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Welcome to McDowell County ...

Time Zone: McDowell County lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time.

The community of Welch is the Seat for McDowell County.

McDowell County was founded in 1858.

From the Census Estimates for 2019, <1> McDowell had a population of 17,624 people. This is a decrease of 20.24% since the last Census (which gave a population of 22,097 people in 2010).

At the time of the 2010 Census, McDowell represented 1.19% of the total population of West Virginia.

Below are some of the communities located in McDowell County:

  • Anawalt
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Anawalt is located in McDowell County (WV)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anawalt
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
  • Bradshaw
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Davy
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Davy is located in McDowell County (WV)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davy
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 324 people
  • Gary
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Gary is located in McDowell County (WV)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 759 people
  • Iaeger
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Iaeger is located in McDowell County (WV)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iaeger
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 232 people
  • Keystone
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Kimball
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Kimball is located in McDowell County (WV)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimball
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kimball <2>
  • Northfork
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • War
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • War is located in McDowell County (WV)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for War
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 659 people
  • Welch
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Welch is located in McDowell County (WV)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welch
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,575 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Welch <2>

Websites of Interest ...

Footnotes ...

<1>On a yearly basis, the US Census Bureau creates an estimate of the county's population. Keep in mind that this is an estimate and not an actual count. The last physical count was the 2010 Census and the next count will be for the 2020 Census.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.