Economy of West Virginia - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The economy of West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

nominally would be the 62nd largest economy globally behind Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

and ahead of Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

according to 2009 World Bank

World Bank

The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...

projections, and the 64th largest behind Iraq and ahead of Libya

Libya

Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

according to 2009 International Monetary Fund

International Monetary Fund

The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...

projections. The state has a projected nominal GSP of $63.34 billion in 2009 according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis

Bureau of Economic Analysis

The Bureau of Economic Analysis is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that provides important economic statistics including the gross domestic product of the United States. Its stated mission is to "promote a better understanding of the U.S...

report of November 2010, and a real GSP of $55.04 billion. The real GDP growth of the state in 2009 of .7% was the 7th best in the country.

Morgantown

Morgantown, West Virginia

Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia. It is the county seat of Monongalia County. Placed along the banks of the Monongahela River, Morgantown is the largest city in North-Central West Virginia, and the base of the Morgantown metropolitan area...

was ranked by Forbes

Forbes

Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...

as the #10 best small city in the nation to conduct business in 2010.

The state is a global hub for chemicals, a national hub for biotech industries and a leader in energy, while having a diverse economy in aerospace, automotive, healthcare and education, metals and steels, media and telecommunications, manufacturing, hospitality, biometrics, forestry, and tourism.

Overview

The economy of West Virginia nominally would be the 62nd largest economy globally behind Iraq

Iraq

and ahead of Croatia

Croatia

according to 2009 World Bank projections, and the 64th largest behind Iraq and ahead of Libya

Libya

according to 2009 International Monetary Fund

International Monetary Fund

projections. The state has a projected nominal GSP of $63.34 billion in 2009 according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis

Bureau of Economic Analysis

report of November 2010, and a real GSP of $55.04 billion. The real GDP growth of the state in 2009 of .7% was the 7th best in the country. West Virginia was only one of ten states in 2009 which grew economically.

While per capita income growth fell 2.6% nationally in 2009, West Virginia's grew at 1.8%. Through the first half of 2010, exports from West Virginia topped $3 billion, growing 39.5% over the same period from the previous year and ahead of the national average by 15.7%.

Morgantown

Morgantown, West Virginia

was ranked by Forbes

Forbes

as the #10 best small city in the nation to conduct business in 2010. The city is also home to West Virginia University

West Virginia University

West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...

, the 95th best public university according to U.S. News and World Report in 2011.

The net corporate income tax rate is 8.5%, scheduled for reduction to 6.5% by 2014, while business costs are 13% below the national average.

Chemicals

The state is a global chemical hub, cited by the Council of American States in Europe as one of North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

's premier destinations, with the presence of DuPont

DuPont

E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...

, Germany-based Bayer

Bayer MaterialScience

Bayer MaterialScience is an independent subgroup within Bayer AG. It was created as part of the restructuring of Bayer AG from the former business group Bayer Polymers, with certain of its activities being spun off to Lanxess AG...

and Stockmeier Kunststoffe GmbH; a subsidiary of Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

-based Kureha

Kureha

Kureha may refer to the following...* Kureha Station, Toyama, Japan* Kureha - A single by Onmyo-Za- Fictional characters :* Kureha Akabane - Night Wizard!* Kureha Fujishima - After School Nightmare* Kureha Koushou - Baki the Grappler...

, Ashland Specialty Chemical, Flexsys, and Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

-based Braskem

Braskem

Braskem is a Brazilian petrochemical company headquartered in São Paulo. The company is the largest petrochemical in the Americas by production capacity and the fifth largest in the world...

S.A. West Virginia has 80% community acceptance from the chemical industry nationwide, one of the highest in the nation. Chemical production represents 46% of the state's GSP, employing 13,500 West Virginians.

Biotech

The state has one of the nation's highest concentrations of biotech industries aided by the presence of corporations such as Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

-based BASF

BASF

BASF SE is the largest chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Germany. BASF originally stood for Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik . Today, the four letters are a registered trademark and the company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange, and Zurich Stock...

and Bayer

Bayer

Bayer AG is a chemical and pharmaceutical company founded in Barmen , Germany in 1863. It is headquartered in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and well known for its original brand of aspirin.-History:...

, DuPont

DuPont

, PPG

PPG

PPG may stand for:* PPG Industries, a U.S. manufacturer, and its PPG Place office complex* PPG tankette, a Soviet armoured vehicle* Pacific Proving Grounds, a former US-operated nuclear test site* Palm Products GmbH, an audio synthesizer company...

, Dow

Dow

-People:*Herbert Henry Dow , founder of Dow Chemical Company*Charles Dow , founder of Dow Jones & Co*James R. Dow, professor of German language*Paula Dow , 58th Attorney General of New Jersey*Neal S...

, Mylan Inc., originally founded in White Sulpher Springs

White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia

White Sulphur Springs is a city in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,444 at the 2010 census.-Geography:White Sulphur Springs is located at ....

, and Texas-based Alcon

Alcon

Alcon incorporated and with corporate headquarters, in Hünenberg, Switzerland, is a global medical company specializing in eye care products. Alcon's U.S. headquarters is located in Fort Worth, Texas...

. Protea Biosciences, and up-and-coming firm based in Morgantown has developed Laser Ablation Electrospray Ionization

Laser Ablation Electrospray Ionization

Laser Ablation Electrospray Ionization is an ambient ionization method for mass spectrometry that combines laser ablation from a mid-infrared laser with a secondary electrospray ionization process. The mid-IR laser is used to generate gas phase particles which are then ionized through...

