Demographics of Beckley city, West Virginia

Beckley city, West Virginia had 16,373 people on July 1, 2025, by the Census Bureau’s estimate: −843 since July 2020. Age, income, poverty, housing and origin below come from the survey, averaged over 2020–2024, each with its margin of error.

Beckley city, in four figures

16,373
Population: July 1, 2025, Vintage 2025 estimate. The survey’s 2020–⁠2024 figure is 16,818 ±27.; −4.9%
Change since July 2020: −843 people.; 42.3 ±3.3
Median age: ACS 2020–⁠2024.; $45,826 ±$8,661
Median household income: ACS 2020–⁠2024, in 2024 dollars.

Population, year by year

July 1 estimates from the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025. The Bureau publishes no births, deaths or migration for a place, so the change is the difference between one July estimate and the next.

Beckley city, West Virginia's population shrank 4.9% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally

The July 1 estimate of Beckley city, West Virginia's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).

Source: The Census Bureau

About this chart

The figures

Beckley city, West Virginia's population shrank 4.9% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally. The July 1 estimate of Beckley city, West Virginia's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).
July 1	Population	Index	United States
2020	17,216	100.0	100.0
2021	17,032	98.9	100.2
2022	16,755	97.3	100.7
2023	16,635	96.6	101.6
2024	16,511	95.9	102.5
2025	16,373	95.1	103.1

Population of Beckley city, West Virginia on July 1 of each year, Vintage 2025
July 1	Population	Change
2020	17,216	—
2021	17,032	−184
2022	16,755	−277
2023	16,635	−120
2024	16,511	−124
2025	16,373	−138

Age, 2020–2024

The median age is 42.3 ±3.3: for men 35.5 ±4.1 and for women 43.9 ±2.7. Shares are of everyone the survey counts, in the Bureau’s sex-by-age table (B01001).

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People in Beckley city by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	People	Share	West Virginia	United States
Under 5	1,205 ±330	7.2% ±2.0	5.0% ±<0.1	5.6% ±<0.1
5 to 17	2,737 ±447	16.3% ±2.7	15.1% ±0.2	16.3% ±<0.1
18 to 24	1,650 ±340	9.8% ±2.0	8.8% ±0.1	9.1% ±<0.1
25 to 44	3,649 ±483	21.7% ±2.9	23.9% ±0.2	26.9% ±<0.1
45 to 64	4,020 ±512	23.9% ±3.0	26.2% ±0.2	24.8% ±<0.1
65 and over	3,557 ±449	21.1% ±2.7	21.0% ±0.2	17.2% ±<0.1

Income and poverty, 2020–2024

Median household income is $45,826 ±$8,661, and income per person $31,431 ±$3,813, in 2024 dollars. The median is $59,608 ±$691 in West Virginia and $80,734 ±$166 in the United States.

Households by income

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Households in Beckley city by income, ACS 2020–2024
Household income	Households	Share	West Virginia	United States
Under $25,000	2,228 ±446	31.6% ±6.1	21.1% ±0.4	14.6% ±<0.1
$25,000 to $49,999	1,489 ±304	21.1% ±4.2	21.6% ±0.4	16.7% ±<0.1
$50,000 to $74,999	954 ±244	13.5% ±3.4	17.3% ±0.4	15.5% ±<0.1
$75,000 to $99,999	668 ±213	9.5% ±3.0	12.7% ±0.4	12.6% ±<0.1
$100,000 to $149,999	983 ±263	13.9% ±3.7	15.1% ±0.4	17.5% ±<0.1
$150,000 to $199,999	425 ±175	6.0% ±2.5	6.3% ±0.2	9.6% ±<0.1
$200,000 or more	303 ±120	4.3% ±1.7	5.9% ±0.2	13.4% ±0.1

Poverty by age

The poverty rate is the share of people whose family income is below the federal threshold for their family’s size, of everyone for whom the Bureau determines it (B17020).

