Profile for Charleston, West Virginia, WV

Charleston is at the junction of the Elk and Kanawha rivers.

Former and merged names include:
· Charles Town
· Fort Lee
· Kanawha Court House

Once a salt-producing center; chemical manufacturing became an important industry in the 1920s.

Public transportation: Kanawha Valley Regional Transportation Authority (See the transit and travel sections below.)

Ranked top home town in the state, February 2001 in the ePodunk Home Towns Index

Well-known residents have included:
· Ann Magnuson, actress
· Tony Brown, TV host and producer
· Daniel Boone, frontiersman

Coffee: National and regional coffee companies with outlets here include Starbucks

Local festivals include:

• Charleston Festival - June 21-24, 2007
• Vandalia Gathering - May 25-27, 2007
• Sternwheel Regatta - Aug. 30-Sept. 2, 2007
• Multifest - Aug. 3-5, 2007
• Ribfest - July 26-29, 2007
• West Virginia Book Festival - Oct. 13-14, 2007
• Kanawha County Fair - Sept. 21-23, 2007

Performing arts: West Virginia Symphony Orchestra

Nearby parks & recreation: Kanawha State Forest, Coonskin Park

Sports teams: West Virginia Power (minor league baseball)

Historic sites and museums: West Virginia State Museum, Sunrise Museum, South Charleston Indian Burial Mound

Colleges and universities: University of Charleston

Support for libraries: Local government funding for the local library system, in fiscal years 2001-2002, was on par with the national average. (See library links below.)

Gays & lesbians
National index: 100
Local index: 107

Listed places near Charleston

Airports (1)

Archives (2)

Cemeteries (37)

Colleges (1)

Communities (3)

Hotels (18)

Libraries (6)

Museums (2)

Add extra pins to the map by clicking on the list above the map. You may click the displayed pins for more information, or search the displayed pins by using the above search field.

• Charleston population
• Ancestry of people in Charleston
• Housing in Charleston
• Income in Charleston
• Marital status of adults in Charleston
• Place of birth of people in Charleston
• Residence in 1995, of people in Charleston
• School enrollment & education levels in Charleston
• Transportation & commute times in Charleston
• Kanawha County data
• Fastest-growing counties in West Virginia
• State data - West Virginia
• Data by street address
• Historical census records (Ancestry.com)

Sections below provide additional information and links about Charleston demographics, travel and tourism, nearby airports, cemeteries, the Kanawha County economy, education, environment, genealogy, government, historic sites, Charleston area jobs, libraries, maps, museums, newspapers and other media, nonprofit groups, real estate, recreation, religion, transportation, and weather in the 25301 ZIP code.

(Also see local map below.)

• Charleston city government
• Charleston business alliance
• Charleston tourism

14% of Charleston residents report German ancestry, and 12% report Irish. For more info on local ancestry groups, see the Charleston ancestry & family history guide.

• Cemeteries in or near Charleston
• Cemeteries in Kanawha County
• Libraries in or near Charleston

Post a query on a message board:

• Kanawha County Ancestry forum
• GenForum

Records & databases:

• Ancestry.com - WV data
• Birth, marriage & death records
• Cemetery records
• County history catalog
• Census records (historic)
• Court, land & probate records
• Death index
• Family & local history
• Immigration records
• Military records (historic)
• Newspaper articles

Music

• West Virginia Symphony Orchestra

• Charleston area attractions
• Charleston museums
• Charleston historic sites
• Charleston area parks

• Add a local cemetery to our listings
• Charleston area cemeteries
• Cemeteries in Kanawha County
• Cemetery record compendium
• West Virginia cemetery message boards
• National database of cemetery records
• Veteran grave locator

• Communities near Charleston
• Nearby cities of 10,000 or more
• Nearby cities of 50,000 or more
• Communities in Kanawha County

• Charleston business guide
• Better Business Bureau
• Business licenses
• Corporate records search

• Courts in West Virginia
• Local ordinances in West Virginia (Partial selection)

• Crime in Kanawha County
• Arrests in Kanawha County

• Obituaries - search nearby newspapers
• Obituary database - Ancestry.com
• Charitable donations

• Local information on disability access
• Americans with Disabilities Act
• Independent living centers in West Virginia
• National Council on Independent Living

At the time of the 2000 census, the per capita income in Charleston was $26,017, compared with $21,587 nationally.

• Banks
• Building permits
• Current labor force
• Wage estimates
• Kanawha County economic census
• Kanawha County economic summary
• Kanawha County employment growth
• Kanawha County unemployment rate
• West Virginia economic data

33% of Charleston residents age 25 and older have a bachelor's or advanced college degree.

