West Virginia
| Summary Demographic State Data (and Source) | |
|---|---|
| Population (2008 CB est.): | 1,814,468 |
| Population (2000 Census): | 1,808,344 |
| Foreign-Born Population (2008 FAIR est.): | 24,790 |
| Foreign-Born Population : | 19,390 |
| Share Foreign-Born (2008 FAIR est.): | 1.4% |
| Share Foreign-Born (2000): | 1.1% |
| Immigrant Stock (2000 CB est.) | 47,000 |
| Share Immigrant Stock (2000 est.) | 2.6% |
| Naturalized U.S. Citizens (2006 CB est.) | 10,764 |
| Share Naturalized | 49.0% |
| Legal Immigrant Admission | 5,808 |
| Refugee Admission | 44 |
| Illegal Alien Population (2008 FAIR est.) | 5,000 |
| Projected 2050 Population - (2006 FAIR): | 1,880,541 |
West Virginia : Extended Immigration Data
STATE POPULATION
Using the Current Population Survey, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that in July 2008 West Virginia’s population had increased to 1,814,468 residents, i.e., an annual average increase of about 740 residents since 2000. That is a negligible rate of increase.
Net International Migration (NIM)
Based on the Current Population Survey, the Census Bureau estimated that between the 2000 Census and July 2008 the state’s population increased by about 4,345 residents from net international migration (more foreign-born arriving than leaving). That was an annual average increase of about 525 residents, i.e., a large majority (70.9%) of the total population increase (not including the children born to the immigrants after their arrival in the United States).
The 2000 Census found 1,808,344 persons resident in West Virginia. This was an increase of 14,867 persons above the 1990 Census. The rate of increase (0.8%) was much lower than the national average of 9.9 percent population increase.
The 2000 population is about 33,000 more persons than the Census Bureau had expected to find in the state in 2000 when it issued its most recent state population projections in 1996. The significance of this is that the Census Bureau has concluded that much of the shortfall in their population estimates during the 1990s was due to an underestimation of the illegal alien population.
West Virginia had the 50th highest rate of population increase in the country between 1960-2000.
The population of West Virginia decreased by eight percent from 1980 to 1990 (from 1,950,186 to 1,793,477 residents).
FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION
Based on the American Community Survey (ACS), the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the foreign-born population of West Virginia was 23,440 persons in 2006. The ACS is a large-scale, continuous sampling process designed to replace the need for a long-form in the 2010 Census. However, because the ACS does not have the same follow-up procedures as the Census to include non-respondents, it may underestimate the foreign-born population.
FAIR estimates that the foreign-born population of West Virginia was about 24,790 residents in July 2008. This meant a foreign-born population share of 1.4 percent. The amount of change since the 2000 Census indicates an average annual rate of increase in the foreign-born population of about 650 people, which is more than four-fifths (88.2%) of the state’s annual average population increase. Since 2000, the foreign-born population has increased by 27.8 percent compared to no change in the native-born population.
Immigration also contributes to population growth through the children born to immigrants in this country. Nationally the share of births to the foreign-born is about double their share of the population. A 2.8 percent share of the state’s current births is large enough to account for about 565 births a year. Combining the increase in the foreign-born population and estimated immigrant births suggests that immigration may account for nearly 1,215 persons added to the state’s population annually, i.e., more than the total (164.7%) of the state’s overall population increase.
West Virginia ranked 1st nationally in the rate of foreign-born change between 1970-2005.
The 2000 Census found that 35.7 percent of West Virginia's foreign-born population had arrived in the state since 1990. This was a lower share than the national average (43.7%).
An indicator of the change in the immigrant population may be seen in data on the share of the population that speaks a language other than English at home. Between 1990 and 2000 the share of non-English speakers at home in West Virginia decreased slightly, from 2.6 percent to 2.3 percent. Less than one-third (29.5%) of those who said they spoke a language other than English at home in 2000 also said they spoke English less than very well.
| Speakers of Foreign Languages (at home in West Virginia in the 2000 Census) | |
| Spanish | 17,650 |
| French | 5,690 |
| German | 5,040 |
| Italian | 2,815 |
| Arabic | 1,565 |
| Chinese | 1,495 |
| Japanese | 1,135 |
| Tagalog | 970 |
| Greek | 910 |
| Polish | 765 |
| (Source: Census Bureau report: Language Spoken at Home for the Population 5 Years and Over, April 2004) | |
The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey found that in 2006, the foreign born population was 193,789 residents, an increase of 29.2 percent since 2000. In comparison, the foreign-born population changed from 322,144 to 614,457 residents between 1990 and 2000, an increase of 90.7 percent.