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Poverty rate in Beckley city by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	Below poverty	Rate	West Virginia	United States
All ages	4,630 ±933	28.9% ±5.8	16.7% ±0.4	12.5% ±0.1
Under 18	1,483 ±446	39.9% ±9.9	21.5% ±0.7	16.1% ±0.1
18 to 59	2,499 ±508	31.1% ±5.6	17.0% ±0.4	11.6% ±0.1
60 and over	648 ±232	15.3% ±5.1	12.8% ±0.4	11.0% ±<0.1

Housing, 2020–2024

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Housing in Beckley city, ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Beckley city	West Virginia	United States
Housing units	8,628 ±410	861,325 ±394	143,775,355 ±10,234
Occupied	81.7% ±2.0	84.6% ±0.4	89.9% ±0.1
Vacant	18.3% ±3.0	15.4% ±0.4	10.1% ±0.1
Owner occupied	55.4% ±4.9	74.9% ±0.3	65.2% ±0.3
Renter occupied	44.6% ±4.7	25.1% ±0.3	34.8% ±0.1
Median home value	$158,000 ±$12,759	$162,600 ±$1,346	$332,700 ±$236
Median gross rent	$869 ±$72	$872 ±$8	$1,413 ±$2
Median year built	1960 ±5	1976 ±1	1980 ±1

Occupied and vacant are shares of all housing units; owner and renter occupied are shares of occupied units. Value and rent are medians in 2024 dollars.

Origin and place of birth, 2020–2024

Hispanic or Latino origin is not a race in the Census Bureau’s tables. Here the people of Hispanic origin, of any race, are one row, and everyone else is counted by race alone (B03002), so the rows add to the whole.

Hispanic origin and race

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People in Beckley city by Hispanic origin and race, ACS 2020–2024
Origin	People	Share	West Virginia	United States
Hispanic or Latino	600 ±230	3.6% ±1.4	2.1% ±<0.1	19.3% ±<0.1
White alone, not Hispanic	11,881 ±582	70.6% ±3.5	89.7% ±0.1	57.4% ±<0.1
Black alone, not Hispanic	2,767 ±477	16.5% ±2.8	3.1% ±0.1	11.9% ±<0.1
Asian alone, not Hispanic	446 ±125	2.7% ±0.7	0.8% ±<0.1	5.9% ±<0.1
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic	0 to 8	0% to < 0.1%	0.1% ±<0.1	0.5% ±<0.1
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic	0 to 60	0% to 0.4%	< 0.1%	0.2% ±<0.1
Some other race alone, not Hispanic	0 to 56	0% to 0.3%	0.3% ±0.1	0.6% ±<0.1
Two or more races, not Hispanic	1,075 ±402	6.4% ±2.4	3.9% ±0.1	4.3% ±<0.1

A range (the estimate less and plus its margin) where the Bureau's estimate is too uncertain to state as one number: a coefficient of variation over 30%.

Place of birth and citizenship

“Born a citizen outside the states” counts people born in Puerto Rico, the island areas, or abroad to American parents. Naturalized citizens and those who are not citizens together make up the people born abroad (B05002).

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People in Beckley city by place of birth and citizenship, ACS 2020–2024
Born	People	Share	West Virginia	United States
Born in the state	11,153 ±643	66.3% ±3.8	67.4% ±0.3	57.3% ±<0.1
Born in another state	5,033 ±611	29.9% ±3.6	30.2% ±0.3	26.9% ±<0.1
Born a citizen outside the states	31 to 209	0.2% to 1.2%	0.5% ±<0.1	1.7% ±<0.1
Born abroad	512 ±163	3.0% ±1.0	1.8% ±0.1	14.1% ±<0.1
Naturalized citizens	375 ±150	2.2% ±0.9	1.0% ±0.1	7.4% ±<0.1
Not citizens	66 to 208	0.4% to 1.2%	0.8% ±0.1	6.8% ±<0.1

A range (the estimate less and plus its margin) where the Bureau's estimate is too uncertain to state as one number: a coefficient of variation over 30%.

Beckley city among the places of West Virginia

9th of 31 places of 5,000 or more by the survey’s 2020–2024 count. Every one is listed on the West Virginia page.

Places of West Virginia near Beckley city in population, ACS 2020–2024
Place	ACS 2020–⁠2024
Parkersburg city	29,240 ±33
Wheeling city	26,350 ±207
Martinsburg city	18,904 ±31
Weirton city	18,647 ±41
Fairmont city	18,221 ±35
Beckley city	16,818 ±27
Clarksburg city	15,549 ±31
Teays Valley CDP	14,151 ±904
South Charleston city	13,457 ±28
Cheat Lake CDP	10,902 ±787
St. Albans city	10,522 ±23

Rankings this appears in

Sources

Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns — U.S. Census Bureau · U.S. Government work · retrieved September 25, 2026
American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File · U.S. Government work

Compiled automatically from Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns and American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File by a checked SQL query · Editor: Kian O'Connor · How this site is built

Data retrieved September 25, 2026