17,147 people (2024 Census estimate, −9.5% since 2020)
533 square miles of land · 32 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
20 active community water systems list McDowell County in the area they serve, reporting 14,631 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| WELCH CITY OF groundwater · local government · WV3302421 | 2,907 served |
| MCDOWELL COUNTY PSD BARTLEY groundwater (surface-influenced) · local government · WV3302434 | 2,242 served |
| MCDOWELL COUNTY PSD MAYBEURY groundwater · private · WV3302460 | 1,648 served |
| GARY CITY OF groundwater · local government · WV3302420 | 1,633 served |
| MCDOWELL COUNTY PSD COALWOOD groundwater · private · WV3302439 | 1,537 served |
| WAR WATER WORKS CITY REALTY groundwater · local government · WV3302472 | 1,220 served |
| MCDOWELL COUNTY PSD BERWIND groundwater (surface-influenced) · local government · WV3302435 | 692 served |
| MCDOWELL COUNTY PSD KIMBALL groundwater · private · WV3302431 | 432 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 93 people were held in McDowell County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 869 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 98.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
1 school district has its office in McDowell County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $46.7 million — $39.9 million to run schools, about $15,711 per student, plus $5.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $11.8 million local (mostly property tax), $21.5 million state, $5.9 million federal.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost McDowell County about $20.5 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very Low; social vulnerability: Very High.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
224 bridges in McDowell County: 16 in good condition, 145 fair, and 63 poor (28.1%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| US 52 over SPICE CREEK · built 1933 | 3,200 vehicles a day |
| COUNTY ROUTE 12/4 over WAR CREEK · built 2004 | 2,200 vehicles a day |
| WV 16 over DRY FORK · built 1993 | 1,200 vehicles a day |
| WV 16 over BROWNS CREEK · built 1999 | 1,200 vehicles a day |
| WV 83 over DRY FORK · built 1979 | 1,100 vehicles a day |
| WV 83 over BARRENSHE CREEK · built 1968 | 1,100 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $13.1 million of work in McDowell County in fiscal 2025, about $687 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for West Virginia are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for McDowell County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have McDowell County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of West Virginia: the state government and every county in West Virginia.
Nearby counties: Wyoming County (16 mi) · Tazewell County, VA (19 mi) · Buchanan County, VA (22 mi) · Mercer County (30 mi) · Raleigh County (34 mi) · Bland County, VA (34 mi).