Parkersburg, West Virginia demographics

Parkersburg, WV demographics: median age 42.2; 21.0% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Parkersburg city, West Virginia · Incorporated city · GEOID 5462140. The survey estimates a population of 29,240 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Parkersburg is 42.2 years, with a 90% margin of error of 1.7 years. There are 13,313 households (±438). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	42.2 ±1.7	42.7 ±0.2	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 29,240
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
Under 18	5,899 ±490	20.2% ±1.7 pp	20.0%	22.0%
18–34	5,603 ±458	19.2% ±1.6 pp	20.7%	22.8%
35–64	11,419 ±731	39.1% ±2.5 pp	38.2%	38.0%
65 and older	6,319 ±532	21.6% ±1.8 pp	21.0%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 29,240
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
Male	14,486 ±412	49.5% ±1.4 pp	49.9%	49.5%
Female	14,754 ±416	50.5% ±1.4 pp	50.1%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 29,240
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
White alone	27,071 ±276	92.6% ±0.9 pp	90.3%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	472 ±160	1.6% ±0.5 pp	3.2%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	38 ±30 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.9%
Asian alone	166 ±82	0.6% ±0.3 pp	0.8%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	89 ±66 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.0%	0.2%
Some other race alone	131 ±102 · low precision	0.4% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.8%	7.1%
Two or more races	1,273 ±250	4.4% ±0.9 pp	4.9%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 29,240
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	28,710 ±149	98.2% ±0.5 pp	97.9%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	530 ±144	1.8% ±0.5 pp	2.1%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 13,313
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
Married-couple family	4,720 ±351	35.5% ±2.4 pp	46.8%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	536 ±165	4.0% ±1.2 pp	4.9%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	1,864 ±229	14.0% ±1.7 pp	10.9%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	5,411 ±452	40.6% ±3.1 pp	31.3%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	782 ±215	5.9% ±1.6 pp	6.1%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 13,313
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
Households with people under 18	3,202 ±271	24.1% ±1.9 pp	26.4%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	10,111 ±469	75.9% ±2.5 pp	73.6%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 13,313
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	5,411 ±452	40.6% ±3.1 pp	31.3%	28.7%
Two-person households	4,078 ±456	30.6% ±3.3 pp	36.3%	33.8%
Three-person households	1,925 ±376	14.5% ±2.8 pp	15.3%	15.3%
Four-person households	1,126 ±219	8.5% ±1.6 pp	10.5%	12.6%
Five-person households	560 ±167	4.2% ±1.2 pp	4.3%	5.9%
Six-person households	182 ±88	1.4% ±0.7 pp	1.6%	2.2%
Seven or more people	31 ±42 · low precision	0.2% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.8%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 29,240
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
Native	28,890 ±116	98.8% ±0.4 pp	98.2%	85.9%
Foreign born	350 ±107	1.2% ±0.4 pp	1.8%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 27,760
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
English only	27,296 ±285	98.3% ±0.6 pp	97.5%	77.7%
Spanish	194 ±121 · low precision	0.7% ±0.4 pp · low precision	1.2%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	8 ±11 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	28 ±32 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	21 ±31 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	22 ±31 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.3%	2.0%
Korean	41 ±54 · low precision	0.1% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.0%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	18 ±27 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	1.1%
Vietnamese	36 ±53 · low precision	0.1% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	25 ±23 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	50 ±64 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.2%	1.1%
Arabic	6 ±10 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	15 ±19 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 21,226
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	2,746 ±387	12.9% ±1.8 pp	10.7%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	7,936 ±572	37.4% ±2.6 pp	39.3%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	4,113 ±549	19.4% ±2.6 pp	17.5%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	1,980 ±343	9.3% ±1.6 pp	8.4%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	2,977 ±322	14.0% ±1.5 pp	14.4%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	1,474 ±288	6.9% ±1.4 pp	9.7%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 28,912
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
Same house	25,565 ±671	88.4% ±2.3 pp	89.7%	87.7%
Moved within same county	2,329 ±534	8.1% ±1.8 pp	5.1%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	663 ±301	2.3% ±1.0 pp	2.7%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	301 ±156 · low precision	1.0% ±0.5 pp · low precision	2.4%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	54 ±64 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

8.6% of Parkersburg residents (±1.7 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 6.0% in West Virginia and 8.4% nationally. 86.0% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Parkersburg	West Virginia	U.S.	Compared with West Virginia
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	8.6% ±1.7 pp	6.0%	8.4%	Higher
Households with a broadband subscription Households	86.0% ±2.6 pp	86.1%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	8.1% ±1.7 pp	7.4%	6.2%	Not statistically different

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Parkersburg . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Parkersburg housing and cost context or return to the city profile.