Charleston,_West_Virginia_metropolitan_area

Charleston, West Virginia metropolitan area

The Charleston Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of five counties in West Virginia, anchored by the city of Charleston. It is the largest metropolitan area in the state of West Virginia. As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 309,635 (though a July 1, 2007 estimate placed the population at 303,950).

Prior to the 2000 Census, the Charleston MSA consisted of only two counties – Kanawha and Putnam.

Rankings

The population of the Charleston MSA is ranked 151st out of the 363 MSA's.

The Charleston-Huntington TV Market is ranked 64th out of 210.
The Charleston MSA is ranked 181st out of the 297 Arbitron radio markets.
Out of 280 Metropolitan statistical areas ranked by per capita income, the Charleston MSA is ranked 106th. (Census 2000)
The MSA is 202 out of 280 ranked by median household income. (Census 2000)

Counties

In alphabetical order:

County	State	Population	Seat
Kanawha	West Virginia	200,073	Charleston
Putnam	West Virginia	51,589	Winfield
Boone	West Virginia	25,535	Madison
Lincoln	West Virginia	22,108	Hamlin
Clay	West Virginia	10,330	Clay

Cities, towns, and other communities

Places with more than 50,000 inhabitants

Charleston (Principal City)

Places with 5,000 to 15,000 inhabitants

Places with 1,000 to 5,000 inhabitants

Alum Creek (census-designated place)
Belle
Buffalo
Chesapeake
Clendenin
Coal Fork (census-designated place)
Culloden (census-designated place; partial)
Eleanor
Elkview (census-designated place)
Hamlin
Harts (census-designated place)
Madison
Marmet
Montgomery (partial)
Pinch (census-designated place)
Poca
Sissonville (census-designated place)
Tornado (census-designated place)
Winfield

Places with less than 1,000 inhabitants

Unincorporated places

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 309,635 people, 129,229 households, and 88,175 families residing within the MSA. The racial makeup of the MSA was 93.25% White, 4.66% African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.17% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.55% of the population.

The median income for a household in the MSA was $29,222, and the median income for a family was $35,735. Males had a median income of $34,105 versus $20,448 for females. The per capita income for the MSA was $16,074.