With 38,164 people, Wayne County is a county in West Virginia. Four-year degrees are less common here than nationally, at 19% of adults. The median age is 44.8, about 6 years above the US median. The typical home is worth $127,100, having more than doubled since 2000. 79% of homes are owner-occupied. The foreign-born share is 1%.
At a glance
Lower income
median household income $58,878, below the US median
US median: $82,259
Older
median age 44.8
US median: 38.9
Less educated
19% hold a bachelor's degree
US average: 36%
Stable housing
home values roughly flat, inflation adjusted
US median home: $376,019
Unique to this place
What stands out about Wayne County
What changed most since 1990
White share99.4% → 95.7%(−3.7 pts)US over the same years: −17.8 pts
Median home value (2024 dollars)$111,123 → $127,100(+14%)US over the same years: +67%
Poverty rate21.8% → 14.6%(−7.2 pts)US over the same years: −0.8 pts
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)17.2%(418)
US avg: 26.4%
Gulf War (1990s)15.4%(374)
US avg: 24.3%
Vietnam era42.7%(1,040)
US avg: 33.1%
Korean War4%(98)
US avg: 4.5%
World War II1.5%(36)
US avg: 1%
Share of the 2,434 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
Wayne County, decade by decade
Wayne County 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
41,636
$47,253
$111,123
9.0%
1.5
2000
42,903
$49,826
$115,857
11.9%
4.0
2010
42,481
$50,464
$122,998
12.7%
4.5
2020
38,982
$52,978
$125,810
17.5%
11.1
2024
38,164
$58,878
$127,100
19.2%
10.4
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.
