Gary, West Virginia
Location of Gary, West Virginia
Coordinates: 37°21′41″N 81°32′11″W / 37.36139, -81.53639
Country	United States
State	West Virginia
County	McDowell
Area
- Total	0.9 sq mi (2.3 km²)
- Land	0.9 sq mi (2.3 km²)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²)
Elevation	1,411 ft (430 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	917
- Density	1,024.0/sq mi (395.4/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	24836
Area code(s)	304
FIPS code	54-30196[1]
GNIS feature ID	1554536[2]

Gary is a city in McDowell County, West Virginia, USA. The population was 917 at the 2000 census.

Gary was once a booming coal mining company town run by the United States Steel Corporation. Gary was incorporated on July 1, 1971, by popular vote of residents in an election held on March 16, 1970. Incorporation includes five communities: Elbert, Filbert, Gary, Thorpe, and Wilcoe. The town was named in honor of Judge Elbert Gary, one-time president of U.S. Steel Corporation. U.S. Steel shut down its Gary Operations in 1986. The principal industry is coal mining, but poverty and unemployment have plagued the area since the closing of U.S. Steel.

Geography

Gary is located at 37°21′41″N, 81°32′11″W (37.361378, -81.536347)^[3].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.9 square miles (2.3 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 917 people, 420 households, and 260 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,024.0 people per square mile (393.4/km²). There were 542 housing units at an average density of 605.2/sq mi (232.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 61.40% White, 35.55% African American, 0.11% Native American, and 2.94% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.55% of the population.

There were 420 households out of which 17.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.8% were married couples living together, 14.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.9% were non-families. 36.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 23.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.77.

In the city the population was spread out with 19.0% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 18.4% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 32.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 50 years. For every 100 females there were 86.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $22,857, and the median income for a family was $30,938. Males had a median income of $28,750 versus $17,019 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,233. About 24.2% of families and 30.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 58.2% of those under age 18 and 18.5% of those age 65 or over.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
2. ^ US Board on Geographic Names. United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
3. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.

External links

• Gary High School Coaldigger Alumni
• Coalfields of the Appalachian Mountains - Gary, WV

• Gary, West Virginia is at coordinates 37°21′41″N 81°32′11″W / 37.361378, -81.536347 (Gary, West Virginia)Coordinates: 37°21′41″N 81°32′11″W / 37.361378, -81.536347 (Gary, West Virginia)

v â€¢ d â€¢ e Municipalities and communities of McDowell County, West Virginia County seat: Welch Cities Gary | Keystone | War | Welch Towns Anawalt | Bradshaw | Davy | Iaeger | Kimball | Northfork Unincorporated communities Algoma | Apple Grove | Asco | Ashland | Atwell | Avondale | Bartley | Beartown | Berwind | Big Four | Big Sandy | Bishop | Black Wolf | Bottom Creek | Canebrake | Capels | Caretta | Carlos | Carswell | Coalwood | Crumpler | Cucumber | Eckman | Elbert | Elkhorn | English | Ennis | Erin | Faraday | Filbert | Gilliam | Havaco | Hemphill | Hensley | Hull | Isaban‡ | Jacobs Fork | Jed | Jenkinjones | Johnnycake | Jolo | Kyle | Landgraff | Leckie | Lex | Lila | Litwar | Maitland | Maybeury | McDowell | Mohawk | Mohegan | Munson | Newhall | Pageton | Panther | Paynesville | Powhatan | Premier | Raysal | Ream | Rift | Rockridge | Roderfield | Rolfe | Sandy Huff | Six | Skygusty | Squire | Superior | Switchback | Thorpe | Twin Branch | Union City | Upland | Vallscreek | Venus | Vivian | Warriormine | Wilcoe | Worth | Yerba | Yukon Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties