OCT. 24, 2016 | Students walk on the campus of West Virginia University in Morgantown. In 2013, only a little over 47 percent of students who graduated from West Virginia public universities between 2003 and 2012 were working in-state, according to the state’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research.
(Brett Ziegler for USN&WR)
OCT. 25, 2016 | A view of the state capitol building in Charleston
(Brett Ziegler for USN&WR)
OCT. 25, 2016 | Pedestrians walk in downtown Charleston
(Brett Ziegler for USN&WR)
OCT. 25, 2016 | The Mayor of Madison, H.H. Howell, Jr., speaks to a local coal miner, Brian Browning.
(Brett Ziegler for USN&WR)
OCT. 24, 2016 | Window reflections in downtown Morgantown
(Brett Ziegler for USN&WR)
OCT. 24, 2016 | An uninhabited home along highway U.S. 50 in Salem
(Brett Ziegler for USN&WR)
OCT. 26, 2016 | Reflecting the New River Gorge Bridge near Fayetteville
(Brett Ziegler for USN&WR)
OCT. 25, 2016 | Dan Davis screen-prints in his shop, Kin Ship Goods, in Charleston. Davis along with partner Hillary Harrison, decided to stay in Charleston because of the local support they receive and the impact they’re able to make on the community.
(Brett Ziegler for USN&WR)
OCT. 25, 2016 | As West Virginia’s population has shrunk, so has its economy, with an unemployment rate of 6 percent in 2016.
(Brett Ziegler for USN&WR)
OCT. 26, 2016 | A statue of the Virgin Mary outside of Our Lady Victory Catholic Church in Gary.
(Brett Ziegler for USN&WR)
OCT. 26, 2016 | Train tracks in Gary. Unless West Virginia’s population doesn’t see a drastic surge in residents, the state is set to lose a congressional seat for the 2022 election year, dropping from three electors to only two.
(Brett Ziegler for USN&WR)
OCT. 24, 2016 | Shops in downtown Clarksburg.
(Brett Ziegler for USN&WR)
OCT. 24, 2016 | Part of the population decline in West Virginia can be attributed to the state’s aging population. With the second highest median age in the country, 41.8, compared to the national median age of 37.6, more people are dying than are being born.
(Brett Ziegler for USN&WR)
OCT. 25, 2016 | With a decline in coal mining operations, the city of Madison has lost 65 percent of its workforce.
(Brett Ziegler for USN&WR)
OCT. 25, 2016 | An old public swimming pool in Madison. Without a stable economic backbone, West Virginians are left to wonder if and how their towns will see a revival. The state faces nearly a $500 million deficit for the 2018 fiscal year.
(Brett Ziegler for USN&WR)
OCT. 26, 2016 | According to demographers, West Virginia will lose more than 46,000 people between 2010 and 2030.
(Brett Ziegler for USN&WR)