The ten countries below constituted 66.7 of the foreign-born population in West Virginia in 2006. Of the total foreign-born population, approximately one quarter (26.3%) was from Mexico.
| Foreign-Born Change Since 1990: Top Ten Countries 1990-2006 | ||||||||
| Rank | Country | 1990 | Country | 2000 | Country | 2006 | ||
| 1 | Italy | 1,608 | Germany | 1,728 | Mexico | 209,998 | ||
| 2 | United Kingdom | 1,581 | India | 1,685 | Philippines | 54,577 | ||
| 3 | Germany | 1,548 | United Kingdom | 1,528 | Vietnam | 49,084 | ||
| 4 | India | 1,184 | Philippines | 1,335 | Canada | 47,561 | ||
| 5 | Philippines | 945 | China | 1,172 | Korea | 43,752; | ||
| 6 | Canada | 916 | Canada | 1,074 | China | 38,611 | ||
| 7 | Japan | 587 | Mexico | 1,028 | India | 30,941 | ||
| 8 | China | 523 | Italy | 956 | Germany | 18,974 | ||
| 9 | Korea | 461 | Korea | 846 | Japan | 18,011 | ||
| 10 | Lebanon | 348 | Japan | 826 | Russia | 17,566 | ||
| All Others | 6,011 | All Others | 7,212 | All Others | 264,714 | |||
| Total | 15,712 | Total | 19,390 | Total | 529,075 | |||
THE IMMIGRANT STOCK
The Census Bureau estimated that there were about 47,000 people in West Virginia in 2000 who were "immigrant stock." That is a term that refers to immigrants and their children born here after their arrival. Based on that estimate, and the population of 1,808,344, the immigrant stock share of the state's population was 2.6 percent.
As the graph below shows, the amount of West Virginia's population change due to the increase in the foreign stock is rising rapidly. Over the past 34 years the new immigrants and children born to them have added about 25,200 people to the population. Over this period, the increase in the foreign stock has accounted for 35.2 percent of the state’s population increase.
NATURALIZATION
Data from the 2006 American Community Survey indicate that 10,764 residents, or 49.0 percent, of the foreign-born population in West Virginia were citizens, compared to 10,446 residents, or 53.9 percent, in 2000.
Nationally, 40.3 percent of the foreign-born population was citizens in 2000 and 42.0 percent were citizens in 2006.
REFUGEE SETTLEMENT
West Virginia has received 44 refugees over the most recent ten fiscal years (FY'97-'06), with none arriving in FY’06..
Under the Office of Refugee Resettlement's (HHS/ORR) assistance funding for FY'02, $75,000 is available for refugee employment training and other services programs in West Virginia based on a three-year refugee settlement program covering about 25 refugees. This allocation does not include a larger share (55%) of funding programs for communities heavily affected by recent Cuban and Haitian entrants, communities with refugees whose cultural differences make assimilation especially difficult, communities impacted by federal welfare reform changes, educational support to schools with significant refugee students, and discretionary grants. ORR grants for FY’05 and FY’06 respectively were $82,945 and $110,522
LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY STUDENTS
Data are not available nationally on immigrant students (either legally or illegally resident in the United States) who are enrolled in primary and secondary schools (K-12). However, many of these students are enrolled in Limited English Proficiency/English Language Learning (LEP/ELL) instruction programs. Many may be U.S.-born, but the majority of these students may be assumed to be either immigrants or the children of immigrants, with the exception being areas with native Americans who speak a native language other than English.
In West Virgina, overall enrollment in 2002 (281,400) was 5.1 percent below enrollment in 1993. By contrast, LEP enrollment (1,139 - 0.4% of all enrollment) was 78.5 percent higher than a decade earlier.
