McDowell County, West Virginia: commercial real estate data.

McDowell County

How many people live in McDowell County

• Population, American Community Survey 2020-202417,943
• Households6,467
• Average household size2.77
• Median household income$31,559
• Median age43.7
• Median gross rent$643 per month
• Median owner-occupied home value$50,000
• Home value to household income1.6 times
• Annual rent as a share of median income24.4 percent
• Adults 25 and over with a bachelor degree or higher6.8 percent
• Adults 25 and over with a graduate degree2.3 percent
• Adults 25 and over13,450
• Population under 183,266
• Share under 1818.2 percent
• Population 65 and over3,921
• Share 65 and over21.9 percent
• Working age population, 18 to 6410,756
• Civilian labor force4,097
• Unemployment rate8.2 percent
• Labor force participation, adults 18 and over27.9 percent
• Rank by population among West Virginia counties32nd of 55
• Rank by population among US county-equivalents, Puerto Rico included1993rd of 3,222

McDowell County is the 32nd largest of 55 West Virginia counties by population. A median home costs 1.6 times median household income, which is affordable by national standards. Residents 65 and over outnumber those under 18, at 21.9 percent against 18.2 percent, which points demand at health care, services and single story product rather than schools.

US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2020-2024 5-year.

McDowell County

Where are people moving to McDowell County from?

• Tax returns filed by households arriving142
• People arriving, from those returns286
• Tax returns filed by households leaving239
• Net household movement-97
• Adjusted gross income arriving$3.9 m
• Net adjusted gross income movement$-3.6 m
• Average income of an arriving household$27,261
• Average income of a leaving household$31,222
• Largest single originMercer County (23 households)
• Largest single destinationMercer County (85 households)

Households arriving report $3,961 less average income than households leaving, which drains spending power even where headcount holds up. The largest single source of arrivals is Mercer County, which is the catchment a retail or multifamily study should look at first.

US Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income county migration flows, 2021 to 2022 filing years.

McDowell County

Employment by industry in McDowell County

• Covered employment, annual average3,934
• Establishments reporting382
• Average annual pay$56,048
• Average weekly wage$1,078
• Health care and social assistance, employment467
• Health care and social assistance, average annual pay$37,014
• Retail trade, employment399
• Retail trade, average annual pay$25,990
• Administrative and support and waste management services, employment156
• Administrative and support and waste management services, average annual pay$29,339
• Accommodation and food services, employment143
• Accommodation and food services, average annual pay$22,697
• Transportation and warehousing, employment121
• Finance and insurance, employment88

Health care and social assistance is the largest private sector at 467 jobs, 11.9 percent of covered employment.

US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages.

McDowell County

Building permits in McDowell County

• Housing units authorized by permit, 20247
• Declared construction value permitted$639,331
• Single family units authorized7
• Multifamily units authorized0
• Multifamily share of units0.0 percent
• Average declared value per unit$91,333
• Units authorized per 1,000 households1.1

Single-family homes are 100.0 percent of units authorized, so the pipeline is predominantly single-family.

US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2024 annual.

McDowell County

SBA loan default and charge-off rates in McDowell County

Do SBA loans in McDowell County get paid back?

• Loans with a final outcome recorded0
• Paid in full0
• Charged off0
• Status: Cancelled1

Only 0 loans have reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published.

Compare against the national and state SBA charge-off rates, computed the same way over resolved loans only.

US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.

McDowell County

Flood risk in McDowell County

• Participation of the county's own NFIP community McDowell County, unincorporated areasParticipating, community 540114
• Communities in the county in the NFIP Community Status Book11
• Of those, participating in the NFIP11
• NFIP participation rate100.0 percent
• Communities carrying a CRS class0
• Radon levels in McDowell County, EPA zone predicted average indoor radon screening level less than 2 pCi/LZone 3

The county's own community in the status book, unincorporated McDowell County (community 540114), participates in the National Flood Insurance Program and carries no Community Rating System class, so no CRS premium discount applies there. The EPA places McDowell County in radon zone 3, a predicted average indoor radon screening level less than 2 pCi/L. The zone is a screening prediction for the county and does not substitute for a test at an address. 100.0 percent of the county's listed communities participate in the National Flood Insurance Program, per Federal Emergency Management Agency, NFIP Community Status Book (OpenFEMA), as of 2026-09-26.

Federal Emergency Management Agency, NFIP Community Status Book (OpenFEMA), as of 2026-09-26. US EPA, Map of Radon Zones, county spreadsheet, 2024-05 publication, EPA 402/A-16/001.

Feasibility studies

When a McDowell County site needs a document a lender will accept.

The same data layer behind this page is the one the studies are written from. A study for a McDowell County site starts with the figures you are reading, carrying the same source and period into the credit file.

• Population, American Community Survey 2020-202417,943
• Households6,467
• Average household size2.77
• Median household income$31,559
• Median age43.7

How a feasibility study works →

McDowell County

Cities and places in McDowell.

20 Census places lie wholly or partly in McDowell County. 19 carry enough published place level data for a page of their own and are linked. The rest are named here and not linked, because the American Community Survey and the SBA record between them do not carry enough about them to write an honest page. A place existing is itself worth knowing, so nothing in the county is left out.