With 1,494 people, Athens is a city in West Virginia. This skews young, with a median age of 21.1. This is an unusually credentialed place: 48% of adults have a four-year degree. Growth has run 36% since 2000, or 392 more people. The typical home is worth $168,100, having more than doubled since 2000. Density works out to 3,707 people per square mile.
At a glance
Lower income
median household income $56,667, below the US median
US median: $82,259
Younger
median age 21.1
US median: 38.9
More educated
48% hold a bachelor's degree
US average: 36%
Less affordable
home values up 31%, inflation adjusted
US median home: $376,019
Unique to this place
What stands out about Athens
What changed most since 1990
Median age36.8 → 21.1(−15.7 years)US over the same years: +6.0 years
Homes owned by their occupants58.1% → 74.1%(+16.1 pts)US over the same years: +0.9 pts
Population772 → 1,494(+94%)US over the same years: +35%
Athens's population equals 2.6% of Mercer County's. Its number of foreign-born residents equals 18% of the county's. Its number of veterans equals 0.7% of the county's.
Shares are "alone or in combination": a person with both Medicare and Medicaid counts in each, so categories overlap and do not sum to 100%.
Section 09 · Service history
Veterans
Veterans by period of service, 2024
Gulf War (2001 or later)39.1%(9)
US avg: 26.4%
Gulf War (1990s)56.5%(13)
US avg: 24.3%
Vietnam era26.1%(6)
US avg: 33.1%
Korean War17.4%(4)
US avg: 4.5%
World War II0%(0)
US avg: 1%
Share of the 23 veterans here. A veteran who served across eras counts in each, so shares can total more than 100%. Peacetime-only service is included in the total but not shown as an era.
BAR + DOT: THIS PLACE · TICK: US AVERAGE
Over time
Athens, decade by decade
Athens population, inflation-adjusted income and home value, education, and diversity by year
Year
Population
Median household income
Median home value
Bachelor's degree+
Diversity score
1990
772
$52,144
$111,363
43.5%
8.8
2000
1,102
$49,658
$128,791
32.9%
19.7
2010
1,048
$67,532
$179,102
49.2%
22.9
2020
962
$63,947
$159,141
50.0%
34.2
2024
1,494
$56,667
$168,100
47.8%
28.1
Census years come from the decennial census and the latest year from the American Community Survey, so part of any change between those two rows can reflect the different surveys. Dollar figures are adjusted for inflation to 2024 dollars; a figure ending in "+" was at the Census Bureau's reporting cap that year. The diversity score runs from 0 to 100; see how it's calculated.
