Mingo County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 26,839.^[1] Its county seat is Williamson.^[2] Created in 1895,^[3] Mingo is West Virginia's newest county, named for the historic Iroquoian Mingo people.^[4]

Mingo County is the newest county in the state, formed by an act of the state legislature in 1895 from parts of Logan County. The county was named for the Mingo Indians.^[4]

The attempt to unionize coal miners in the county in the 1920s led to the Battle of Blair Mountain in neighboring Logan County.

Politically, Mingo County is well known for its opposition to former President Barack Obama. In 2008, Obama netted only 8% of the vote in the Democratic primary, one of his worst performances. In 2012, Mingo County Democrats voted for Keith Russell Judd, a convicted felon who was the only other candidate on the ballot, over Obama.^[5]

In 2014, Mingo County native Jeremy T. K. Farley published The Ghosts of Mingo County, based on the real life story of Timmy Barker, a history of what he described as "the bloodiest county in America." The book met with mixed reviews; some residents stated that publication portrayed the county as being too lawless, while others believed the book told the county's history accurately.^[6]

In 2016, Mingo County was "one of the places in America most touched by opioids."^[7]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 424 square miles (1,100 km2), of which 423 square miles (1,100 km2) is land and 0.9 square miles (2.3 km2) (0.2%) is water.^[8]

As of the census^[14] of 2000, there were 28,253 people, 11,303 households, and 8,217 families residing in the county. The population density was 67 people per square mile (26/km²). There were 12,898 housing units at an average density of 30 per square mile (12/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.39% White, 2.34% Black or African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.06% from other races, and 0.74% from two or more races. 0.48% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 11,303 households out of which 33.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.20% were married couples living together, 12.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.30% were non-families. 25.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the county, the population was spread out with 24.20% under the age of 18, 9.20% from 18 to 24, 29.10% from 25 to 44, 25.00% from 45 to 64, and 12.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 93.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $21,347, and the median income for a family was $26,581. Males had a median income of $31,660 versus $18,038 for females. The per capita income for the county was $12,445. About 25.90% of families and 29.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 38.90% of those under age 18 and 18.60% of those age 65 or over.

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 26,839 people, 11,125 households, and 7,707 families residing in the county.^[15] The population density was 63.4 inhabitants per square mile (24.5/km2). There were 12,699 housing units at an average density of 30.0 per square mile (11.6/km2).^[16] The racial makeup of the county was 97.1% white, 1.8% black or African American, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% American Indian, 0.0% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.4% of the population.^[15] In terms of ancestry, 12.6% were Irish, 11.9% were American, 7.0% were German, and 6.9% were English.^[17]

Of the 11,125 households, 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.6% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.7% were non-families, and 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.91. The median age was 40.9 years.^[15]

The median income for a household in the county was $32,902 and the median income for a family was $40,199. Males had a median income of $46,917 versus $27,168 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,629. About 16.9% of families and 21.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.1% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.^[18]

The youngest of West Virginia’s 55 counties, Mingo was created entirely from powerfully secessionist Logan County.^[19] Consequently, for the 110 years following its creation, Mingo County was powerfully Democratic, voting for Walter Mondale – who came within 3,819 votes of losing all 50 states – by a two-to-one margin in 1984, and voting Republican only for William Howard Taft in 1908, Herbert Hoover in 1928 due to powerful anti-Catholic sentiment against Al Smith, and Richard Nixon against the left-wing George McGovern in 1972. Like all of West Virginia, since 2000 a combination of declining unionization^[20] and differences with the Democratic Party’s liberal views on social issues^[21] has produced a dramatic swing to the Republican Party. In 2016, this historically heavily Democratic county voted only eight percentage points less Republican than historically Unionist and rock-ribbed GOP Grant County.