Data on enrollment in LEP/ELL programs are collected by the federal government from school systems that receive Title VII funds for these special instruction programs. The data on LEP/ELL enrollment are understated because data from private schools that do not apply for Title VII assistance are sketchy.
FOREIGN STUDENTS
The 2006/07 annual report of the Institute of International Education (IIE) lists the number of foreign students attending post-secondary school in West Virginia as 2,531. One school in West Virginia is listed as having a major concentration of these students: West Virginia University-Morgantown had enrollment of 1,413 foreign students, 5.2% of total enrollment. Below, a chart illustrates the sharp increase of foreign students attending school in West Virginia from 1960-2000.
For information on foreign student issues see: Foreign Students in the United States.
ILLEGAL ALIENS
FAIR Estimate — FAIR estimates the state’s illegal alien population as of 2008 is as many as 5,000 persons. This is part of an overall estimate of the U.S. illegal alien population of about 13 million persons.
The INS estimate of the illegal alien population released in February 2003 listed West Virginia as having an illegal alien population of less than 2,500 residents. This compares with the previous INS estimate of 2,000 illegal aliens as of October 1996, a 25 percent increase over its previous estimate for October 1992.
According to the Charleston office of the INS, West Virginia has a growing problem with illegal aliens. Apprehensions of illegal aliens are up to 205 for the first nine months of the fiscal year compared to 168 for the previous full year. (Source: Associated Press, August 4, 2000).
COSTS OF ILLEGAL ALIENS
Incarceration Costs — West Virginia has received partial compensation under the federal State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) that was established in 1994 to compensate the states and local jurisdictions for incarceration of "undocumented," aliens who are serving time for a felony conviction or at least two misdemeanors.
The recent SCAAP amounts that West Virginia has received were:
| FY’99 | — | $24,171 |
| FY’00 | — | $17,644 |
| FY’01 | — | $9,343 |
| FY’02 | — | $16,809 |
| FY’03 | — | $5,607 |
| FY’04 | — | $5,824 |
The amount of SCAAP awards has been declining in both total distributions and even more as a share of the state’s expenses. In FY’99 the state received 38.6% of its costs for 4 prisoner years of detention. By FY’02, the state’s reported illegal alien detention more than doubled to 11 prisoner years, while compensation fell by 31 percent.
Medical Costs — Under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, hospitals with emergency rooms are required to treat and stabilize patients with emergency medical needs regardless whether or not they are in the country legally or whether they are able to pay for the treatment. Congress in 2003 enacted an appropriation of $250 million per year (for 4 years) to help offset some of the costs due to use of this service by illegal aliens. This amount has been allocated among the states based upon estimates of the illegal alien population and data on the apprehension of illegal aliens in each state. This amount compensates only a fraction of the medical outlays. For West Virginia, the proposed payment in fiscal year 2004 is $23,847.
Educational Costs — In our study Breaking the Piggy Bank: How Illegal Immigration is Sending Schools into the Red, we estimated based on 2004 data that educational expenditures for illegal immigration were costing the taxpayers in West Virginia and seven other states $29.8 million dollars annually. This cost was partially for educating students who were themselves illegally in the country ($12.4 million) and in part for the education of their siblings born in the United States to illegal residents ($17.4 million).
LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS
You can view a listing of local immigration reform groups here.
STATE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION VOTING RECORD
You can view the voting record of your representatives in Congress regarding immigration issues in our voting report section.
West Virginia : Immigrant Admissions
|
West Virginia Immigrant Admissions | |
| 1997 | 418 |
| 1998 | 375 |
| 1999 | 392 |
| 2000 | 573 |
| 2001 | 737 |
| 2002 | 636 |
| 2003 | 483 |
| 2004 | 583 |
| 2005 | 847 |
| 2006 | 764 |
| Total | 5,808 |
Recent immigrant admissions have increased by about 35 percent since adoption of the current immigration system in 1965. During the 1965-'69 period, annual admissions averaged about 490 immigrants. During the 2002-'06 period, admissions averaged about 665 immigrants.
