List Of Census-designated Places In West Virginia

The United States Census Bureau separates places by incorporation for statistical purposes during its decennial census. To incorporate, communities may need to meet statutory requirements made by their respective state, such as thresholds in population or specificities relative to location. Federally, the Census Bureau defines incorporated places as areas, whose boundaries do not cross state lines, that "provide governmental functions for a concentration of people", as opposed to "minor civil ivisions which generally ... provide services or administer an area without regard, necessarily, to population". Unincorporated communities, classified as census-designated places (CDPs), lack elected municipal officers and boundaries with legal status. The Bureau identified 169 CDPs in the state of West Virginia at the 2010 census.

The Municipal Code of West Virginia, which governs incorporation, requires applicant municipal corporations (places for incorporation) that cover an area more than to have a minimum of 500 inhabitants or freeholders per square mile, and those under 1 square mile to have at least 100 inhabitants or freeholders. Applicant areas must not reside within a municipality "urban in character", nor claim an area "disproportionate to its number of inhabitants". Upon approval, the state classifies municipal corporations as a Class I city, with a population of more than fifty thousand, a Class II city, with a population between ten thousand and fifty thousand, a Class III city, with a population between two thousand and ten thousand, or a Class IV town or village, with a population of less than two thousand. All municipalities can "use a common seal", defend, maintain, or institute a proceeding in court, and hold, take, purchase, or lease, as lessee, property for municipal purposes.

Of the fifty-five counties in West Virginia, Logan is home to the most CDPs, with twenty-two, followed by Fayette, with eighteen, and Raleigh, with fifteen. The largest CDP by population is Teays Valley, with 13,175 residents, while Bowden, with 9 residents over , represents the state's smallest CDP by both population and area.

Census-designated places

File:Birch River West Virginia.jpg, The Birch River, located in the town of the same name, is a tributary of the Elk River., alt=The Birch River, with trees to the left and a clearing to the right
File:HOUSE OF BOOMER SEEN FROM ACROSS KANAWHA RIVER. THEY ARE LOCATED NEAR THE UNION CARBIDE FERRO-ALLOY PLANT. TOTAL... - NARA - 557405.jpg, alt=Multicolored houses in Boomer, West Virginia, The houses of Boomer, as seen from across the Kanawha River in May 1975
File:YOUNGSTER RETURNING TO SCHOOL AFTER GOING HOME DURING RECESS TO GET AN ICE CREAM CONE. THE TOWN OF CHATTAROY, WEST... - NARA - 556454.jpg, A child returning to school with an ice cream cone in Chattaroy. Photographed as a part of the DOCUMERICA series, which aimed to "photographically document subjects of environmental concern", the image's title states that Chattaroy " adno industry" and that "most of the people urvivedon welfare, pensions, Social Security, and black lung benefits" in April 1974., alt=A child walking in Chattaroy, West Virginia
File:COAL CITY CLUB IN COAL CITY, WEST VIRGINIA, A PART OF BECKLEY ALL OF THE MEN ARE COAL MINERS. NOTE THAT SOME OF THEM... - NARA - 556612.jpg, The Coal City Club in Coal City, pictured in June 1974; some miners outside were "hunkering down", a "familiar stance to all miners who use this posture in the mine shafts which have low ceilings"., alt=A white building with 'COAL CITY CLUB' in painted in maroon. Some miners sit on benches outside; others "hunker down".
File:Bank of Glen Jean.jpg, The Bank of Glen Jean in the town of the same name was constructed in 1909., alt=A stone bank with front corners cut at forty-five degree angles
File:Otterbein United Methodist Church Green Spring WV 2014 09 10 13.JPG, alt=A white church with red doors and stained glass, Otterbein United Methodist Church in Green Spring
File:DanielFryHouse.jpg, alt=A teal house with red and gold trim, The Daniel Fry House in Middleway
File:RAND, WV., WITH MUCH OF ITS POPULATION LIVING IN POVERTY, HAS MANY UNPAVED ROADS, SUBSTANDARD HOUSES, AND JUNKED... - NARA - 551001.jpg, A DOCUMERICA image of Rand, with "much of its population living in poverty" in June 1973, alt=Three children bicycling on a dirt road in front of "substandard housing"
File:ROAD LEADING THROUGH RED JACKET, WEST VIRGINIA, NEAR LOGAN MUCH OF THE TOWN ORIGINALLY WAS OWNED BY THE ISLAND CREEK... - NARA - 556462.jpg, The Red Jacket Consolidated Coal and Coke Company constructed Red Jacket ''(pictured)'' in 1905., alt=An overhead view of a road through Red Jacket, with houses and trees to either side
File:Shenandoah Junction PO WV1.jpg, alt=A white building against a clear sky, A post office in Shenandoah Junction
File:Peerless Co Store.jpg, The Peerless Coal Company Store in Vivian was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992., alt=A two-story brick stone building

See also

* List of cities in West Virginia
* List of towns in West Virginia
* List of villages in West Virginia

Explanatory notes

References

{{Lists of CDPs by state

Census-designated places in West Virginia
Census-designated places in West Virginia, List of
West Virginia