• Colleges in or near Charleston
• Colleges in West Virginia
• Learning Disabilities Association in West Virginia
• Schools in or near Charleston
• School districts in or near Charleston
• School report cards
• Yearbooks (old) of West Virginia high schools

• Movies playing in or near Charleston
• Tickets to local concerts, sporting events & theaters
• YouTube videos about Charleston

• Air pollution in Kanawha County
• Diesel soot in Kanawha County
• Land contamination in Kanawha County
• Nature Conservancy projects in West Virginia
• Ozone status & air pollution - American Lung Association
• Toxic chemical releases in Kanawha County
• Water levels & streamflow conditions in West Virginia

Charleston festival dates:

• Charleston Festival - June 21-24, 2007
• Vandalia Gathering - May 25-27, 2007
• Sternwheel Regatta - Aug. 30-Sept. 2, 2007
• Multifest - Aug. 3-5, 2007
• Ribfest - July 26-29, 2007
• West Virginia Book Festival - Oct. 13-14, 2007
• Kanawha County Fair - Sept. 21-23, 2007

Dates often change. Check with local tourism officials to be sure.

Charleston festival web sites:

• Festivall Charleston
• Sternwheel Regatta
• Vandalia Gathering

• ePodunk festival listings
• West Virginia county fairs
• West Virginia festivals (West Virginia tourism department)
• Send us festival info for Charleston

• Confluence of latitude & longitude near Charleston
• Geocaches in West Virginia

• Charleston items now on sale

• Charleston local government Web site
• Kanawha County government
• West Virginia state government
• Driver's licenses
• Motor vehicles
• Passports
• Social Security
• Veterans affairs
• Where to write for birth, death, marriage or divorce records

• Ancestry & family history
• Business
• Demographics
• Health
• Moving
• Nonprofit resources
• Sports & rec
• Travel

• Charleston medical services & health statistics

Historic districts in Charleston include Charleston Downtown Historic District, East End Historic District, Edgewood Historic District, Grosscup Road Historic District, Spring Hill Cemetery Historic District, West Virginia Capitol Complex ... View historic districts

• Historic sites in or near Charleston
• Historic sites in West Virginia
• Museums in or near Charleston
• Museums in West Virginia
• West Virginia state archives
• National Historic Landmark search
• Search the Library of Congress
• Search the National Register for historic properties
• Post history questions in Kanawha County genealogy forum

Median rent in Charleston, at the time of the 2000 Census, was $355.   Monthly homeowner costs, for people with mortgages, were $910.

• Research Charleston Apartments
• Find Foreclosure in Charleston
• Homes for sale in the Charleston area
• Find a Charleston Realtor
• Get free moving quotes
• Free home valuation
• Check West Virginia mortgage rates
• Property and neighborhood reports
• Mortgage calculator

• Jobs in the Charleston area
• Job services in West Virginia
• Minimum wage laws by state

Libraries in Charleston include Cross Lanes, Elk Valley, Kanawha County, West Virginia Library Commission ... View libraries

• West Virginia library

• Get directions from Charleston
• Get directions to Charleston
• Census map of Charleston area
• Historic maps of WV cities - Library of Congress
• Historic maps of West Virginia
• Topographic map of Charleston

Newspapers in Charleston include Charleston Daily Mail, Charleston Gazette

TV stations in Charleston include WCHS, WLPX, WVAH.

National Public Radio programming is carried locally by WVPN.

• Daily newspapers in or near Charleston
• AM radio stations in or near Charleston
• Commercial FM radio stations in or near Charleston
• Public & educational radio stations in or near Charleston
• TV stations in or near Charleston
• Media ownership in the Charleston area
• Search historic newspaper articles
• Search recent news archives in West Virginia

• American Legion post locator
• Veterans of Foreign Wars post locator

• Check daily newspapers in or near Charleston
• Search obituaries in West Virginia
• Recent death notices - selected WV newspapers

• Chambers of commerce in West Virginia
• Community foundations (by state)
• Foundations (by name)
• Kiwanis clubs in West Virginia
• Lions clubs in West Virginia
• Nonprofit groups
• Nonprofit guide for Charleston
• Rotary club search
• Volunteer opportunities in or near Charleston

• Parks near Charleston
• National forests in West Virginia
• State parks in West Virginia

• Find friends & family
• Photos of people from Charleston

• Find a local animal shelter
• Report animal cruelty

• Aerial photo of Charleston
• Historic photos of U.S. cities
• Panoramic photos of West Virginia communities
• Photos of West Virginia places
• Post cards of West Virginia communities

Kanawha County supported George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election. For more information, see our Charleston political report.

• West Virginia Democratic party
• West Virginia Republican party
• West Virginia elections board

• ZIP codes (by street address)
• ZIP codes (by city)
• ZIP code reverse lookup (find cities in a ZIP code)

• Churches, other places of worship in or near Charleston
• Total membership by faith, in Kanawha County

• Chowhound message boards for WV

The average commute time for Charleston workers is 16 minutes, compared with 26 minutes nationwide.

A total of 12 fatal motor vehicle accidents occurred in Charleston between 2001 and 2003, according to reports gathered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

This is a rate of 2.2 fatal crashes per 10,000 population, which was lower than the national norm.

• Charleston travel guide
• Airports near Charleston
• Amtrak station in Charleston
• Hotels near Charleston
• West Virginia tourism bureau

• Monthly averages & records
• Major storms (searchable by county)
• National weather map

• Audubon centers
• Birding spots in West Virginia
• Wildlife refuges in West Virginia

Browse list of West Virginia community profiles