(LAESI), which reduces the wait of analyzing tissue samples to 5 seconds from one hour. It is described as the "Xerox for biologists."

Research and development and advanced tech

Through 2008, 45,284 West Virginians were employed in advanced technology industries, which made up 5.6% of the economic establishments in the state. Through 2007, 91, 998 citizens of the state aged 25–44 held Bachelor's Degrees or higher. West Virginia receives annually around $261 million in federal R&D funds, ranking 34th in the nation. Private establishments receiving the most federal R&D contracts in 2009 were Fairmont

Fairmont, West Virginia

Fairmont is a city in Marion County, West Virginia, United States. Nicknamed "The Friendly City". The population was 18,704 at the 2010 census...

-based Prologic, Inc., Security Assistance Corporation, Ridgeley

Ridgeley, West Virginia

Ridgeley is a town in Mineral County, West Virginia, United States, and part of the Cumberland Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 762 at the 2000 census but has fallen to 575 with the 2010 census....

-based Alliant Techsystems, Inc., Berkeley Springs-based STS International, and the Fairmont-based West Virginia High Technology Consortium Foundation (HTC).

The state is home to federal institutions such as the portions of the National Energy Technology Laboratory and Forestry Science Laboratory in Morgantown

Morgantown, West Virginia

, the Leetown Science Center and National Center for Cool and Cold Water Aquaculture in Leetown

Leetown, West Virginia

Leetown is an unincorporated town in Jefferson County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It lies along West Virginia Secondary Route 1 at its junction with Leetown Pike....

, National
Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank

Green Bank, West Virginia

Green Bank is a census-designated place in Pocahontas County in West Virginia's Potomac Highlands inside the Allegheny Mountain Range. Green Bank is located along WV 28. Green Bank is also close to the Snowshoe Mountain ski resort...

, the Forest Service Timber and
Watershed Laboratory in Parsons

Parsons, West Virginia

The town of Parsons is the county seat of Tucker County, West Virginia, in the United States. The population was 1,463 at the 2000 census. The mayor of Parsons is Dorothy Judy and the city administrator is Jason Myers...

, the Appalachian Farming Systems Research Center in Beckley

Beckley, West Virginia

Beckley is a city in Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States, which was founded on April 4, 1838. The 2008 population was estimated to be 16,832 by the U.S. Census Bureau. Early in its history, the town was known as Beckleyville and Raleigh Court House...

, West Virginia District Office of Water Resources in Charleston

Charleston, West Virginia

Charleston is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers in Kanawha County. As of the 2010 census, it has a population of 51,400, and its metropolitan area 304,214. It is the county seat of Kanawha County.Early...

, and Department of Veterans Affairs R&D units in Clarksburg

Clarksburg, West Virginia

Clarksburg is a city in and the county seat of Harrison County, West Virginia, United States, in the north-central region of the state. It is the principal city of the Clarksburg, WV Micropolitan Statistical Area...

and Huntington

Huntington, West Virginia

Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia, along the Ohio River. Most of the city is in Cabell County, for which it is the county seat. A small portion of the city, mainly the neighborhood of Westmoreland, is in Wayne County. Its population was 49,138 at...

.

West Virginia University

West Virginia University

is home to research institutions such as the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute, Robert C. Byrd Cancer Research Laboratory, Center for Identification Technology Research, and the National Research Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines and Emissions.

The Mid-Atlantic Technology, Research and Innovation Center

Mid-Atlantic Technology, Research and Innovation Center

MATRIC is a fast-growing non-profit research organization based in South Charleston, West Virginia...

, or MATRIC, is headquartered in South Charleston

South Charleston, West Virginia

South Charleston is a city in Kanawha County, West Virginia, U.S. The population was 13,450 at the 2010 census. South Charleston was established in 1906, but not incorporated until 1919 by special charter enacted by the West Virginia Legislature...

.

In December 2010, the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission began a $23 million renovation of a research park formerly home to Dow Chemical.

Energy

West Virginia is considered a national energy hub, leading the nation in net interstate electricity exports and underground coal mine production, while experiencing a growing natural gas industry as a result of the Great Shale Gas Rush. Overall, it produces 15% of the nation's fossil fuel energy. The state's underground natural gas storage represents 6% of the nation's total, and overall it has 5.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas

Natural gas

Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...

reserves through 2008 estimates.

West Virginia was one of the first states to engage in drilling for oil. Small to medium oil and natural gas fields still exist and are scattered mostly in the Allegheny Plateau

Allegheny Plateau

The Allegheny Plateau is a large dissected plateau area in western and central New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Ohio...

and the Cumberland Plateau

Cumberland Plateau

The Cumberland Plateau is the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau. It includes much of eastern Kentucky and western West Virginia, part of Tennessee, and a small portion of northern Alabama and northwest Georgia . The terms "Allegheny Plateau" and the "Cumberland Plateau" both refer to the...

in an arc throughout the western part of state. The state produces around 180,000 barrels of oil per month, with 23 million barrels of reserves through 2008 estimates.

The state has a growing renewable energy portfolio, anchored by chemical and biodiesel

Biodiesel

Biodiesel refers to a vegetable oil- or animal fat-based diesel fuel consisting of long-chain alkyl esters. Biodiesel is typically made by chemically reacting lipids with an alcohol....

manufacturer AC & S, based in Nitro

Nitro, West Virginia

Nitro is a city in West Virginia, along the Kanawha River. Most of the city lies in Kanawha County, with the remainder in Putnam County. The population was 7,178 at the 2010 census.Nitro was incorporated in 1932 by Circuit Court.- City name origin :...

