Whitest cities in West Virginia research summary. We analyzed West Virginia’s most recent Census data to determine the whitest cities in West Virginia based on the percentage of White residents.
97.0% White · #1 whitest in West Virginia
New Martinsville is a city in Wetzel County, West Virginia, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 5,366 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Wetzel County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
93.0% White · #2 whitest in West Virginia
Located in
Putnam County, West Virginia
Hurricane is a city in Putnam County, West Virginia, in the United States. The population was 6,284 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
92.1% White · #3 whitest in West Virginia
Located in
Marshall County, West Virginia
Moundsville is a city in Marshall County, West Virginia, along the Ohio River. It is part of the Wheeling, West Virginia metropolitan area. The population was 9,318 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Marshall County. The city was named for the nearby ancient Grave Creek Mound, constructed 250 to 100 BC by indigenous people of the Adena culture.
Moundsville was settled in 1771 by English colonists Samuel and James Tomlinson. Fostoria Glass Company was headquartered in Moundsville from 1891 to 1986. The retired West Virginia State Penitentiary operated in Moundsville from 1867 to 1995.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
91.4% White · #4 whitest in West Virginia
Located in
Wood County, West Virginia
Parkersburg is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, West Virginia, United States. Located at the confluence of the Ohio and Little Kanawha rivers, it is the state’s third-largest city and the largest city in the Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna metropolitan area. The population was 31,492 at the 2010 census. Its peak of population was more than 44,000 in 1960. The city is about 14 miles south of Marietta, Ohio.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
91.0% White · #5 whitest in West Virginia
Located in
Wood County, West Virginia
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
90.4% White · #6 whitest in West Virginia
Located in
Fayette County, West Virginia
Oak Hill is a city in Fayette County, West Virginia, United States and is the primary city within the Oak Hill, WV Micropolitan Statistical Area. The micropolitan area is also included in the Beckley-Oak Hill, WV Combined Statistical Area. The population was 7,730 at the 2010 census. Country singer Hank Williams was discovered to be dead while the car in which he was a passenger was stopped in Oak Hill, and Oak Hill is generally accepted to be his place of death.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
89.3% White · #7 whitest in West Virginia
Located in
Hancock County, West Virginia
Weirton is a city in Brooke and Hancock counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Located primarily in Hancock County, the city lies in the northern portions of the state’s Northern Panhandle region. As of the 2010 census, the city’s population was 19,746. It is a principal city within the Weirton-Steubenville Metropolitan Area, which had a population of 124,454 residents, and by extension part of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
89.2% White · #8 whitest in West Virginia
Located in
Harrison County, West Virginia
Clarksburg is a city in and the county seat of Harrison County, West Virginia, United States, in the north-central region of the state. The population of the city was 16,578 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Clarksburg, WV Micropolitan Statistical Area, which had a population of 94,221 in 2014. Clarksburg was named National Small City of the Year in 2011 by the National League of Cities.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
88.8% White · #9 whitest in West Virginia
Located in
Ohio County, West Virginia
Wheeling is a city in Ohio and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Located almost entirely in Ohio County, of which it is the county seat, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Wheeling was originally a settlement in the British colony of Virginia and later an important city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Wheeling was the first state capital of West Virginia. Due to its location along major transportation routes, including the Ohio River, National Road, and the B&O Railroad, Wheeling became a manufacturing center in the late nineteenth century. After experiencing the closing of factories and substantial population loss following World War II, Wheeling’s major industries now include healthcare, education, law and legal services, entertainment and tourism, and energy.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
88.5% White · #10 whitest in West Virginia
Located in
Harrison County, West Virginia
Bridgeport is a city in Harrison County, West Virginia, USA. The population was 8,149 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is West Virginia’s statewide median.
On the map
Where West Virginia’s White population is concentrated
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the whitest places in West Virginia for 2026
To rank the whitest places in West Virginia, we used Saturday Night Science to look at Census demographic data.
We had to look at the number of white people living in each city in West Virginia on a per capita basis. In other words, the percentage of white people living in each city in West Virginia.
We looked at table B03002: Hispanic OR LATINO ORIGIN BY RACE. Here are the category names as defined by the Census:
- Hispanic or Latino
- 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*
Our particular column of interest here was the number of people who identified as White alone.
We limited our analysis to places with a population greater than 5,000 people. That left us with 25 cities.
We then calculated the percentage of residents that are White. The percentages ranked from 97.0% to 64.7%.
Finally, we ranked each city based on the percentage of the White population, with a higher percentage being more White. New Martinsville took the distinction of being the most White, while Martinsburg was the least White city.
We updated this article for 2026. This report represents our eleventh time ranking the whitest cities in West Virginia.
The full plate
Cities In West Virginia By White Population
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | White Population | % White |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Martinsville | 5,133 | 4,981 | 97.0% |
| 2 | Hurricane | 6,855 | 6,374 | 93.0% |
| 3 | Moundsville | 7,869 | 7,248 | 92.1% |
| 4 | Parkersburg | 29,240 | 26,731 | 91.4% |
| 5 | Vienna | 10,518 | 9,570 | 91.0% |
| 6 | Oak Hill | 7,937 | 7,172 | 90.4% |
| 7 | Weirton | 18,647 | 16,645 | 89.3% |
| 8 | Clarksburg | 15,549 | 13,865 | 89.2% |
| 9 | Wheeling | 26,350 | 23,402 | 88.8% |
| 10 | Bridgeport | 9,252 | 8,190 | 88.5% |
| 11 | Princeton | 5,736 | 5,053 | 88.1% |
| 12 | St. Albans | 10,522 | 9,235 | 87.8% |
| 13 | Nitro | 6,853 | 5,982 | 87.3% |
| 14 | Elkins | 6,811 | 5,935 | 87.1% |
| 15 | South Charleston | 13,457 | 11,623 | 86.4% |
| 16 | Buckhannon | 5,116 | 4,404 | 86.1% |
| 17 | Fairmont | 18,221 | 15,287 | 83.9% |
| 18 | Huntington | 45,787 | 38,262 | 83.6% |
| 19 | Morgantown | 30,236 | 25,095 | 83.0% |
| 20 | Dunbar | 7,254 | 5,582 | 77.0% |
| 21 | Charleston | 47,421 | 36,221 | 76.4% |
| 22 | Bluefield | 9,387 | 7,116 | 75.8% |
| 23 | Beckley | 16,818 | 11,881 | 70.6% |
| 24 | Charles Town | 7,337 | 4,846 | 66.0% |
| 25 | Martinsburg | 18,904 | 12,225 | 64.7% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 25 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: White Populations Across West Virginia
We measured the locations with the highest percentage of white people in West Virginia. According to the most recent data, this list provides accurate information on the whitest places in West Virginia.
The most White cities in West Virginia are New Martinsville, Hurricane, Moundsville, Parkersburg, Vienna, Oak Hill, Weirton, Clarksburg, Wheeling, and Bridgeport. Not sold on West Virginia? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