The charts below show recent immigrant admissions and the cumulative INS immigrant admissions data since 1965. The number of annual admissions has ranged from 375 in FY'98 to 847 in FY'75. The cumulative total of admissions to West Virginia between fiscal years 1965 and 2006 was about 25,175 immigrants
The data for fiscal years 1989-91 were artificially raised slightly by the inclusion of former illegal aliens who were amnestied in 1986. According to INS data (1991) the number of amnesty applicants from West Virginia was 413 (134 pre-1982 residents and 279 agricultural workers).
The data for FY'95, and FY'97-'99 were artificially low because the INS did not issue green cards to all the eligible applicants for adjustment of status who were already in the United States. In those four years, new immigration could have registered as much as 30 percent higher, if the INS had kept up with its workload.
Beginning with FY'01, the INS began to increase admissions as a result of reducing the size of the backlog of Section 245(i) adjustment of status cases, i.e., amnesty, for illegal aliens.
INS DATA BY NATIONALITY: FY'93 - FY'02
The INS data below are furnished for nationals of the countries with the largest number of immigrants admitted or adjusted to legal residence each year since 1993. The absence of data means that the total number of admissions to the United States by nationals of that country was not enough to merit detailed reporting in that year.
The nationalities may change each year, so the totals in some cases will not reflect all the immigrants of that nationality who have become legal immigrants in West Virginia during this period.
| Immigrant Admissions by Fiscal Year | |||||||||||
| Country | FY'93 | FY'94 | FY'95 | FY'96 | FY'97 | FY'98 | FY'99 | FY'00 | FY'01 | FY'02 | Total |
| Bangladesh | - | - | - | 5 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | 3 | 24 |
| Canada | 32 | 38 | 19 | 61 | 14 | 27 | 16 | 34 | 43 | 30 | 314 |
| China * | 123 | 117 | 54 | 46 | 46 | 28 | 42 | 57 | 85 | 77 | 675 |
| Colombia | 4 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 11 | 7 | 53 |
| Cuba | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 |
| Dom. Rep. | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 28 |
| Ecuador | 1 | - | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 11 |
| El Salvador | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 20 |
| Germany | 21 | 36 | 21 | - | 11 | 10 | 11 | 25 | 22 | 25 | 182 |
| Guatemala | 6 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 56 |
| Guyana | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | 11 |
| Haiti | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 9 |
| Honduras | 3 | - | - | - | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | - | 4 | 12 |
| India | 101 | 62 | 83 | 78 | 53 | 65 | 36 | 35 | 106 | 89 | 708 |
| Iran | 11 | 19 | 21 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 20 | 3 | 11 | 129 |
| Ireland | 11 | 7 | - | - | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | 1 | 27 |
| Jamaica | 8 | 10 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 7 | 8 | 80 |
| Japan | - | 5 | - | - | 5 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 8 | 7 | 51 |
| Korea | 22 | 25 | 24 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 16 | 156 |
| Mexico | 19 | 10 | 7 | 18 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 24 | 31 | 31 | 167 |
| Nicaragua | - | - | - | - | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Nigeria | - | - | 12 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 2 | - | 3 | 40 |
| Pakistan | 26 | 15 | 13 | 35 | 15 | 11 | 23 | 9 | 37 | 24 | 208 |
| Peru | 9 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 43 |
| Philippines | 60 | 56 | 50 | 57 | 33 | 20 | 21 | 35 | 41 | 50 | 423 |
| Poland | 1 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 42 |
| Sov. Un. * | 8 | 80 | 17 | 10 | 20 | 15 | 20 | 45 | 55 | 53 | 251 |
| Trin.& Tob. | - | 2 | - | - | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | 2 | 5 |
| U. Kingdom | 23 | 26 | 20 | 16 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 34 | 41 | 25 | 219 |
| Vietnam | 41 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 19 | 7 | 105 |
| Yugo. * | - | - | 9 | 14 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 56 |
| Other | 146 | 184 | 154 | 174 | 132 | 119 | 116 | 151 | 180 | 133 | 1,489 |
| Total | 689 | 663 | 540 | 583 | 418 | 375 | 392 | 573 | 737 | 636 | 5,606 |
A dash (-) indicates that the data for that year were not published for that country in the INS Statistical Yearbook.