.

Through 2009 Columbus

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

-based American Electric Power

American Electric Power

American Electric Power is a major investor-owner electric utility in various parts of the United States. AEP ranks among the nation's largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S...

was the fifth largest employer in the state, followed by Consolidation Coal Company at #9, Allegheny Energy Service Corporation #19, Eastern Associated Coal Corporation #31, Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation #40, Hobet Mining, LLC #45, Spartan Mining Company #48, and Elk Run Coal Company, Inc. #50.

Coal

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...

is one of the state's primary economic resources, first discovered in the state in 1742. The industry employs 30,000 West Virginians directly, resulting in $2 billion in wages and a $3.5 billion economic impact.

West Virginia is the largest coal producer east of the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

, and accounts for 1/10 of the nation's production. It leads the nation in coal production from underground mines, and has the nation's second largest reserves behind Wyoming.

West Virginia has an annual 13 million barrel coal-to-liquid fuel production capacity. Weirton Energy will begin construction of a new $1 billion coal-to-liquid fuel facility in January.

The state is home to International Coal Group

International Coal Group

International Coal Group, Inc. is a mining company in the United States that produces coal from 12 mining complexes in Northern and Central Appalachia and from one complex in the Illinois Basin....

, based in Teays Valley

Teays Valley, West Virginia

Teays Valley is a census-designated place in Putnam County, West Virginia, United States. The place is divided into the two districts of Teays Valley and Scott Depot...

.

It has an extensive network of railroads, and much of the coal is transported by rail. The railways were once one of the largest customers for coal to drive the steam locomotive

Steam locomotive

A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...

s, but these have been replaced by diesel locomotive

Diesel locomotive

A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...

s. Coal is rarely used now for home heating. Most coal today is used by power plants to produce electricity

Electricity

Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...

, both in West Virginia, and in other eastern states.

Alternative energy

The state has a growing renewable energy portfolio, anchored by chemical and biodiesel manufacturer AC & S, based in Nitro

Nitro, West Virginia

. The National Research Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines and Emissions is located in Morgantown.

Mountaineer Wind Energy Center

Mountaineer Wind Energy Center

Mountaineer Wind Energy Center is a wind farm on Backbone Mountain in Preston and Tucker counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. When it came online in December 2002, Mountaineer was the first wind farm in West Virginia, and the largest east of the Mississippi River. Mountaineer Wind Energy...

located in Preston County

Preston County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 29,334 people, 11,544 households, and 8,357 families residing in the county. The population density was 45 people per square mile . There were 13,444 housing units at an average density of 21 per square mile...

and Tucker County

Tucker County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,321 people, 3,052 households, and 2,121 families residing in the county. The population density was 18 people per square mile . There were 4,634 housing units at an average density of 11 per square mile...

was the first wind farm

Wind farm

A wind farm is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electric power. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines, and cover an extended area of hundreds of square miles, but the land between the turbines may be used for agricultural or other...

built in the state in 2002. The Beech Ridge Wind Farm

Beech Ridge Wind Farm

The Beech Ridge Wind Farm is a USD 300 million, 119-wind turbine wind farm under construction in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, in the United States. The tall wind turbines, each of which generates 1.5 megawatts of electricity, will be scattered for along Shellcamp, Smokehouse, Beech,...

is a $300 million, 119 turbine project currently under construction in Greenbrier County

Greenbrier County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 34,453 people, 14,571 households, and 9,922 families residing in the county. The population density was 34 people per square mile . There were 17,644 housing units at an average density of 17 per square mile...

. The Mount Storm Wind Farm

Mount Storm Wind Farm

The Mount Storm Wind Farm is located 120 miles west of Washington, D.C. in Grant County, West Virginia. The wind farm includes 132 wind turbines each with a two megawatt capacity along 12 miles of the Allegheny Front...

is located in Grant County

Grant County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 11,299 people, 4,591 households, and 3,273 families residing in the county. The population density was 24 people per square mile . There were 6,105 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile...

and operates 132 turbines.

West Virginia is home to several hydroelectric facilities, including Honeywood Dam

Power Plant and Dam No. 5 (Potomac River)

Power Plant and Dam No. 5, also known as Honeywood Dam, comprises a dam on the Potomac River, originally built for the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, and a power plant built to take advantage of the river's flow to generate hydroelectric power...

on the Potomac River

Potomac River

The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...

, Cheat Lake Dam

Cheat Lake

Cheat Lake is a long reservoir on the Cheat River in Monongalia County, West Virginia, USA. It was originally named Lake Lynn, but the Board on Geographic Names officially decided upon Cheat Lake as the reservoir's name in 1976. The surface area of Cheat Lake is about...

in Monogalia County

Monongalia County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 81,866 people, 33,446 households, and 18,495 families residing in the county. The population density was 227 people per square mile . There were 36,695 housing units at an average density of 102 per square mile...

, and Summersville Dam

Summersville Lake

Summersville Lake is a reservoir located in the US state of West Virginia. The lake is formed by a rock-fill dam on the Gauley River, south of Summersville in Nicholas County...

on the Gauley River

Gauley River

The Gauley River is a river in West Virginia. It merges with the New River to form the Kanawha River, a tributary of the Ohio River. It is one of the most popular advanced whitewater runs in the Eastern United States and is the chief feature of the Gauley River National Recreation Area.-Headwaters...

