Mason County area

Mason County, West Virginia covers 444.7 square miles: 430.8 square miles of land and 13.9 square miles of water. Its county seat is Point Pleasant. An estimated 24,707 people lived there in 2025.

Official Census measurements · GEOID 540532026 Gazetteer · retrieved September 27, 2026
Land area430.8 mi²
Water area13.9 mi²
Population (2025)24,707
People per mi²57

County outline

Generalized outline of Mason County, West Virginia
2025 Census cartographic boundary, fitted to this frame. County maps are not at a common scale. The 2026 area measurements below come from the separate Gazetteer release. Map source and limitations.

Where Mason County is located

Mason County highlighted on a map of all U.S. county equivalents. About the maps

Area breakdown

Land accounts for 96.9% of Mason County’s measured area and water for 3.1%. Its combined area converts to 1,151.8 square kilometers or approximately 284,618 acres.

Green: land · blue: water

MeasurementSquare milesSquare kilometersAcres
Land430.7681,115.684275,691.5
Water13.94836.1258,926.7
Total444.7161,151.809284,618.2

How Mason County compares

By original Census land area, Mason County ranks #25 of 55 in West Virginia and #2361 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Its land area is 1.028 times the West Virginia county-equivalent median of 419 square miles. It accounts for 1.8% of the combined county land area in the state.

See the complete West Virginia ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?

Population and density of Mason County

The Census Bureau estimates that 24,707 people lived in Mason County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #1,677 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #23 of 55 in West Virginia. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 25,453, the population has declined by 746 (−2.9%), compared with −1.5% for West Virginia as a whole.

With 430.8 square miles of land, that is 57 people per square mile (22 per km²), placing Mason County #1,425 nationally for density and #24 in West Virginia. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the West Virginia median is 45. Put another way, there are about 11 acres of land per resident.

Estimated population, 2020–2025 · line scaled to this county’s own range
July 1202020212022202320242025
Estimate25,40325,27424,93024,78824,76524,707
Change—−129−344−142−23−58

U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates. Estimates are revised each year and are not decennial census counts. Density divides the whole population by the whole county’s land area, so it describes an average, not how settlement is distributed within the county. Population sources and methods.

Cities and towns in Mason County

6 incorporated places lie at least partly in Mason County. Together they are home to 6,923 people (28%); the other 17,784 (72%) live outside any incorporated place, in unincorporated communities and rural areas.

The largest is Point Pleasant city, with 3,869 residents in the county.

Incorporated placePopulation 2025Since 2020Land mi²
Point Pleasant cityCounty seat3,869−4.7%2.416
New Haven town1,385−4.5%1.101
Mason town832−3%0.583
Hartford City town488−1.2%1.237
Henderson town220−3.5%0.418
Leon town129−5.1%0.32

Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each place inside Mason County. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer, for the whole place even where it extends into other counties. How communities are listed.

Metropolitan area

Mason County is not part of any metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area in the Office of Management and Budget’s July 2023 delineation; 1,306 other county equivalents are also outside one. These areas are built around an urban core of at least 10,000 people plus the counties tied to it by commuting, so counties outside them are generally rural.

ZIP codes

19 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Mason County; 13 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.

25082251062512325187252392524125247252532526025264252652528725502255032551525520255262554125550

ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are the Census Bureau’s approximations of USPS ZIP Code service areas, from the 2020 Census relationship files. Lighter codes have less than half of their land in this county. Post-office-box and single-address ZIP Codes have no tabulation area.

Counties bordering Mason County

Mason County shares a land border with 5 county equivalents, including 2 in Ohio. It has more land than 3 of them. The largest neighbor is Gallia County (466.5 mi²) and the smallest is Cabell County (281 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Mason County forms a block of 2,417.9 mi² of land, of which it holds 17.8%.

Map of Mason County and the 5 county equivalents that border it Gallia County, Ohio: 466.5 mi² landPutnam County, West Virginia: 345.7 mi² landMeigs County, Ohio: 429.5 mi² landJackson County, West Virginia: 464.4 mi² landCabell County, West Virginia: 281 mi² land
Mason County (dark) and its bordering county equivalents. Select a neighbor to open its profile. Drawn from the 2025 Census cartographic boundaries in an equal-area projection. How borders are determined.
Bordering county equivalentLand mi²Size vs. MasonCompare
Gallia CountyOhio466.51.1× largerCompare
Jackson County464.41.1× largerCompare
Meigs CountyOhio429.5about the sameCompare
Putnam County345.71.2× smallerCompare
Cabell County2811.5× smallerCompare

How big is Mason County compared with U.S. states?

Mason County has less land than any of the 50 states. Rhode Island, the smallest state by land area, has 1,033.9 mi², about 2.4 times as much. West Virginia’s county land could hold about 56 areas the size of Mason County.

Land area: Mason County and the closest-sized states
Mason County430.8 mi²
Rhode Island1,033.9 mi²

Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 20.8 miles (33.4 km) on each side. Real county shapes are rarely square, so this is a scale reference rather than a width or driving distance.

State figures are the sums of each state’s county-equivalent land measurements in the same Census release, so states and counties are compared on the same basis. Published state totals can differ slightly because of rounding. Compare all states · Counties bigger than entire states.

What stands out about Mason County?

Mason County has more land than 861 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.

Land area compared with the typical county equivalent
Mason County430.8 mi²
West Virginia median419 mi²
National median604.5 mi²

A median is the middle county-equivalent measurement, not the average of the largest and smallest. All three bars use the same linear scale. Very small areas may appear as a thin sliver; the labels retain their values.

Does including water change its rank?

Using land plus water places Mason County at #2,364 nationally by total area, 3 places farther from the top than its land rank. Other county equivalents gain more area when their water measurements are included.

Its water share is 3.1%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 2 percentage points higher. This describes the statistical geography’s land/water mix, not flood exposure or developable land.

Closest positions in the national land ranking

These entries sit immediately beside Mason County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.

Land rankCounty equivalentLand mi²Comparison
#2360Westchester County, New York430.8Compare
#2361Mason County, West Virginia430.8This county
#2362Lucas County, Iowa430.7Compare

Calculated from the same Census release as the area table. Total-area order uses original ALAND + AWATER; water shares and chart labels use published square miles. Calculation details.

Representative coordinates

The Census internal point is 38.770914, -82.029007. It represents a location inside the geography; it is not necessarily the centroid or the address of a courthouse.

Source and precision

U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files, Counties. Original ALAND: 1,115,683,482 m²; AWATER: 36,124,378 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.

Download the official county source ZIP ↗ · Methodology

Common questions

How big is Mason County?

Mason County, West Virginia has 430.8 square miles (1,115.7 km²) of land and 13.9 square miles of water, for a total area of 444.7 square miles. It ranks #2361 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.

Is Mason County the largest county in West Virginia?

No. Mason County ranks #25 of 55 in West Virginia by land area. The largest is Randolph County, with 1,039.7 square miles of land.

What counties border Mason County?

Mason County shares a land border with Gallia County, Ohio, Putnam County, Meigs County, Ohio, Jackson County, and Cabell County.

What is the population of Mason County?

The Census Bureau estimates Mason County had 24,707 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #1,677 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 57 people per square mile of land.

What is the county seat of Mason County?

The county seat of Mason County is Point Pleasant.

What cities and towns are in Mason County?

Mason County has 6 incorporated places. The most populous five are Point Pleasant city, New Haven town, Mason town, Hartford City town, and Henderson town; 17,784 residents live outside any incorporated place.

Is Mason County part of a metropolitan area?

No. Mason County is outside every metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area in the July 2023 OMB delineation.

How many ZIP codes are in Mason County?

19 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Mason County, and 13 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.

How does Mason County compare with U.S. states?

It has less land than every state. Rhode Island, the smallest, has 2.4 times as much land.

How many acres of land are in Mason County?

The land measurement converts to approximately 275,692 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 284,618 acres. One square mile equals 640 acres.

Why might another source show a different area?

Check whether it reports land or total area, its Census vintage, and its rounding. Our guide explains how to reconcile county area figures.

Can this establish a property boundary?

No. Statistical measurements and generalized maps do not establish property lines. Consult the relevant local surveying or land-records authority.

Cite this county

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