| Only 32 of West Virginiaâs 232 incorporated cities and towns experienced population increases from 2010 to 2018, according to estimates released this month by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Furthermore, there is critical concern that the 2020 census will be able to accurately count citizens, which results in downgrades of government assistance to those counties and the state.
Hanging in the balance is more than $7 billion in federal funding, which relies on census data to determine the amount of funds given to states, counties and cities.
The Census Bureau says in Calhoun there is an estimated 5% population decline by 2018, a census of 7,254, dropping from the 2010 census of 7,627.
Grantsville, the county seat, had a population of 561 in 2010, with an estimated population of 527 in 2018.
Despite being the stateâs two most populated cities, Charleston and Huntington recorded losing residents for an eighth-straight year, a reflection of the state becoming one of the fastest-shrinking in the nation relative to population size.
Only a handful of municipalities saw gains above average and a majority experienced only modest increases or increases of fewer than a dozen people.
According to estimates, West Virginia ended 2010 with 1.85 million people. That number dropped to approximately 1.8 million people by 2018, a difference of nearly 48,300 people.
Several factors have contributed to the stateâs overall dwindling population, including more people moving out of the state than have moved in.
With an overall aging population and one of the highest death rates and lowest birth rates in the nation, West Virginia is on track to experience significant population declines for the next decade and onward.
The agency recently released estimates of cities and towns in line with similar projections released in April showing 50 of West Virginiaâs 55 counties lost population between 2017 and 2018.
Among those were Kanawha and Cabell counties, which ranked among the counties with the most population loss during that time frame.
According to recent estimates, Charleston ended 2010 with an estimated 51,272 people. That decreased to 47,215 people by 2018, a 9 percent decrease in population.
Huntington started the decade with an estimated 49,153 people. That fell to 46,048 people by 2018, a 6 percent decrease in population.
Morgantown was one of only a dozen cities and towns that saw a change of more than 5 percent from 2010 to 2018. Morgantown ended 2010 with an estimated 28,478 people. That climbed to 30,955 people by 2018, an increase of 2,477.
The town of Granville, also in Monongalia County, experienced the single-largest percent change in population out of all the other state municipalities. Granville ended 2010 with approximately 786 people and increased to approximately 2,590 last year, a 229 percent change.
Granville was joined by four other cities and towns reporting double-digit percent changes from 2010 to 2018. Those were: Ranson in Jefferson County, increasing from 4,413 to 5,182 people (a 17 percent change); Charles Town in Jefferson County, increasing from 5,275 to 6,064 people (a 14 percent change); Philippi in Barbour County, increasing from 2,966 to 3,352 people (a 13 percent change); and Star City in Monongalia County, increasing from 1,773 to 1,976 people (an 11 percent change).
Five cities and towns, all within McDowell County, experienced the stateâs steepest percent changes. Those include: Welch, decreasing from 2,396 to 1,715 people (a 28 percent change); Kimball, decreasing from 194 to 159 people (an 18 percent change); Norfolk, decreasing from 427 to 351 people (a 17 percent change); Keystone, decreasing from 282 to 232 people (a 17 percent change); and War, decreasing from 853 to 705 people (a 17 percent change).
Heading into the 2020 census, one of West Virginiaâs seats in Congress is threatened. Significant population changes determine which states will gain or lose representation following a census count. West Virginia needed to gain more than 20,000 people within the past decade to hold onto one of its three congressional districts. That is now unlikely, in light of recent census estimates.
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