.

Google

Google

Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...

has invested in research exploration of the state's geothermal

Geothermal

Geothermal is related to energy and may refer to:* The geothermal gradient and associated heat flows from within the Earth- Renewable technology :...

reserves.

Aerospace

Major aerospace employers in the state include Pratt and Whitney located in Bridgeport

Bridgeport, West Virginia

Bridgeport is a city in Harrison County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 7,306 at the 2000 census.The town of Bridgeport had its beginning in pre-Revolutionary War times. In 1764, John Simpson entered the area and gave his name to Simpson Creek. Bridgeport was chartered in 1816....

, Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....

in Clarksburg

Clarksburg, West Virginia

, Goodrich Corporation

Goodrich Corporation

The Goodrich Corporation , formerly the B.F. Goodrich Company, is an American aerospace manufacturing company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in Akron, Ohio in 1870 as Goodrich, Tew & Co. by Dr. Benjamin Franklin Goodrich. The company name was changed to the "B.F...

in Union

Union, West Virginia

Union is a town in Monroe County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 548 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Monroe County.-History:...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

-based Bombardier Aerospace

Bombardier Aerospace

Bombardier Aerospace is a division of Bombardier Inc. and is the third-largest airplane manufacturer in the world. It is headquartered in Dorval, Quebec, Canada.- History :...

in Bridgeport, Alliant Techsystems, FCX Systems in Morgantown, and FMW Composite Systems and Aurora Flight Sciences of West Virginia

Aurora Flight Sciences

Aurora Flight Sciences specializes in the design and construction of unmanned aircraft. Aurora has been established for 20+ years and their headquarters is at the Manassas Airport in Manassas, VA.-History:...

in Bridgeport.

Healthcare and education

In 2009, West Virginia University Healthcare alone had an economic impact of $2.2 billion on the state and was the #23 employer. West Virginia United Health System was the #2 employer in 2009, ahead of Charleston Area Medical Center

Charleston Area Medical Center

Charleston Area Medical Center is the name of a complex of hospitals in Charleston, West Virginia, formed via a merger of previously independent facilities. It is the state's largest hospital....

at #3, St. Mary's Hospital #7, Cabell Huntington Hospital, Inc. #12, Wheeling Hospital #14, and Camden-Clark Memorial Hospital #24.

In 2008, public higher education institutions had a $7.9 billion economic impact on the state, creating 40,600 employment positions. Private higher education institutions had a $345 million economic impact on the state in 2004, creating 6,258.

Steel and polymers

West Virginia is home to steel and metal companies such as Luxembourg

Luxembourg

Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...

-based ArcelorMittal in Weirton

Weirton, West Virginia

Weirton is a city located in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, United States. Most of the city is in Hancock County, with the remainder in Brooke County. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 20,411...

, Steel of West Virginia Inc. in Huntington, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

-based Severstal

Severstal

OAO Severstal Russian: Северсталь, "Northern Steel") is a Russian company mainly operating in the steel and mining industry, centred in the northern city of Cherepovets. Severstal is listed on the RTS and LSE. As of 2009, it is the largest steel company in Russia according to The Metal Bulletin....

in Wheeling, Japan

Japan

-based Nisshin Inc. in Wheeling

Wheeling, West Virginia

Wheeling is a city in Ohio and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia; it is the county seat of Ohio County. Wheeling is the principal city of the Wheeling Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, Follansbee Steel in Follansbee

Follansbee, West Virginia

Follansbee is a city in Brooke County, West Virginia, United States, located along the Ohio River. It is part of the Weirton–Steubenville, West Virginia-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, Special Metals Corporation

Special Metals Corporation

Special Metals Corporation, headquartered in New Hartford, New York, U.S.A., with operations in Huntington, West Virginia; Dunkirk, New York; Burnaugh, Kentucky; Elkhart, Indiana and Hereford, England, is a supplier of refractory alloys....

in Huntington, and Swanson Industries in Morgantown. In December 2010, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

-based Mechel

Mechel

Mechel is one of Russia’s leading mining and metallurgical companies, producing coal, iron ore, nickel steel, rolled steel products, hardware, heat and electric power. Headquartered in Moscow, the company operates facilities in Russia, Romania, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Bulgaria, and the United...

announced plans to construct a new $12 million coal processing plant in McDowell County

McDowell County, West Virginia

McDowell County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The land that became McDowell was originally part of Tazewell County, Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 22,113. Its county seat is Welch. McDowell county is the southern-most county in the state, geographically...

.

It is home to one of the highest concentration of resin producers in the world. General Electric Plastics

General Electric

General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...

is located in Washington

Washington, West Virginia

Washington is a census-designated place in Wood County, West Virginia, along the Ohio River. It is part of the Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area...

Biometrics and government

The FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services Division

Criminal Justice Information Services Division

The Criminal Justice Information Services Division is a division of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation . The CJIS was established in February 1992 and it is the largest division in the FBI....

is located in Clarksburg, NASA's Independent Verification and Validation Facility

Independent Verification and Validation Facility

NASA's Independent Verification and Validation Facility was established in 1993 and is located in Fairmont, West Virginia. The IV&V Facility was founded under the NASA Office of Safety and Mission Assurance in the aftermath of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster...

in Fairmont, and the U.S. Department of Treasury's Bureau of the Public Debt

Bureau of the Public Debt

The Bureau of the Public Debt is an agency within the Fiscal Service of the United States Treasury Department. Under authority derived from Article I, section 8 of the Constitution, Public Debt is responsible for borrowing the money needed to operate the federal government, and is where donations...

is located in Parkersburg.

