County profile
McDowell County, WV
United States · GDP 2024
#2105 of 3,127 US counties by GDP58th-percentile growthmore diversified than 10% of counties
EA Place Score
——methodology in progress
GDP 2024 (USD)
$727.8M
BEA · 2024
GDP growth (YoY)
+5.1%
BEA · 2024
Jobs tracked
2,253
Census CBP · 2023
Employers
213
Census CBP · 2023
Avg. wage
$55.0k
BLS QCEW · 2023
Population
16,878
Census PEP · 2025
Labor, income & education
Unemployment
10.7%
Median HH income
$31.6k±$2.5k
Bachelor's degree+
6.8%±2.2%
Poverty rate
34.2%±6.2%
Business applications
77 · 2025
Retail establishments
47
27.3/10k pop
Public companies headquartered here
SEC EDGAR · FMPCompanySectorRevenueEA
1MCNB Banks, Inc.Financial Services$20.7M45DHQ-based placement with total (global) headcount — local employment attribution needs firmographic data; the industry mix at right is measured county data (CBP).
Industry mix · employment
Health care44%
Retail trade20%
Mining & energy16%
Transportation8%
Food & accommodation7%
Finance & insurance6%
share of top-6 sector employment · CBP 2023
Population & migration
Census PEP · 2020–2025
16,878
residents · 2025 · -10.9% since 2020
Income per capita $38.6k · BEA 2024
COMPONENTS OF CHANGE · 2021–2025
Domestic migration−976
International migration+51
Natural change−1,146
GDP trend
2019–2024 · nominal
$596.0M2019
$547.3M2020
$583.9M2021
$703.4M2022
$692.7M2023
$727.8M2024
Real estate & risk
FHFA · ACS · FEMA
Median home value
$50.0k±$4.8k
Median gross rent
$643/mo±$47/mo
Vacancy rate
30.7%±3.0%
Affordability
0.9× wages
Residential permits
$0
0 units · 0.0/1k pop
FEMA risk score
76.7
HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR):$869/mo · 2026
TOP PERILS · FEMA NRI
Landslide 95Cold wave 93Avalanche 76
RESIDENTIAL PERMITS · 2021–2025
↓ -100% since 202192021
42022
52023
72024
02025
Transport access
BTS · FAA · USACE
Nearest interstate
47.8 km
I-77
Nearest freight rail
6.9 km
NS
Nearest port
90.5 km
ELKHEM METALS CO., ALLOY DOCK
Nearest commercial airport
65.2 km
RALEIGH COUNTY MEML
Wage trend
BLS QCEW · 2019–2023$55.0k
avg. annual pay · +17% since 2019
Similar US counties
nearest by GDPNearby & same-state counties
by GDP rankThe read
What is the GDP of McDowell?
McDowell's economy produced $727.8M in 2024, growing 5.1% year over year — about the middle of the pack among US counties. Its largest employment sector is health care.
GDP: BEA (2024), USD-normalized · Jobs/employers/wages & industry mix: Census CBP (2023) · Population & migration: Census PEP · Income: BEA CAINC1 · Companies: SEC EDGAR + FMP, by HQ.