Geography
The county is bounded in the northeast by Jackson County, in the east by Kanawha County, in the south by Lincoln County, in the west by Cabell County and in the north and west by Mason County.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 908 km² (350 mi²). 897 km² (346 mi²) of it is land and 11 km² (4 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 1.19% water.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 51,589 people, 20,028 households, and 15,281 families residing in the county. The population density is 58/km² (149/mi²). There are 21,621 housing units at an average density of 24/km² (62/mi²). The racial makeup of the county is 97.97% White, 0.56% Black or African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.58% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.13% from other races, and 0.59% from two or more races. 0.51% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 20,028 households out of which 35.40% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.20% are married couples living together, 8.90% have a female householder with no husband present, and 23.70% are non-families. 20.60% of all households are made up of individuals and 7.90% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.56 and the average family size is 2.96.
In the county, the population is spread out with 25.00% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 30.40% from 25 to 44, 25.50% from 45 to 64, and 11.60% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 38 years. For every 100 females there are 96.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 93.50 males.
The median income for a household in the county is $41,892, and the median income for a family is $48,674. Males have a median income of $40,782 versus $23,532 for females. The per capita income for the county is $20,471. 9.30% of the population and 7.10% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 11.30% are under the age of 18 and 7.60% are 65 or older.
Cities and towns