Automotive

Between 1990-2004, the state experienced $1 billion in investment in the sector and 1500+ new employment positions. It is home to major automotive operations such as Japan

Japan

-based Toyota in Buffalo

Buffalo, West Virginia

Buffalo is a town in Putnam County, West Virginia, along the Kanawha River. The population was 1,236 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Buffalo is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of...

, and others including Diamond Electric in Eleanor

Eleanor, West Virginia

Eleanor is a town in Putnam County, West Virginia, U.S., along the Kanawha River. Its population was 1,518 at the 2010 census. The town was established as a New Deal project in the 1930s and named for Eleanor Roosevelt...

, NGK Spark Plugs in Sissonville

Sissonville, West Virginia

Sissonville is an unincorporated census-designated place in Kanawha County, West Virginia, along the Pocatalico River. The population was 4,028 at the 2010 census...

, and Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

-based Sogefi and Japan

Japan

-based Okuno International in Prichard

Prichard, West Virginia

Prichard is an unincorporated census-designated place in Wayne County, West Virginia, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 527. It is located along the Big Sandy River and U.S. Route 52...

Forestry

Forestry-based industries employ 15,600 West Virginians through major corporations such as Atlanta-based Georgia Pacific in Mount Hope

Mount Hope, West Virginia

Mount Hope is a city in Fayette County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 1,487 at the 2000 census.-History:The Mount Hope Historic District and New River Company General Office Building are listed on the National Register of Historic Places....

, Washington D.C.-based Weyerhauser in Heaters

Heaters, West Virginia

Heaters is a small unincorporated community in Braxton County, West Virginia, United States. Heaters is situated about three miles north of Flatwoods on U.S. Route 19, which is a paved two-lane road. Access to I-79 is at Flatwoods. Heater's has a United States Postal Service post office and the...

, North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

-based Coastal Lumber with several locations throughout the state, Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

-based American Woodmark

American Woodmark

American Woodmark, Kitchen and Bath cabinet manufacturer, headquartered in Winchester, Virginia. The company operates 14 manufacturing facilities, in Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, and 9 builder service centers across the country...

in Moorefield

Moorefield, West Virginia

Moorefield is a town in Hardy County, West Virginia, USA. Moorefield is the county seat of Hardy County. It was originally chartered in 1777 and named for Conrad Moore, who owned the land upon which the town was laid out...

, and Pittsburgh-based Babcock Lumber Company

Babcock Lumber Company

The Babcock Lumber Company was founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1887 and conducted logging operations in the eastern United States. In 1951 the company diversified into building material distribution...

with multiple locations throughout the state.

Manufacturing, printing, retail, and hospitality

West Virginia is home to manufacturing operations including Homer Laughlin China Company

Homer Laughlin China Company

The Homer Laughlin China Company is an American pottery company based in Newell, West Virginia, which is best known for producing the Fiesta line of dinnerware.-History:...

in Newell

Newell, West Virginia

Newell is a census-designated place in Hancock County, West Virginia, along the Ohio River. It is part of the Weirton–Steubenville, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area. Newell is the northernmost settlement in the state of West Virginia. The population was 1,376 at the 2010...

, Blenko Glass Company

Blenko Glass Company

Blenko Glass Company, located in Milton, West Virginia, is known for its artistic hand-blown glass.-Early history:William J. Blenko was born in London, England in 1853. He worked at a glass factory in his youth. In 1893 he emigrated to Kokomo, Indiana, in the US, where he established the first...

in Milton

Milton, West Virginia

Milton is a town in Cabell County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,206 at the 2000 census.Milton is a part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area . As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 288,649...

, Champion Industries

Champion Industries

Champion Industries is an American commercial printing company based in Huntington, West Virginia. The company was founded in 1964 and has grown throughout the southeastern United States...

in Huntington, Gabriel Brothers

Gabriel Brothers

Gabriel Brothers, commonly called Gabe's is an American regional chain of closeout retail stores that originated in Uniontown, Pennsylvania selling brand-name merchandise at significant discounts from typical department stores...

in Morgantown, MTR Gaming Group

MTR Gaming Group

MTR Gaming Group Inc. is a hospitality company based in Chester, West Virginia. The company holds, mostly through several subsidiaries, hotels, casinos and sports facilities...

is Chester, and PNGI Charles Town Gaming.

In December 2010, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

-based Macy

Macy

-People:* Macy * Anne Sullivan Macy, teacher of Helen Keller* Bill Macy, actor* William H. Macy, actor* John B. Macy , U.S...

's announced plans to construct a 1.3 million square foot, $150 million distribution in Berkely County

Berkeley County, West Virginia

Berkeley County is a county located in the Eastern Panhandle region of the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of 2010, the population is 104,169, making it the second-most populous county in West Virginia, behind Kanawha...

, creating 1,900 jobs.

Media and telecommunications

Major media entities in the state include Marquee Cinemas

Marquee Cinemas

Marquee Cinemas is a chain of movie theaters operated out of Beckley, West Virginia since its 1979 inception.Currently, the chain consists of nineteen theaters in the following locations....

, which operates theatres from Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

to Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, West Virginia Media Holdings

West Virginia Media Holdings

West Virginia Media Holdings is a media chain in West Virginia. It owns television stations in each of the four main media markets in the state, as well as a weekly newspaper....

