Parkersburg is a medium-sized city located in the state of West Virginia. With a population of 29,193 people and 17 associated neighborhoods, Parkersburg is the fourth largest community in West Virginia.Unlike some cities where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Parkersburg is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Parkersburg is a city of sales and office workers, professionals, and service providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Parkersburg who work in sales jobs (13.33%), office and administrative support (11.59%), and management occupations (7.95%). One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 8.94% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Parkersburg spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 18.84 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the city are less than they would otherwise be.The education level of Parkersburg citizens, measured as those with bachelor's degrees or advanced degrees, is similar to the national average for all American cities and towns. 17.12% of adults 25 and older in Parkersburg have a college degree. The per capita income in Parkersburg in 2022 was $27,017, which is middle income relative to West Virginia, and lower middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $108,068 for a family of four. However, Parkersburg contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. The people who call Parkersburg home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Parkersburg residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Parkersburg include German, Irish, English, Scottish, and Scots-Irish. The most common language spoken in Parkersburg is English. Other important languages spoken here include Polish and Spanish.
