West Virginia

West Virginia is a mountainous, landlocked state located in both the Southern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. It shares borders with Pennsylvania and Maryland to the northeast, Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, and Ohio to the northwest. By area, it is the tenth-smallest state, and with a population of 1,778,373, it ranks as the twelfth-least populous. Its capital and largest city is Charleston, which has 49,055 residents.

The state joined the Union on June 20, 1863, as a free state and played a key role as a border state during the American Civil War. It broke away from Virginia and was one of only two states—along with Nevada—admitted during the war. Although some residents owned slaves, most were propertied farmers, and the new state’s constitution called for gradual abolition. The state legislature ended slavery within its borders and ratified the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery nationwide, on February 3, 1865.

West Virginia’s northern panhandle creates a tri-state area with Pennsylvania and Ohio, where cities like Wheeling, Weirton, and Morgantown lie near the Pittsburgh metropolitan region. Huntington, in the southwest, is close to Ohio and Kentucky, while Martinsburg and Harpers Ferry, in the eastern panhandle, are part of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, situated between Maryland and Virginia. The state is often grouped into several U.S. regions, including the Mid-Atlantic, the Upland South, and the Southeastern United States. It is the only state entirely within the area served by the Appalachian Regional Commission, a region commonly called "Appalachia."

West Virginia is known for its mountains and rolling hills, its historically significant coal mining and logging industries, and its political and labor history. It also attracts tourists with outdoor recreational activities such as skiing, whitewater rafting, fishing, hiking, backpacking, mountain biking, rock climbing, and hunting. From the Great Depression through the 1990s, the state leaned heavily Democratic due to its union-based political tradition. Since then, it has shifted strongly Republican and is now considered a "deep red" state at the federal level. The state consistently ranks among the lowest in the U.S. for health outcomes, life expectancy, education, and certain economic factors.