, West Virginia Radio Corporation

West Virginia Radio Corporation

West Virginia Radio Corporation or WVRC is a media corporation comprising exclusively radio stations and two radio networks based in the state of West Virginia.The company is controlled by Greer Industries, and the Greer Family.-Radio markets:...

in Morgantown, West Virginia MetroNews

West Virginia MetroNews

West Virginia MetroNews is a radio network heard on many radio stations throughout the State of West Virginia. The network is owned by the West Virginia Radio Corporation. West Virginia MetroNews offers a mix of News and Talk programming along with live play-by-play coverage of West Virginia...

, and Ogden Newspapers

Ogden Newspapers

Ogden Newspapers Inc. is a Wheeling, West Virginia based publisher of daily and weekly newspapers, magazines, telephone directories, and shoppers guides. The company was founded by H.C. Ogden in 1890, and continues to be run by his decedents, the Nutting family...

in Wheeling, which operates publications from Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

, Florida

Florida

, Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

and to New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

.

Terradon Communications Group, located in Poca

Poca, West Virginia

Poca is a town in Putnam County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 974 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Poca is located at . It is sited at the confluence of the Kanawha River and the Pocatalico River....

, is a leader in website design and development, with clients including Whirpool International. Others include Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

-based Aegis Communications Group.

Tourism

In 2006, tourism generated an economic impact of $3.97 billion and 44,000 employment positions. Major tourist attractions include state's premier skiing destinations such as Snowshoe Mountain

Snowshoe Mountain

Snowshoe Mountain is a ski resort in Snowshoe, West Virginia. The resort has skiable terrain across and covers a total area of in the Allegheny Mountains, which are a part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range. It is positioned in the bowl shaped convergence of two mountains, Cheat and Back...

, Canaan Valley

Canaan Valley

Canaan Valley is an oval, bowl-like upland valley in northeastern Tucker County, West Virginia, USA. Within it are extensive wetlands and the headwaters of the Blackwater River which spills out of the valley at Blackwater Falls...

, Winterplace Ski Resort

Winterplace Ski Resort

Winterplace Ski Resort is a ski resort located in Ghent, West Virginia on Raleigh County's Flat Top Mountain. The southernmost ski resort in West Virginia, Winterplace is a popular attraction due to its proximity to Interstate 77...

, Oblebay Resort

Oglebay Park

Oglebay Park is a self supporting public municipal park, the only one of its kind, located on the outskirts of Wheeling, West Virginia on . The park has been open to the public since 1928 when the park's governing body, the Wheeling Park Commission, began operations at the former estate of Earl W....

, Elk River Touring Center, and White Grass Ski Touring Center

White Grass Ski Touring Center

White Grass Ski Touring Center is a cross-country skiing facility located in Canaan Valley in Tucker County, West Virginia. It originally opened in 1979 on White Grass Knob near Harrisonburg, Virginia. Two years later, the operation was moved to the site of the second Weiss Knob Ski Area...

. Other attractions include the Huntington Museum of Art

Huntington Museum of Art

The Huntington Museum of Art is an art museum located in the hills above Ritter Park in Huntington, West Virginia. It is the largest art museum between "Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Richmond" and contains numerous collections, exhibitions, education programs and nature trails that sprawl on a campus...

, the Mountain Quest Institute

Mountain Quest Institute

The Mountain Quest Institute is a research, retreat and conference center on in Pocahontas County, West Virginia in the Allegheny Mountains of the United States...

in Pocahontas County, Avampato Discovery Museum in Charleston, the Oglebay Institute

Oglebay Institute

Located in Wheeling, West Virginia, Oglebay Institute is a 501 non-profit organization incorporated in 1930.-History:The organization’s founder, Earl W. Oglebay willed his country estate to the City of Wheeling for use “...as a public park for the enjoyment, recreation and education of the greatest...

in Wheeling, West Virginia State Wildlife Center

West Virginia State Wildlife Center

The West Virginia State Wildlife Center is a zoological park in French Creek, West Virginia. Operated by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, the Wildlife Center displays many of West Virginia's wildlife, including both native and introduced species...

in French Creek

French Creek, West Virginia

French Creek is an unincorporated community in Upshur County, West Virginia, USA.French Creek is 9½ miles south of the county seat, Buckhannon, West Virginia, on West Virginia Route 20. It is home to the West Virginia State Wildlife Center — formerly the "French Creek Game Farm" — a zoological park...

, Greenbrier Resort, Pete Dye Golf Club

Pete Dye Golf Club

The Pete Dye Golf Club is an 18-hole facility in Harrison County, just northwest of Bridgeport, West Virginia. It features 7,308 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 72. The course rating is 76.9 and it has a slope rating of 147. Designed by Pete Dye, ASGCA, the Pete Dye golf course...

, Samuel Taylor Suit Cottage

Samuel Taylor Suit Cottage

The Samuel Taylor Suit Cottage, also known as the Berkeley Castle, is located on a hill above Berkeley Springs, West Virginia. The castle-like house was built for Colonel Samuel Taylor Suit of Washington, D.C. as a personal retreat near the spa town, beginning in 1885...

, Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park

Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park

Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park is a state park located on Blennerhassett Island, a small island in the Ohio River, located in Wood County, West Virginia, USA. The property was the site of a Palladian mansion owned by Harman Blennerhassett, a participant in some of the alleged...

, Moncove Lake State Park

Moncove Lake State Park

Moncove Lake State Park was created in 1990 by setting aside of the Moncove Lake Wildlife Management Area to be operated as a state park. The park is located near Union in Monroe County, West Virginia...

, Camden Park

Camden Park (amusement park)

Camden Park is an amusement park located in Huntington, West Virginia. The park first opened in 1903 as a picnic spot along the Camden Interstate Railway street car line between Huntington and Ashland, Kentucky. It is traditional park home to over 30 rides and attractions. The park features two of...

in Huntington, West Virginia Zoo

West Virginia Zoo

Hovatter's Wildlife Zoo, also known as the West Virginia Zoo, is a zoo in Kingwood, West Virginia.-External links:*...

, West Virginia wine

West Virginia wine

West Virginia wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of West Virginia. West Virginia has 11 wineries located throughout the state, including three designated American Viticultural Areas. Because of the state's cold winter climate, most producers focus on French hybrid grape...

, Prickett's Fort State Park

Prickett's Fort State Park

Prickett's Fort State Park is a West Virginia state park north of Fairmont, near the confluence of Prickett's Creek and the Monongahela River, and two miles from Interstate 79...

, Blackwater Falls State Park

Blackwater Falls State Park

Blackwater Falls State Park is located in the Allegheny Mountains of Tucker County, West Virginia, USA. The centerpiece of the Park is Blackwater Falls, a cascade where the Blackwater River leaves its leisurely course in Canaan Valley and enters rugged Blackwater Canyon...

, the Mountaineer Race Track & Gaming Resort

Mountaineer Race Track & Gaming Resort

Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort is a thoroughbred racetrack and casino resort located southwest of Chester, West Virginia , and owned by MTR Gaming Group.-History and information:...

in Chester

Chester, West Virginia

Chester is a city in Hancock County, West Virginia, United States, along the Ohio River. It is part of the Weirton–Steubenville, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,592 at the 2000 census. Chester was established in 1896, but not incorporated until 1907. The city is...

, Mardi Gras Casino and Resort near West Virginia

Charleston, West Virginia

, Wheeling Island Racetrack & Gaming Center

Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack

Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack is located on Wheeling Island in the middle of the Ohio River, which is a part of the city of Wheeling, West Virginia...

, Hollywood Casino-Charlestown, the Scottish Heritage Festival in Bridgeport, Italian Heritage Festival

Italian Heritage Festival

‎The West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival takes place each year on Labor Day weekend in Clarksburg, West Virginia. The festival was started in 1979 with each successive year, the little Festival has grown, and now is rated one of the "Top 100 Events in North America" including Canada and Mexico...

, Vandalia Gathering

Vandalia Gathering

The Vandalia Gathering is a popular festival devoted to old-time and bluegrass music, as well as related arts such as dance, quilt making, and cooking, which takes place each summer on the state capitol grounds in Charleston, West Virginia, United States. It was established in 1977. It is held on...

in Charleston, Appalachian String Band Music Festival

Appalachian String Band Music Festival

The Appalachian String Band Music Festival is a weeklong gathering of thousands of string band musicians and their friends from across the country and around the world, who each year since 1990 have assembled near the New River Gorge in West Virginia in late July/early August to celebrate the...

, West Virginia Coal Festival in Madison

Madison, West Virginia

Madison is a city in Boone County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 3,076 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Boone County.-History:...

, the Johnny Johnson Blues and Jazz Festival, the Music in the Mountains Bluegrass Festival, the Appalachian Festival in Raleigh County

Raleigh County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 79,220 people, 31,793 households, and 22,096 families residing in the county. The population density was 130 people per square mile . There were 35,678 housing units at an average density of 59 per square mile...

, and the BBQ & Bluegrass Festival.

Agriculture

Farming is practiced throughout West Virginia, but in a form different from large extensive cash-crop agriculture elsewhere in the USA. The modal average farm size was a smallish 140 to 179 acres (567,000 to 724,000 m²), most statistics in this section are taken from the 2002 US Census of Agriculture for West Virginia, which sold less than $2,500 of crops annually. Family and single-owner operation worked 92.7% of the farms, and an astounding 96.9% were totally or partly owned by the operator. On the other hand, only 50.5% of the state's farmers considered farming to be their primary occupation, with a significant number of hours worked elsewhere each year. The rural poverty rate in West Virginia is 20.4%, five points higher than the urban poverty rate.

This description of farming portrays an independent and self-sufficient base of small land owners, but also a significant amount of rural poverty

Poverty

Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...

.

As can be expected in a rugged terrain, raising animals was far more important than growing vegetative crops. Income from animals exceeded income from plants by about 7 to 1, with much of the non-animal income derived from sales of fodder. The chief animals raised were cattle and chickens.

In the ridge and valley area along the eastern border near Virginia

Virginia

's Shenandoah Valley

Shenandoah Valley

The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...

, subsidiary valleys are wide and there are some belts of rich soil

Soil

Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...

which are extensively farm

Farm

A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...

ed. In 2002, all of the top five counties by agricultural dollar value were located near the eastern Virginia border.

In traditional frontier agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

there was much gathering of wild "greens" and other vegetation to supplement the diet. One area where this practice is still significant is the gathering of wild North American ginseng

Ginseng

Ginseng is any one of eleven species of slow-growing perennial plants with fleshy roots, belonging to the genus Panax of the family Araliaceae....

