List of counties in West Virginia
County FIPS code County seat Est Origin Etymology Population Area
Barbour County 001 Philippi 1843 Harrison , Lewis , and Randolph counties Philip Pendleton Barbour ( 1783-1841 ) United States Speaker of the House ( 1821-23 ) 16,589 341 sq mi ( 883 km )
Berkeley County 003 Martinsburg 1772 Frederick County ( Virginia ) Norborne Berkeley ( 1717-70 ) Royal Governor of Virginia ( 1768-70 ) 104,169 321 sq mi ( 831 km )
Boone County 005 Madison 1847 Cabell , Kanawha , and Logan counties Daniel Boone ( 1734-1820 ) American frontiersman 24,629 503 sq mi ( 1,303 km )
Braxton County 007 Sutton 1836 Kanawha , Lewis , and Nicholas counties Carter Braxton ( 1736-97 ) Signer of the Declaration of Independence 14,523 514 sq mi ( 1,331 km )
Brooke County 009 Wellsburg 1796 Ohio County Robert Brooke ( 1761-1800 ) Governor of Virginia ( 1794-96 ) 24,069 89 sq mi ( 231 km )
Cabell County 011 Huntington 1809 Kanawha County William H. Cabell ( 1772-1853 ) Governor of Virginia ( 1805-08 ) 96,319 282 sq mi ( 730 km )
Calhoun County 013 Grantsville 1856 Gilmer County John C. Calhoun ( 1782-1850 ) United States Vice President ( 1825-32 ) 7,627 281 sq mi ( 728 km )
Clay County 015 Clay 1858 Braxton and Nicholas counties Henry Clay ( 1777-1852 ) United States Senator Kentucky ( 1823-25 ) United States Speaker of the House ( 1849-52 ) 9,386 342 sq mi ( 886 km )
Doddridge County 017 West Union 1845 Harrison , Lewis , Ritchie , and Taylor counties Philip Doddridge ( 1773-1832 ) United States Congressman ( Virginia ) ( 1829-32 ) 8,202 320 sq mi ( 829 km )
Fayette County 019 Fayetteville 1831 Kanawha , Greenbrier , Logan , and Nicholas counties Marquis de Lafayette ( 1757-1834 ) French-born American Revolutionary War General 46,039 664 sq mi ( 1,720 km )
Gilmer County 021 Glenville 1845 Kanawha and Lewis counties Thomas Walker Gilmer ( 1802-44 ) United States Secretary of the Navy ( 1844 ) Governor of Virginia ( 1840-41 ) 8,693 340 sq mi ( 881 km )
Grant County 023 Petersburg 1866 Hardy County Ulysses S. Grant ( 1822-85 ) United States President ( 1869-77 ) 11,937 477 sq mi ( 1,235 km )
Greenbrier County 025 Lewisburg 1778 Montgomery County ( Virginia ) and Botetourt County ( Virginia ) Greenbrier River 35,480 1,021 sq mi ( 2,644 km )
Hampshire County 027 Romney 1754 Augusta County ( Virginia ) and Frederick County ( Virginia ) County of Hampshire in England 23,964 642 sq mi ( 1,663 km )
Hancock County 029 New Cumberland 1848 Brooke County John Hancock ( 1737-93 ) One of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence Governor of Massachusetts ( 1780-85 ) and ( 1787-93 ) 30,676 83 sq mi ( 215 km )
Hardy County 031 Moorefield 1786 Hampshire County Samuel Hardy ( 1758-85 ) Virginia delegate to the Continental Congress ( 1783-85 ) 14,025 583 sq mi ( 1,510 km )
Harrison County 033 Clarksburg 1784 Monongalia County Benjamin Harrison V ( 1726-91 ) Governor of Virginia ( 1781-84 ) 69,099 416 sq mi ( 1,077 km )
Jackson County 035 Ripley 1831 Kanawha , Mason , and Wood counties Andrew Jackson ( 1767-1845 ) United States President ( 1829-37 ) 29,211 466 sq mi ( 1,207 km )
Jefferson County 037 Charles Town 1801 Berkeley County Thomas Jefferson ( 1743-1826 ) United States President ( 1801-09 ) 53,498 210 sq mi ( 544 km )
Kanawha County 039 Charleston 1789 Greenbrier and Montgomery County ( Virginia ) Kanawha River 193,063 903 sq mi ( 2,339 km )
Counties
The U.S. state of West Virginia has 55 counties. Fifty of them existed at the time of the Wheeling Convention in 1861, before which West Virginia was part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The remaining five (Grant, Mineral, Lincoln, Summers, and Mingo) were formed within the state after its admission to the United States on June 20, 1863. At that time, Berkeley County and Jefferson County, the two easternmost counties of West Virginia, refused to recognize their inclusion in the state. In March 1866, the United States Congress passed a joint mandate assenting to their inclusion. The West Virginia Constitution was ratified in 1872, replacing the state constitution created in 1863 when West Virginia became a state. Article 9, Section 8, of the West Virginia Constitution permits the creation of additional counties if a majority of citizens in the proposed new county vote for its creation and the new county has a minimum area of and a population of at least 6,000. Creation of a new county is prohibited if it would bring another county below these thresholds. Three counties (Greenbrier, Kanawha, and Randolph) have sufficient population and land area to allow a new county to be split off. The remaining counties cannot be split, as either their land area would decrease to under 400 square miles, or their population would decrease to below 6,000. Population figures are based on the 2010 United States Census. The role of counties in local government had been minimized under the 1863 constitution, which vested most local government authority in a system of townships based on the New England model.