County facts · Land area · October 22, 2026
Largest Counties in West Virginia by Area and Population
The largest West Virginia counties by land area and by 2023 population, plus the smallest, county seats and a link to each official parcel map.
Looking for the largest counties in West Virginia? West Virginia has 55 counties covering about 24,041 square miles of land, based on the Census Bureau's 2020 Gazetteer. The largest by land area is Randolph County, at about 1,040 square miles, roughly 13 times the size of the smallest, Hancock County (83 sq mi). Measured by people instead, the largest is Kanawha County, with about 174,805 residents in the Census Bureau's July 1, 2023 estimate.
Each table below links the county's Platbookmapper page and its official parcel viewer, so you can go straight from the numbers to the property lines.
West Virginia counties at a glance
- Counties: 55
- Land area: about 24,041 sq mi, plus about 189 sq mi of water inside county lines
- Residents, 2023 estimates: about 1,770,071, or about 74 people per square mile of land
- Median county land area: about 419 sq mi
- With a verified public parcel viewer in our directory: 55 of 55 (24 of them through a statewide viewer)
The 10 largest West Virginia counties by land area
| # | County | Seat | Land (sq mi) | 2023 pop. | People per sq mi | Parcel viewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Randolph County | Elkins | 1,040 | 27,350 | 26 | West Virginia Property Viewer |
| 2 | Greenbrier County | Lewisburg | 1,020 | 32,149 | 32 | ArcGIS Experience Builder |
| 3 | Pocahontas County | Marlinton | 940 | 7,765 | 8.3 | West Virginia Property Viewer |
| 4 | Kanawha County | Charleston | 902 | 174,805 | 194 | West Virginia Property Viewer |
| 5 | Pendleton County | Franklin | 696 | 6,029 | 8.7 | West Virginia Property Viewer |
| 6 | Fayette County | Fayetteville | 662 | 39,072 | 59 | ArcGIS Web AppBuilder |
| 7 | Preston County | Kingwood | 649 | 34,099 | 53 | West Virginia Property Viewer |
| 8 | Nicholas County | Summersville | 647 | 24,169 | 37 | West Virginia Property Viewer |
| 9 | Hampshire County | Romney | 640 | 23,649 | 37 | West Virginia Property Viewer |
| 10 | Raleigh County | Beckley | 605 | 72,356 | 120 | West Virginia Property Viewer |
Together these 10 cover about 32% of West Virginia's land area and hold about 25% of its residents.
The 10 most populous West Virginia counties
| # | County | Seat | 2023 pop. | Land (sq mi) | Parcel viewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kanawha County | Charleston | 174,805 | 902 | West Virginia Property Viewer |
| 2 | Berkeley County | Martinsburg | 132,440 | 321 | ArcGIS Web AppBuilder |
| 3 | Monongalia County | Morgantown | 107,718 | 360 | ArcGIS Web AppBuilder |
| 4 | Cabell County | Huntington | 92,082 | 281 | ArcGIS Web AppBuilder |
| 5 | Wood County | Parkersburg | 83,052 | 366 | ArcGIS Web AppBuilder |
| 6 | Raleigh County | Beckley | 72,356 | 605 | West Virginia Property Viewer |
| 7 | Harrison County | Clarksburg | 64,639 | 416 | ArcGIS Web AppBuilder |
| 8 | Jefferson County | Charles Town | 59,787 | 209 | ArcGIS Experience Builder |
| 9 | Mercer County | Princeton | 58,057 | 419 | ArcGIS Web AppBuilder |
| 10 | Putnam County | Winfield | 56,962 | 346 | ArcGIS Experience Builder |
These 10 hold about 51% of West Virginia's residents in the 2023 estimates.
The 5 smallest West Virginia counties by land area
| County | Seat | Land (sq mi) | 2023 pop. | Parcel viewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hancock County | New Cumberland | 83 | 28,145 | ArcGIS Experience Builder |
| Brooke County | Wellsburg | 89 | 21,373 | ArcGIS Web AppBuilder |
| Ohio County | Wheeling | 106 | 41,194 | ArcGIS Experience Builder |
| Pleasants County | St. Marys | 130 | 7,428 | West Virginia Property Viewer |
| Taylor County | Grafton | 173 | 16,388 | ArcGIS Web AppBuilder |
Most and least crowded
- Most people per square mile: Berkeley County, about 412 (then Ohio County, 389, and Hancock County, 341)
- Fewest people per square mile: Pocahontas County, about 8.3 (then Pendleton County, 8.7, and Webster County, 15)
Counties with the most water
The Census Bureau reports water separately from land. It counts lakes, reservoirs, rivers and, along a coast or a Great Lake, the water inside the boundary.
- Mason County: about 14 sq mi of water, 3% of its total area
- Wood County: about 10 sq mi of water, 3% of its total area
- Kanawha County: about 9 sq mi of water, 1% of its total area
Using these numbers in a land search
- Land area is not parcel count. A large rural county can hold fewer parcels than a small suburban one, so size alone says little about how busy its parcel map is.
- Search, don't scroll. In a big county, type an address, owner name or parcel number into the viewer's search box, where it has one, instead of panning across the map.
- Records follow the county line. Deeds, plats and tax bills are kept by the county where the parcel sits, so a tract that crosses a county line usually has a parcel number on each side.
- Rounded figures. Land and water areas are rounded to whole square miles (one decimal for very small places). People per square mile is the 2023 estimate divided by land area.
Related guides
- West Virginia county GIS websites by viewer
- West Virginia landowner maps for hunting
- Ohio–West Virginia border counties
- Virginia–West Virginia border counties
- Largest county in each state
- Largest counties in the US by land area
More: All West Virginia counties on Platbookmapper
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau Gazetteer files, 2020 county land and water area.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, county totals, Vintage 2023 (July 1, 2023 estimates)
- Platbookmapper county GIS directory (live data file behind our county pages, pulled October 22, 2026) for each official parcel viewer.
- County seats: Wikidata (county seat property), cross-checked against Census place names.