, often for the Asian market. Wild gathered ginseng contributed about $2 million in 2000 to the West Virginia economy, a figure larger than many conventional cultivated vegetable and fruit crops. Other wild greens, such as sour dock, lambs quarters, and wild leek

Wild leek

Allium tricoccum — known as the ramp, spring onion, ramson, wild leek, wild garlic, and, in French, ail sauvage and ail des bois — is an early spring vegetable, a perennial wild onion. It has a strong garlic-like odor and a pronounced onion flavor. Ramps are found across North America, from the...

(or "ramps") are also still gathered by many for table use, although today more on the basis of avocation

Avocation

An avocation is an activity that one engages in as a hobby outside one's main occupation. There are many examples of people whose professions were the ways that they made their livings, but for whom their activities outside of their workplaces were their true passions in life...

or keeping up traditions than out of necessity.

Along the western edges of the state the large rivers of the mid-continent erode a distance into the hills and it is here, in the west, that some dense pockets of heavy industry appear. In the Kanawha River

Kanawha River

The Kanawha River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 97 mi long, in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The largest inland waterway in West Virginia, it has formed a significant industrial region of the state since the middle of the 19th century.It is formed at the town of Gauley...

Valley near Charleston

Charleston, West Virginia

and along the southern Ohio River

Ohio River

The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...

Valley near Huntington

Huntington, West Virginia

chemicals predominate, attracted by a readily available labor force and access by barge

Barge

A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...

carriers. Metallurgy, especially steel

Steel

Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...

, has been predominant in the Northern Panhandle due to a spill-over effect from the traditional center of the US steel industry in Pittsburgh.

Banking

Due to the relative ruralness in West Virginia, the state isn't dominated by any major U.S. banks

Banking in the United States

Banking in the United States is regulated by both the federal and state governments.The U.S. banking sector's short-term liabilities as of October 11, 2008 are 15% of the gross domestic product of the United States or 43% of its national debt, and the average bank leverage ratio is 12 to...

. In fact, the only Big Four bank with any retail banking

Retail banking

Retail banking is banking in which banking institutions execute transactions directly with consumers, rather than corporations or other banks. Services offered include: savings and transactional accounts, mortgages, personal loans, debit cards, credit cards, and so forth.-Types of...

presence in the state is the retail banking division

Chase (bank)

JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase, is a national bank that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of financial services firm JPMorgan Chase. The bank was known as Chase Manhattan Bank until it merged with J.P. Morgan & Co. in 2000...

of JPMorgan Chase, and only in the Charleston

Charleston, West Virginia

area. BB&T

BB&T

BB&T Corporation is an American bank with assets of $157 billion , offering full-service commercial and retail banking services along with other financial services like insurance, investments, retail brokerage, mortgage, corporate finance, consumer finance, payment services, international...

is the largest bank in the state, and the only major bank with a presence throughout the state. Huntington Bancshares

Huntington Bancshares

Huntington Bancshares, Inc., is a US$53 billion Midwestern bank holding company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. It is the 24th largest American bank. As of October 22, 2008, it was listed on the S&P 500...

and WesBanco

WesBanco

Initially chartered on January 20, 1870 as "The German Bank," WesBanco is a bank holding company headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia. The bank is the namesake of the WesBanco Arena which is home to the Wheeling Nailers hockey team....

each also have a significant presence in several areas in West Virginia. Other major banks in the state, but only in certain areas, include Chase, Fifth Third Bank

Fifth Third Bank

Fifth Third Bank is a U.S. regional banking corporation, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio and is the principal subsidiary of holding company Fifth Third Bancorp ....

, & SunTrust Banks

SunTrust Banks

SunTrust Banks, Inc., is an American bank holding company. The largest subsidiary is SunTrust Bank. It had US$172.7 billion in assets as of September 30, 2009...

in Charleston and PNC Financial Services

PNC Financial Services

PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. is a U.S.-based financial services corporation, with assets of approximately $264.3 billion...

in Morgantown

Morgantown, West Virginia

Appalachian Regional Commission

The Appalachian Regional Commission

Appalachian Regional Commission

The Appalachian Regional Commission is a United States federal-state partnership that works with the people of Appalachia to create opportunities for self-sustaining economic development and improved quality of life...

was formed in 1965 to aide economic development in the Appalachian region, which was lagging far behind the rest of the nation on most economic indicators. The Appalachian region currently defined by the Commission includes 420 counties in 13 states, including all 55 counties in West Virginia, the only state whose entire territory is covered by the Appalachian Regional Commission. The Commission gives each county one of five possible economic designations— distressed, at-risk, transitional, competitive, or attainment— with "distressed" counties being the most economically endangered and "attainment" counties being the most economically prosperous. These designations are based primarily on three indicators— three-year average unemployment rate, market income per capita, and poverty rate.

In 2003, West Virginia had a three-year average unemployment rate of 5.7%, compared with 5.5% nationwide. In 2002, West Virginia had a per capita market income of $17,856, compared with $26,420 nationwide. In 2000, West Virginia had a poverty rate of 17.9%, compared to 12.4% nationwide. Fifteen counties in West Virginia were designated "distressed," and sixteen counties were designated "at-risk." No county received the "attainment" designation, and only two— Jefferson and Putnam— were designated "competitive." Nineteen counties were designated "transitional," meaning they lagged behind the national average on one of the three key indicators. McDowell County had West Virginia's highest poverty rating (and the third highest in the entire Appalachian region), with 37.7% of its residents living below the poverty line. Kanawha County had West Virginia's highest per capita income at $25,170, and Monongalia had West Virginia's lowest unemployment rate at 2.7%.

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.