Wheeling, West Virginia demographics

Wheeling, WV demographics: median age 45.4; 34.1% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Wheeling city, West Virginia · Incorporated city · GEOID 5486452. The survey estimates a population of 26,350 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Wheeling is 45.4 years, with a 90% margin of error of 1.5 years. There are 12,614 households (±349). 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	45.4 ±1.5	42.7 ±0.2	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 26,350
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
Under 18	4,763 ±416	18.1% ±1.6 pp	20.0%	22.0%
18–34	5,131 ±357	19.5% ±1.3 pp	20.7%	22.8%
35–64	9,644 ±545	36.6% ±2.0 pp	38.2%	38.0%
65 and older	6,812 ±473	25.9% ±1.8 pp	21.0%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 26,350
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
Male	12,436 ±308	47.2% ±1.1 pp	49.9%	49.5%
Female	13,914 ±325	52.8% ±1.2 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: 26,350
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
White alone	23,579 ±311	89.5% ±0.9 pp	90.3%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	1,180 ±154	4.5% ±0.6 pp	3.2%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	27 ±23 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.9%
Asian alone	95 ±57 · low precision	0.4% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.8%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	0 ±24 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.0%	0.2%
Some other race alone	82 ±63 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.8%	7.1%
Two or more races	1,387 ±217	5.3% ±0.8 pp	4.9%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 26,350
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	25,982 ±217	98.6% ±0.3 pp	97.9%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	368 ±110	1.4% ±0.4 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: 12,614
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
Married-couple family	4,314 ±302	34.2% ±2.2 pp	46.8%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	536 ±155	4.2% ±1.2 pp	4.9%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	1,475 ±248	11.7% ±1.9 pp	10.9%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	5,480 ±413	43.4% ±3.0 pp	31.3%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	809 ±160	6.4% ±1.3 pp	6.1%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 12,614
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
Households with people under 18	2,917 ±273	23.1% ±2.1 pp	26.4%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	9,697 ±389	76.9% ±2.2 pp	73.6%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 12,614
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	5,480 ±413	43.4% ±3.0 pp	31.3%	28.7%
Two-person households	3,890 ±407	30.8% ±3.1 pp	36.3%	33.8%
Three-person households	1,561 ±247	12.4% ±1.9 pp	15.3%	15.3%
Four-person households	1,311 ±221	10.4% ±1.7 pp	10.5%	12.6%
Five-person households	260 ±80	2.1% ±0.6 pp	4.3%	5.9%
Six-person households	87 ±65 · low precision	0.7% ±0.5 pp · low precision	1.6%	2.2%
Seven or more people	25 ±32 · 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: 26,350
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
Native	25,784 ±245	97.9% ±0.5 pp	98.2%	85.9%
Foreign born	566 ±167	2.1% ±0.6 pp	1.8%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 25,227
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
English only	24,402 ±282	96.7% ±0.7 pp	97.5%	77.7%
Spanish	309 ±115	1.2% ±0.5 pp	1.2%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	60 ±43 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	79 ±55 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	21 ±29 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	195 ±149 · low precision	0.8% ±0.6 pp · low precision	0.3%	2.0%
Korean	17 ±28 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.0%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	21 ±21 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	1.1%
Vietnamese	5 ±9 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	22 ±27 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	14 ±21 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	1.1%
Arabic	36 ±33 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	46 ±40 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 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: 19,401
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	1,468 ±294	7.6% ±1.5 pp	10.7%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	6,236 ±546	32.1% ±2.8 pp	39.3%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	3,556 ±360	18.3% ±1.8 pp	17.5%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	1,531 ±222	7.9% ±1.1 pp	8.4%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	3,866 ±406	19.9% ±2.1 pp	14.4%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	2,744 ±312	14.1% ±1.6 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: 26,079
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
Same house	22,507 ±575	86.3% ±2.1 pp	89.7%	87.7%
Moved within same county	1,791 ±358	6.9% ±1.4 pp	5.1%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	726 ±231	2.8% ±0.9 pp	2.7%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	983 ±305	3.8% ±1.2 pp	2.4%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	72 ±57 · low precision	0.3% ±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

4.7% of Wheeling residents (±0.9 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 6.0% in West Virginia and 8.4% nationally. 84.7% 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	Wheeling	West Virginia	U.S.	Compared with West Virginia
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	4.7% ±0.9 pp	6.0%	8.4%	Lower
Households with a broadband subscription Households	84.7% ±1.9 pp	86.1%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	6.4% ±1.0 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 Wheeling . 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 Wheeling housing and cost context or return to the city profile.