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Charleston, West Virginia
| Charleston, West Virginia | |
 | |
| General information | |
Mayor of Charleston
Amy Shuler Goodwin | |
| Last mayoral election: | 2022 |
| Next mayoral election: | 2026 |
| Last city council election: | 2022 |
| Next city council election: | 2026 |
| City council seats: | 26 |
| City website | |
| Composition data | |
| Population: | 48,864 |
| Race: | White 74.7% African American 14.8% Asian 2.6% Native American 0.3% Pacific Islander 0% Multiple 6.6% |
| Ethnicity: | Hispanic or Latino origin 2% |
| Median household income: | $64,512 |
| High school graduation rate: | 92.1% |
| College graduation rate: | 44.1% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 census and 2023 ACS data. Percentages are rounded to the nearest 0.1%. | |
| Related Charleston offices | |
| West Virginia Congressional Delegation West Virginia State Legislature West Virginia state executive offices | |
Charleston is a city in Kanawha County, West Virginia. The city's population was 48,864 as of 2020, according to the United States Census Bureau.
Click on the links below to learn more about the city's...
- Mayor
- City council
- Other elected officials
- Elections
- Census information
- Budget
- Contact information
- Ballot measures
City government
- See also: Mayor-council government
The city of Charleston utilizes a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body and the mayor serves as the city's chief executive. The mayor, however, appoints a city manager for the administration of all city affairs.[1][2]
Mayor
The mayor serves as the city's chief executive officer. He or she is also the presiding officer of the city council and votes on issues that come before the council for consideration.[3] The responsibilities of the mayor include enforcing laws and ordinances of the city, appointing some city officials like the city manager, and supervising all executive departments, offices, and agencies.[4][5]
The current Mayor of Charleston is Amy Shuler Goodwin (D). Shuler Goodwin assumed office in 2019.
City manager
The city manager is the city's chief administrative officer. He or she is under the direct supervision of the mayor. The manager is responsible for overseeing the work of the city's department heads. The city manager also holds the power to appoint and remove city employees, with the advice of the mayor.[6]
City council
The Charleston City Council is the city's primary legislative body. It is responsible for adopting the city budget, approving mayoral appointees, levying taxes, and making or amending city laws, policies, and ordinances.
The city council is made up of 26 members. Twenty members are elected by the city's 20 wards to four-year terms. The other six members are elected at large to four-year terms.[7]
Other elected officials
Ballotpedia does not cover any additional city officials in Charleston, West Virginia.
Mayoral partisanship
Charleston has a Democratic mayor. As of September 2025, the mayors of 35 state capitals are affiliated with the Democratic Party, seven are Republicans, one is independent, and two are nonpartisan. The partisan affiliation of five state capital mayors is unknown. While most mayoral elections in state capital cities are nonpartisan, most officeholders are affiliated with a political party.
Elections
2022
The city of Charleston, West Virginia, held general elections for mayor and city council on November 8, 2022. A primary was scheduled for May 10, 2022. The filing deadline for this election was January 29, 2022.
Census information
The table below shows demographic information about the city.
| Demographic Data for Charleston | |
|---|---|
| Charleston | |
| Population | 48,864 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 31 |
| Race and ethnicity** | |
| White | 76.6% |
| Black/African American | 11.8% |
| Asian | 2.7% |
| Native American | 0.1% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.1% |
| Other (single race) | 0.3% |
| Multiple | 8.5% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 1.9% |
| Education | |
| High school graduation rate | 92.1% |
| College graduation rate | 44.1% |
| Income | |
| Median household income | $64,512 |
| Persons below poverty level | 16.5% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2018-2023). | |
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | |
Budget
The city's budget process operates by fiscal years running from July 1 to June 30 of the next year. The city's municipal code charges the finance director, under the direction and supervision of the mayor, with the preparation of the proposed annual budget. Between February 20 and March 1 of each year, the finance director reviews budget requests by city departments for the next fiscal year and develops a tentative budget.[8][9]At the beginning of March of each year, the finance director presents the budget to the city council for review. After the budget is introduced, the mayor shall refer it to the city's finance committee where the city manager presents the recommended budget.[9] After advancing out of the committee, the city council votes to adopt the budget.[10]
Fiscally standardized cities data
The fiscally standardized cities (FiSC) data below was compiled by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy to make municipal budgets comparable across cities in the United States.[11]
| “ |
FiSCs are constructed by adding revenues and expenditures of each central city municipal government to a portion of the revenues and expenditures of overlying governments, including counties, independent school districts, and special districts. The allocations to FiSCs are estimates of the revenues collected from and services provided to central city residents and businesses by these overlying independent governments. Thus FiSCs provides a full picture of revenues raised from city residents and businesses and spending on their behalf, whether done by the city government or a separate overlying government.[12] |
” |
| —Lincoln Institute of Land Policy[13] | ||
The tables below show estimated finances within city limits. As such, the revenue and expenses listed may differ from the actual city budget.
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Historical total revenue and expenditure
To see the historical total revenue or expenditures as a rounded amount in this city, hover over the bars.[11]
Contact information
Mayor's office
501 Virginia Street East
Charleston, WV 25301
Phone: 304-348-8174
City Clerk's office
501 Virginia Street East
Charleston, WV 25301
Phone: 304-348-8179
Click here for city council contact information.
Ballot measures
The city of Charleston is in Kanawha County. A list of ballot measures in Kanawha County is available here.
See also
- Cities in West Virginia
- Kanawha County, West Virginia
- Largest cities in the United States by population
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ WVliving, "Who Runs Our Cities?" March 24, 2014
- ↑ WV MetroNews, "Charleston mayor outlines importance of city pay raises in Monday night speech," March 7, 2017
- ↑ Charleston Code of Ordinances, "Sec. 15. - Same—Mayor; clerk; president pro tempore.," accessed December 17, 2021
- ↑ Charleston Code of Ordinances, "Article II. - Mayor," accessed December 17, 2021
- ↑ Charleston Code of Ordinances, "Sec. 35. - Election and term of office of elective officers; appointments by mayor; appointment of city clerk; appointments by manager; duties of mayor and city solicitor; fees," accessed December 17, 2021
- ↑ Charleston Code of Ordinances, "Sec. 2-181. - Powers and duties generally," accessed December 17, 2021
- ↑ Charleston Code of Ordinances, "Sec. 4. - Municipal authorities; elective officers and qualifications for holding office," accessed December 17, 2021
- ↑ Charleston Code of Ordinances, "Article VI - Finance Sec. 2-361. - Fiscal reports, accounts to conform to fiscal year; "fiscal year" defined.," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Charleston Code of Ordinances, "Article VI - Finance Division 2. - Budget," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ City of Charleston, "CITY COUNCIL PASSES FY 2024 BUDGET," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities database," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities," accessed August 23, 2023
