Economy of West Virginia State

By: EconomyWatch   Date: 30 June 2010

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Demography And Social Indicators

West Virginia is an E central state of the United States being bordered by Pennsylvania and Maryland, Virginia, and Kentucky and, across the Ohio R., Ohio.

The state has a total geographical area of 24,230 sq mi; with a land area of 24,078 sq mi; and acres forested 12.1 mil.

The state's leading production of bituminous coal, Natural gas, stone, cement, salt, and oil in the nation has contributed a lot to the state's economy.

Demography And Social Indicators
The state has an estimated population of 1,816,856 in the year 2005 in comparison to 1,815,354 in the previous year. The net change in the population in 2002-03 was 0.3%. According to the US Census 2000, the total population in the state was 1,808,344. The population density in the state is 75.2 per sq mi.

With regards to the Racial Distribution 2000, White 95.0%; Black 3.2%; Asian 0.5%; Native American 0.2%.

Business and Economy of West Virginia

The Gross State Product in the state as of 2001 was $42.4 billion. The per capita personal income in 2003 was $24,379. The Major Industries in the state are manufacturing, services, mining and tourism.

Important manufacturing goods are machinery, plastic & hard wood products, fabricated metals, chemicals, aluminum, automotive parts and steel.

Chief crops in the state are apples, peaches, hay, tobacco, corn, wheat and oats.

Livestock (Jan 2004): 380,000 cattle/calves; 34,000 sheep/lambs; (Jan 2003): 10,000 hogs/pigs; (Dec 2003): 2.1 million chickens.

The growing employment opportunities generated by the Government has acted as a positive indication for the state's economy.

Energy Production In West Virginia
Electricity Production (est. 2003, kwh by source): Coal 63.5 bil; Petroleum 210 mil; Gas 4 mil; Hydroelectric 323 mil; Other 21 mil. bil.

Tourist Attraction Of West Virginia
The important tourist places in the state are as follows

  • Harpers Ferry Natl. Historic Park;
  • Science and Cultural Center, Charleston;
  • White Sulphur and Berkeley Springs mineral water spas;
  • New River George, Fayetteville;
  • Winter Place, Exhibition Coal mine, Beckley;
  • Monongahela Forest Natl. Forest;
  • Mountain State Forest Festival;
  • Snow shoe Sky Resort, Slaty Fork;
  • Ogle bay, Wheeling

Colleges, Schools and Universities In West Virginia

  • Appalachian Bible College
  • Bethany College
  • Bluefield State College
  • Concord University
  • Davis and Elkins College
  • Fairmont State University
  • Glenville State College
  • Marshall University
  • Ohio Valley University
  • Shepherd University
  • University of Charleston
  • West Virginia Northern Community College
  • West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine
  • West Virginia State University
  • West Virginia University

Further Readings


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