CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia no longer has a city with more than 50,000 residents.
U.S. Census 2015 estimates released Thursday show Charleston dipped below the threshold last year. The state’s largest city had an estimated population of 49,736, down 590 residents from the year before.
It marks the first time that Charleston was below 50,000 in population since the 1920 Census, when it had 39,608 people. The city’s residents shot up to more than 60,000 in 1930.
Charleston’s population was at an all-time high, at more than 85,000, in the 1960 Census.
Mayor Danny Jones said Thursday that many cities around the Mountain State — not just Charleston — are losing people.
“There’s no question we’re losing people . . . for pretty obvious reasons…
