90.6% 3.0% 2.3% 0.4%
17 Oak Hill, WV 8,157 8,284 90.7% 7.2% 0.4% 0.0%
18 Weirton, WV 18,971 8,386 91.5% 3.1% 1.8% 0.8%
19 Vienna, WV 10,642 8,420 91.6% 1.5% 0.5% 1.8%
20 Clarksburg, WV 15,977 8,459 91.9% 2.5% 2.0% 0.4%
21 Nitro, WV 6,540 8,542 92.2% 1.4% 0.5% 0.0%
22 Parkersburg, WV 29,685 8,569 92.5% 1.9% 1.5% 0.9%
23 Hurricane, WV 6,908 8,639 92.8% 0.0% 1.7% 1.4%
24 Moundsville, WV 8,056 8,820 93.9% 0.2% 1.9% 0.0%
25 New Martinsville, WV 5,210 9,468 97.3% 0.0% 0.3% 0.2%
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.