* China data include Hong Kong and Taiwan. Former USSR data continued since break-up (except FY'96-'97 and ’01 include only Russia and Ukraine). Former Yugoslavia data continued since break-up.
The 31 nationalities above represent nearly three-quarters (73.4%) of all immigrant settlement and adjustment in West Virginia during this ten-year period. The largest sources of the new immigrants (India, China, Philippines, and Canada) account for nearly two-fifths (37.7%) of the ten-year total.
West Virginia : Poll Data
Rasmussen Poll: Arizona Law SB 1070
July 2010
Suppose the new Arizona immigration law was being considered for your state. Would you favor or oppose passage of that law in your state?
The U.S. Justice Department has decided to challenge the legality of Arizona’s new immigration law in federal court. Do you agree or disagree with the decision to challenge the legality of Arizona’s new immigration law?
West Virginia : Immigration Impact
ENVIRONMENTAL AND QUALITY OF LIFE PROFILE
Water: West Virginia has a daily, per-capita water demand of 105.1 gallons.1
Traffic: West Virginia highway traffic increased by 29 percent between 1990 and 2008. 2 As population growth put more traffic on the roads, the average commute for West Virginia residents increased from 21 minutes in 1990 to 26 minutes in 2005.3 About 14 percent of West Virginia commuters had a commute of 45 minutes or longer in 2008.4
Disappearing Open Space: The amount of developed land in West Virginia increased by 518,400 acres from 1982 to 2007, growing at a pace of 19,290 acres per year over the last ten years of that period.5 State agriculture officials estimate that West Virginia has lost 223 percent of its apple orchard land since the early 1900s due to sprawl.6
Crowded Housing: An estimated 57,816 of West Virginia's housing units were classified as crowded in 2008, defined as units with more than one occupant per room. This amounted to 1.0 percent of the state's housing units. In addition, 2,004 were severely crowded, with at least 1.5 occupants per room.7 5 percent of the state's children live in crowded housing.8 Nationwide, children in immigrant families were three times as likely to live in crowded conditions as children in native families (27 percent to 9 percent).9
Air Pollution: As population increases, pollution usually rises along with it. Of the nine West Virginia counties assessed for risk of high ozone exposure in 2010, seven were graded "F," one received a "D," and one earned a "C."10 One in four West Virginians breathes air so smoggy that it fails federal quality standards and worsens such diseases as asthma, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema.11
Poverty: Immigrants in West Virginia are more likely to be poor than natives. In 2008, 17.8 percent of foreign born households were poor, compared to 17.0 percent of native households. The poverty rate among natives has decreased by 13.2 percent since 1990, while poverty among the foreign born has risen by 39.1 percent.12
Solid Waste: West Virginia generates 0.97 tons of solid waste per capita each year.13
ILLEGAL RESIDENTS
According to the Governor's Office of Fiscal Risk Analysis and Management, West Virginia employers hired 52,000 illegal aliens in 2002, costing the state $13.7 million in lost payroll taxes alone.14
Endnotes:
- U.S. Geological Service, 2000.
- The Road Information Project (TRIP), "Key Facts about West Virginia's Surface Transportation System and Federal Funding," May 2010.
- "Table DP-1-4, Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000, Census 2000, U.S. Census Bureau. "Table DP-1-4, Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 1990, 1990 Census, U.S. Census Bureau.
- American Community Survey, 2008 Estimates, Custom Data Table.
- USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, "Summary Report: 2007 National Resources Inventory."
- "Suburban Sprawl Threatens W.Va.'s Remaining Apple Farms," Associated Press, October 28, 2002.
- American Community Survey, Three-Year Estimates 2006-2008. Data retrieved using ACS Custom Table tool.
- Kids Count Data Center, Kids Count Data Center, 2008 American Community Survey Data.
- Kids Count Data Center, 2008 American Community Survey Data.
- American Lung Association, "State of the Air 2010."
- "State of the Air 2005: State", American Lung Association.
- State Fact Sheet, Migration Information Source, Migration Policy Institute
- Report Card for America's Infrastructure 2005," American Society of Civil Engineers.
- Lawrence Messina, "Undocumented Workers Cost Millions in Lost Taxes," Charleston Gazette, March 21, 2003.