Barbour County, West Virginia

A county in West Virginia, ranked 36 of 55 by population.

CountyFIPS 54001

Within West Virginia
Barbour County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data. The dot marks Philippi, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

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Population
15,414
-49 (-0.3%) since 2020
Land area
341.1
square miles. A further 0.5% of the total area is water
Population density
45.2
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Philippi
Seat of county government.
Established
1843
182 years ago
Largest city
Philippi city
Population 2,846.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; Wikidata (CC0), Wikidata. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of Barbour County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.

Aerial view of Barbour County, West Virginia from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined
Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 737 by 800 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where Barbour County ranks

Position among the 55 counties of West Virginia, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

MeasureValueIn West VirginiaNationally
Population15,41436th of 552,069th of 3,144
Land area341.1 sq mi38th of 552,707th of 3,144
Population density45.2 per sq mi28th of 551,571st of 3,144
Median household income$51,39437th of 552,698th of 3,143

Full data for Barbour County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population15,414Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202015,463Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?15,461Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area341.1 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area1.8 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area342.9 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?45.2 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$51,394American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$131,900American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age42.2American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households6,152American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units7,124American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

How the population changed

The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:

Births minus deaths
-76
157 births, 233 deaths
Net migration
+157
More people moved in than moved out.

Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The 6 areas bordering Barbour County

Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.

Bordering areaStateShared borderPopulation
Randolph CountyWest Virginia22 mi26,882
Upshur CountyWest Virginia22 mi23,758
Taylor CountyWest Virginia18 mi16,287
Harrison CountyWest Virginia9.9 mi64,221
Tucker CountyWest Virginia9.7 mi6,540
Preston CountyWest Virginia9.3 mi34,004

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

All 55 counties of West Virginia

Open the interactive West Virginia county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.