Compare West Virginia sheriff department costs
Sheriff department cost and staffing across all 55 counties. Click a column header to sort. Hover a column header to see what it measures. Data as of 2026-07-24.
| County | Population | Budget | $/resident | Sworn / 100k res | Custody / 100k res | Beds / 100k res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbour County | 15,527 | — | — | 77.3 | 6.4 | — |
| Berkeley County | 123,283 | — | — | 52.7 | 21.9 | — |
| Boone County | 21,705 | — | — | 64.5 | 0.0 | — |
| Braxton County | 12,505 | — | — | 72.0 | 0.0 | — |
| Brooke County | 22,349 | — | — | 89.5 | 8.9 | — |
| Cabell County | 93,965 | — | — | 55.3 | 13.8 | — |
| Calhoun County | 6,279 | — | — | 31.9 | 0.0 | — |
| Clay County | 8,049 | — | — | 49.7 | 0.0 | — |
| Doddridge County | 7,847 | — | — | 76.5 | 38.2 | — |
| Fayette County | 40,545 | — | — | 76.5 | 12.3 | — |
| Gilmer County | 7,444 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Grant County | 11,034 | — | — | 126.9 | 0.0 | — |
| Greenbrier County | 32,995 | — | — | 84.9 | 33.3 | — |
| Hampshire County | 23,275 | — | — | 81.6 | 0.0 | — |
| Hancock County | 28,907 | — | — | 89.9 | 0.0 | — |
| Hardy County | 14,249 | — | — | 182.5 | 0.0 | — |
| Harrison County | 65,862 | — | — | 85.0 | 24.3 | — |
| Jackson County | 27,868 | — | — | 53.8 | 0.0 | — |
| Jefferson County | 58,043 | — | — | 60.3 | 0.0 | — |
| Kanawha County | 179,895 | — | — | 47.2 | 9.4 | — |
| Lewis County | 16,920 | — | — | 65.0 | 0.0 | — |
| Lincoln County | 20,410 | — | — | 44.1 | 0.0 | — |
| Logan County | 32,350 | — | — | 71.1 | 12.4 | — |
| Marion County | 56,194 | — | — | 51.6 | 19.6 | — |
| Marshall County | 30,509 | — | — | 91.8 | 0.0 | — |
| Mason County | 25,488 | — | — | 66.7 | 31.4 | — |
| McDowell County | 18,911 | — | — | 95.2 | 0.0 | — |
| Mercer County | 59,530 | — | — | 65.5 | 0.0 | — |
| Mineral County | 26,957 | — | — | 37.1 | 29.7 | — |
| Mingo County | 23,466 | — | — | 102.3 | 0.0 | — |
| Monongalia County | 105,988 | — | — | 34.9 | 25.5 | — |
| Monroe County | 12,438 | — | — | 72.4 | 0.0 | — |
| Morgan County | 17,237 | — | — | 75.4 | 5.8 | — |
| Nicholas County | 24,624 | — | — | 69.0 | 0.0 | — |
| Ohio County | 42,224 | — | — | 87.6 | 4.7 | — |
| Pendleton County | 6,156 | — | — | 48.7 | 0.0 | — |
| Pleasants County | 7,622 | — | — | 65.6 | 0.0 | — |
| Pocahontas County | 7,940 | — | — | 88.2 | 63.0 | — |
| Preston County | 34,206 | — | — | 55.5 | 14.6 | — |
| Putnam County | 57,347 | — | — | 64.5 | 7.0 | — |
| Raleigh County | 74,303 | — | — | 71.3 | 17.5 | — |
| Randolph County | 28,005 | — | — | 57.1 | 10.7 | — |
| Ritchie County | 8,507 | — | — | 117.6 | 0.0 | — |
| Roane County | 14,027 | — | — | 85.5 | 0.0 | — |
| Summers County | 11,985 | — | — | 83.4 | 58.4 | — |
| Taylor County | 16,602 | — | — | 54.2 | 0.0 | — |
| Tucker County | 6,747 | — | — | 74.1 | 0.0 | — |
| Tyler County | 8,336 | — | — | 108.0 | 0.0 | — |
| Upshur County | 23,875 | — | — | 46.1 | 41.9 | — |
| Wayne County | 38,933 | — | — | 66.8 | 38.5 | — |
| Webster County | 8,362 | — | — | 59.8 | 0.0 | — |
| Wetzel County | 14,431 | — | — | 145.5 | 0.0 | — |
| Wirt County | 5,202 | — | — | 38.4 | 0.0 | — |
| Wood County | 84,272 | — | — | 53.4 | 34.4 | — |
| Wyoming County | 21,237 | — | — | 141.3 | 23.5 | — |
A note on data vintages and definitions. Population is the US Census Bureau's 2018-2022 American Community Survey 5-year estimate. Sheriff staffing comes from the US Census Bureau's Census of Governments - Employment 2022 (March reference period); headcount equals full-time plus part-time positions across function codes 062 (sworn law enforcement), 162 (civilian law enforcement), and 005 (corrections). The Census publishes no true full-time-equivalent figures, and the March payroll snapshot is not directly comparable to a full annual operating budget. West Virginia has no independently operated county jails: since a 1980s consolidation, all local jails were absorbed into the state's Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, which now runs 10 regional jails in their place. County jail data has not yet been loaded for this state; the Division's facility directory (dcr.wv.gov) is the eventual source, though it does not currently publish a per-facility capacity dataset. Sheriff department budget data has not yet been loaded for West Virginia. Sheriff names were collected from the West Virginia Sheriffs' Association directory and machine-verified against county sources in July 2026; all 55 counties are named, for terms beginning January 2025 through December 2028. Lincoln County's sheriff, Harvey Scites, holds the office by appointment effective August 27, 2025, following the prior elected sheriff's death.