Geography
Charleston is located at 38°20'58" North, 81°37'60" West (38.349497,
-81.633294).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of
84.7 km˛ (32.7 mi˛). 81.8 km˛ (31.6 mi˛) of it is land and 2.8 km˛ (1.1 mi˛)
of it is water. The total area is 3.36% water.
Demographics
As of the census1 of 2000, there are 53,421 people, 24,505 households, and
13,624 families residing in the city. The population density is 652.7/km˛
(1,690.4/mi˛). There are 27,131 housing units at an average density of
331.5/km˛ (858.5/mi˛). The racial makeup of the city is 80.63% White, 15.07%
African American, 0.24% Native American, 1.83% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander,
0.30% from other races, and 1.91% from two or more races. 0.81% of the
population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 24,505 households out of which 23.7% have children under the age
of 18 living with them, 38.9% are married couples living together, 13.5%
have a female householder with no husband present, and 44.4% are non-families.
38.9% of all households are made up of individuals and 14.5% have someone
living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is
2.11 and the average family size is 2.82.
In the city the population is spread out with 20.7% under the age of 18,
8.4% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who
are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 41 years. For every 100
females there are 87.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there
are 83.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $34,009, and the median
income for a family is $47,975. Males have a median income of $38,257 versus
$26,671 for females. The per capita income for the city is $26,017. 16.7% of
the population and 12.7% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the
total people living in poverty, 24.5% are under the age of 18 and 11.3% are
65 or older.
