About West Virginia
Nicknamed the Mountain State, West Virginia has made a sizable impact on the nation with its many firsts.
It was the first state to organize a golf club, to offer schooling to African American students, and to lay out brick streets.
It was also the first state to use a sales tax. As for its demographics, WV is the 37th largest state in the nation by population with 1.8 million residents.
A majority of the residents are white (over 95 percent) and three percent are black. Most of the state’s economic history has revolved around coal, which was discovered in 1742.
Today, the state ranks second in coal production, with about 13 percent of the U.S. total.
West Virginia has a much lower rate of crime than the rest of the nation, with lower rates of violent, property, and hate crimes than the average state.
For example, West Virginia’s rate of motor vehicle theft is half of the national average, with 1.21 vehicles stolen per 1,000 residents (the national average is 2.3).
The state also has a much lower number of law enforcement employees per capita and lower number of crimes per square mile than the national average.
