Monongalia County, West Virginia

Monongalia County is a county in West Virginia, United States, about 75 miles south of
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It had a population of 105,822 at the 2020 census, an estimated 107,991
by 2025, and covers 366 square miles (950 km2) centred near 39°38′N 80°03′W.

Morgantown is the county seat and the county’s largest city; its postal code is 26505. The county
holds 2 cities, 3 incorporated towns and 5 census-designated places, plus dozens of smaller
unincorporated communities, and it runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is 54061.

Towns & Villages in Monongalia County

Monongalia County has 101 named places on record: 2 cities, 3 incorporated towns, 5
census-designated places (CDPs) and 91 unincorporated communities with no local government of
their own. CDP stands for census designated place; Unincorp. covers crossroads, former mining
patches and rural neighborhoods with no formal boundary.

Osage sits in an odd spot in the record: older Census Bureau lists group it with the county’s
CDPs, but the current place list files it as an unincorporated community, and its ZIP now shows
zero residents. Beyond the 15 places above, the county carries roughly 86 more unincorporated
place-names with no separate population count or ZIP of their own — among them Arnettsville,
Bula, Chestnut Ridge, Fort Martin, Sabraton, Stewartstown, Suncrest Lake and Van Voorhis. Most of
these are addressed through the Morgantown (26505, 26508) or Westover (26502) post offices.

ZIP Codes

• 26505 — Morgantown (also serves Star City and much of Brookhaven)
• 26508 — Morgantown (covers Cheat Lake and the eastern county)
• 26501 — Morgantown (west-side addresses, PO Box only)
• 26502 — Westover
• 26521 — Blacksville
• 26527 — Cassville (PO Box only)
• 26531 — Dellslow (PO Box only)
• 26534 — Granville (PO Box only)
• 26541 — Maidsville
• 26543 — Osage
• 26544 — Pentress (PO Box only)
• 26546 — Pursglove
• 26590 — Wana

Booth and most of the county’s other unincorporated communities have no ZIP of their own; mail
there routes through Morgantown or Westover.

Geography

Monongalia County sits on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia. The Monongahela
River, from which the county takes its name, runs north through Morgantown toward Pittsburgh, and
the Cheat River forms Cheat Lake, a reservoir on the county’s eastern edge. The terrain is
rolling to hilly, with ridges separating the river and creek valleys where most settlement sits.

The county borders six other counties. Fayette County, Pennsylvania
(Fayette County, PA) lies to
the northeast and Greene County, Pennsylvania
(Greene County, PA) to the
north. Marion County is south,
Preston County is east,
Taylor County is southeast,
and Wetzel County is west.

Demographics

The county had 105,822 residents at the 2020 census and an estimated 107,991 by 2025. Morgantown
(30,347) and Cheat Lake (9,930) are the two largest communities, together holding more than a
third of the county’s population. Median household income was $56,374 in the 2020 count — a
figure pulled down by West Virginia University’s roughly 26,000 enrolled students, who count as
county residents but report little income of their own. Population density is 296 people per
square mile, concentrated around Morgantown; the county’s rural west end, near Blacksville and
Wana, runs far thinner.

Economy & Local Life

West Virginia University, headquartered in Morgantown, is the county’s dominant employer and
economic anchor, along with its teaching hospital system, WVU Medicine, based at J.W. Ruby
Memorial Hospital. Natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale supports a second tier of jobs
across the county’s rural districts, and retail and services cluster along US 19 near Suncrest
and the Morgantown Mall corridor. West Virginia University’s home football games at Milan Puskar
Stadium, played on fall Saturdays, are the county’s biggest recurring public draw.

History

Monongalia County was formed on October 9, 1776, when Virginia’s District of West Augusta was
split into three counties — Ohio, Yohogania and Monongalia — each named for a major river. The
name is a Latinized form of Monongahela, the river through Morgantown. The original county was
far larger than today’s, and pieces of it were later carved off to form Marion, Harrison, Taylor,
Barbour, Randolph and Tucker counties.

In 1863, newly formed West Virginia divided its counties into civil townships; the arrangement
proved unworkable in a rural state, and in 1872 the townships became magisterial districts.
Monongalia County originally had seven — Battelle, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Grant, Morgan and Union
— consolidated in the 1970s into three: Central, Eastern and Western. Fort Martin, on the
Monongahela River, and Fort Pierpont, near the Cheat River, were both built in the 1770s as
frontier defenses during the same period the county was organized.

Getting There

Interstate 68 runs east–west through the county and Interstate 79 runs north–south, meeting
just south of Morgantown; US 19 and US 119 provide the main local routes.

• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — 75 miles north
• Clarksburg, West Virginia — 30 miles south
• Uniontown, Pennsylvania — 30 miles northeast
• Wheeling, West Virginia — 75 miles northwest

Morgantown Municipal Airport – Hart Field offers local commercial and charter flights; North
Central West Virginia Airport near Clarksburg and Pittsburgh International Airport both provide
wider commercial service. The county has no Amtrak station; the nearest stop on the Capitol
Limited route is in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, about 65 miles northeast.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Monongalia County, West Virginia?
It sits in north-central West Virginia along the Pennsylvania border, about 75 miles south of
Pittsburgh.

What is the population of Monongalia County?
Monongalia County had 105,822 residents at the 2020 census, West Virginia’s third-most populous
county.

How big is Monongalia County?
The county covers 366 square miles (950 km2), of which about 5.8 square miles is water.

What is the county seat of Monongalia County?
Morgantown is the county seat and the county’s largest city, home to West Virginia University.

How many towns and villages are in Monongalia County?
The county has 101 named places on record: 2 cities, 3 towns, 5 census-designated places and 91
unincorporated communities.

What ZIP codes serve Monongalia County?
Morgantown uses 26501, 26505 and 26508; other places include Westover (26502), Blacksville
(26521) and Granville (26534). The ZIP Codes section above lists all thirteen.

What is Monongalia County named after?
It takes its name from the Monongahela River, Latinized to Monongalia when the county was formed
in 1776.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in West Virginia.