WV · 2026 Census Gazetteer

West Virginia counties by area

Official, comparable measurements for 55 counties and county equivalents.

Source fields preservedGEOID · ALAND · AWATER

County equivalents55

Combined land24,041.4 mi²

Combined water188.6 mi²

Largest by landRandolph County

Understanding West Virginia’s county areas

The land-area range runs from Hancock County at 82.6 mi² to Randolph County at 1,039.7 mi². The largest has 12.6 times the land area of the smallest and accounts for 4.3% of the combined county land in West Virginia.

The median county-equivalent land area is 419 mi², below the national median of 604.5 mi². The median describes the middle of the county size distribution; it does not describe how people or development are distributed. A state with a few very large counties can have a much smaller median than its largest entry suggests.

Where water changes the picture

Mason County has the most assigned water area, at 13.9 mi². Hancock County has the highest water share, with water making up 6.1% of its total area. Water area and water percentage answer different questions: the first measures an amount, while the second measures the mix of land and water.

Across all 55 entries, water accounts for 0.8% of the combined total area. This is calculated from the summed land and water measurements, rather than averaging county percentages, which would give each small and large county equal weight.

Compare the largest and smallest county equivalents in West Virginia to see land, water, and total area on the same scale.

These calculations use the 2026 Census county records listed below. County-equivalent boundaries vary between states; area alone does not measure population, density, or usable land. See coverage and calculation rules.

Complete area table

Sorted from largest to smallest land area.

#	County / equivalent	Land	Water	Water share
1	Randolph CountyGEOID 54083	1,039.7 mi²	0.3 mi²	0%
2	Greenbrier CountyGEOID 54025	1,019.8 mi²	4.7 mi²	0.5%
3	Pocahontas CountyGEOID 54075	940.2 mi²	1.6 mi²	0.2%
4	Kanawha CountyGEOID 54039	901.7 mi²	9.3 mi²	1%
5	Pendleton CountyGEOID 54071	696.1 mi²	2.1 mi²	0.3%
6	Fayette CountyGEOID 54019	662 mi²	6.7 mi²	1%
7	Preston CountyGEOID 54077	648.8 mi²	2.6 mi²	0.4%
8	Nicholas CountyGEOID 54067	646.8 mi²	7.5 mi²	1.1%
9	Hampshire CountyGEOID 54027	640.4 mi²	4.2 mi²	0.7%
10	Raleigh CountyGEOID 54081	605 mi²	4 mi²	0.7%
11	Hardy CountyGEOID 54031	582.3 mi²	2.2 mi²	0.4%
12	Webster CountyGEOID 54101	553.5 mi²	2.8 mi²	0.5%
13	McDowell CountyGEOID 54047	533.5 mi²	1.4 mi²	0.3%
14	Braxton CountyGEOID 54007	510.7 mi²	5.5 mi²	1.1%
15	Wayne CountyGEOID 54099	506 mi²	6.1 mi²	1.2%
16	Boone CountyGEOID 54005	502.4 mi²	1.7 mi²	0.3%
17	Wyoming CountyGEOID 54109	499.5 mi²	2.3 mi²	0.5%
18	Roane CountyGEOID 54087	483.6 mi²	0.2 mi²	0%
19	Grant CountyGEOID 54023	477.4 mi²	2.9 mi²	0.6%
20	Monroe CountyGEOID 54063	472.8 mi²	0.9 mi²	0.2%
21	Jackson CountyGEOID 54035	464.4 mi²	7.3 mi²	1.5%
22	Logan CountyGEOID 54045	452.9 mi²	1.8 mi²	0.4%
23	Ritchie CountyGEOID 54085	452 mi²	1.7 mi²	0.4%
24	Lincoln CountyGEOID 54043	437.1 mi²	1.6 mi²	0.4%
25	Mason CountyGEOID 54053	430.8 mi²	13.9 mi²	3.1%
26	Mingo CountyGEOID 54059	423.1 mi²	0.8 mi²	0.2%
27	Tucker CountyGEOID 54093	419 mi²	2.1 mi²	0.5%
28	Mercer CountyGEOID 54055	419 mi²	1.7 mi²	0.4%
29	Harrison CountyGEOID 54033	416 mi²	0.5 mi²	0.1%
30	Lewis CountyGEOID 54041	386.9 mi²	2.7 mi²	0.7%
31	Wood CountyGEOID 54107	366.5 mi²	10.3 mi²	2.7%
32	Summers CountyGEOID 54089	360.6 mi²	7.1 mi²	1.9%
33	Monongalia CountyGEOID 54061	360.1 mi²	5.8 mi²	1.6%
34	Wetzel CountyGEOID 54103	358.1 mi²	3.3 mi²	0.9%
35	Upshur CountyGEOID 54097	354.6 mi²	0.1 mi²	0%
36	Putnam CountyGEOID 54079	345.7 mi²	4.7 mi²	1.3%
37	Clay CountyGEOID 54015	342 mi²	1.9 mi²	0.5%
38	Barbour CountyGEOID 54001	341.1 mi²	1.8 mi²	0.5%
39	Gilmer CountyGEOID 54021	338.5 mi²	1.6 mi²	0.5%
40	Mineral CountyGEOID 54057	327.9 mi²	1.3 mi²	0.4%
41	Berkeley CountyGEOID 54003	321.1 mi²	0.4 mi²	0.1%
42	Doddridge CountyGEOID 54017	319.7 mi²	0.8 mi²	0.2%
43	Marion CountyGEOID 54049	308.8 mi²	2.7 mi²	0.9%
44	Marshall CountyGEOID 54051	305.4 mi²	6.7 mi²	2.2%
45	Cabell CountyGEOID 54011	281 mi²	7 mi²	2.4%
46	Calhoun CountyGEOID 54013	279.3 mi²	1.4 mi²	0.5%
47	Tyler CountyGEOID 54095	256.3 mi²	4.4 mi²	1.7%
48	Wirt CountyGEOID 54105	232.5 mi²	2.3 mi²	1%
49	Morgan CountyGEOID 54065	229.1 mi²	0.5 mi²	0.2%
50	Jefferson CountyGEOID 54037	209.3 mi²	2.4 mi²	1.1%
51	Taylor CountyGEOID 54091	172.8 mi²	2.9 mi²	1.7%
52	Pleasants CountyGEOID 54073	130.1 mi²	4.4 mi²	3.3%
53	Ohio CountyGEOID 54069	106 mi²	3.2 mi²	2.9%
54	Brooke CountyGEOID 54009	89 mi²	3.4 mi²	3.7%
55	Hancock CountyGEOID 54029	82.6 mi²	5.4 mi²	6.1%

How to read this table. Land and water areas are Census statistical measurements in square miles. Adding county rows can differ slightly from separately published state totals because of rounding and geographic treatment.