McDowell County, WV

I was reading about McDowell County, WV — which has dubious distinction as the populated county (greater then 500 persons) — with the lowest percentage of college graduates — only 5.1% of population has a bachelors degree or high.

Increasing rates of poverty in McDowell County led U.S. President John F. Kennedy to remark in a speech in May 1963:

I don’t think any American can be satisfied to find in McDowell County, in West Virginia, 20 or 25 percent of the people of that county out of work, not for 6 weeks or 12 weeks, but for a year, 2, 3, or 4 years.^[7]

While some hope for the McDowell mining economy had flourished during the energy crisis of the 1970s, in the next decade the county went from swift decline to collapse. Wildcat strikes in the Appalachian coal fields hindered producers’ ability to deliver to buyers. Non-unionized coal production in the western States provided tough competition. The county’s coal industry suffered yet again when a major source of demand, the United States steel industry, began its own decline due to competition with foreign steel makers, who employed newer and more efficient steel plants to produce high grade steel at lower prices.

**Presidential election results**
Year	Republican	Democrat
2016	74.16% 4,614	22.97% 1,429
2012	63.98% 3,959	34.08% 2,109
2008	44.82% 2,882	53.34% 3,430
2004	37.84% 2,762	61.67% 4,501
2000	32.15% 2,348	66.34% 4,845
1996	18.90% 1,550	73.00% 5,989
1992	19.80% 1,942	71.80% 7,019
1988	25.40% 2,463	74.20% 7,204
1984	33.30% 4,284	66.30% 8,546

McDowell County, the southernmost county in West Virginia, is located at 37.37°N 81.65°W. It is bordered by Tazewell County, Virginia, to the south; Buchanan County, Virginia, to the west; Mingo County to the northwest; Wyoming County to the north; and Mercer County to the east. The Appalachian Mountains determine most of the borders of the county.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 535 square miles (1,390 km2), of which 533 square miles (1,380 km2) is land and 1.4 square miles (3.6 km2) (0.3%) is water.[8] The county is roughly in the shape of a semi circle, with the border following the mountains around the county.

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1860	1,535		—
1870	1,952		27.2%
1880	3,074		57.5%
1890	7,300		137.5%
1900	18,747		156.8%
1910	47,856		155.3%
1920	68,571		43.3%
1930	90,479		31.9%
1940	94,354		4.3%
1950	98,887		4.8%
1960	71,359		−27.8%
1970	50,666		−29.0%
1980	49,899		−1.5%
1990	35,233		−29.4%
2000	27,329		−22.4%
2010	22,113		−19.1%
Est. 2015	19,835	^[9]	−10.3%