# Barbour County, West Virginia: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Philippi and Belington No data center or power plant project is on record in Barbour County, but the national build-out still reaches it through its utility bill, its labor market and the projects next door. Barbour County is home to Philippi and Belington. Unemployment was 4.5% in August 2026, against 6.2% in 2019. Next door, Harrison County has 1 data center and 579 MW of planned generation. Employers here counted 3,990 jobs in 2025, up 10.4% from 2019. 16 MW has retired here since 2019, including Laurel Mountain Hybrid (battery storage, 16 MW, 2025). +10.4% total jobs since 2019, now 3,990 16 MW of generating capacity retired since 2019 98 MW of operating power plants, mostly wind ## Cities and towns in Barbour County Barbour County is home to Philippi and Belington. Philippi2,846 residents Belington1,809 residents Junior380 residents Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Century, Galloway. Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities. ## What changed in Barbour County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in West Virginia | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 15,463 | 15,414 | ▼ 0.3% | 36th of 55 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 3,615 | 3,990 | ▲ 10.4% | 12th of 55 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $41,599 | $57,127 | ▲ 37.3% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 6.2% | 4.5% | ▼ 1.7pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 16 MW | | — | Its power plants have 98 MW of capacity, 100% of it wind. Monongahela Power Co is the largest utility serving Barbour County, one of 3 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 13.97¢/kWh in 2024, below the 15.35¢ median for West Virginia utilities. 15,414 people live here, down 0.3% since 2020. ## Who powers Barbour County ### Utilities with service territory in Barbour County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Monongahela Power Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 334,588 | 13.97¢ | 26% | | Harrison Rural Elec Assn, Inc | — | — | — | — | — | | Philippi Municipal Electric | — | — | — | — | — | Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers. ### Operating power plants | Technology | Capacity | Share | |---|---|---| | Wind | 98 MW | 100% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Laurel Mountain Hybrid | AES Distributed Energy | Wind | 98 MW | 2011 | ### Retired since 2019 | Plant | Technology | MW | Year | |---|---|---|---| | Laurel Mountain Hybrid | Battery storage | 16 MW | 2025 | ## The Barbour County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 3,990 | $57,127 | 1.00 | Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out. ## Data centers and local rules in Barbour County No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Barbour County. West Virginia has 0 local measures on record statewide. ## Barbour County and its neighbors Of the 6 counties that border Barbour County, Harrison County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined. [[[[[[ | County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Barbour County | 15,414 | ▲ 10.4% | 98 MW | — | — | — | | Harrison County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/west-virginia/harrison-county) | 64,221 | ▲ 1.5% | 2,052 MW | 579 MW | 1 | — | | Preston County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/west-virginia/preston-county) | 34,004 | ▲ 1.7% | — | — | — | — | | Randolph County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/west-virginia/randolph-county) | 26,882 | ▼ 7.7% | — | — | — | — | | Taylor County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/west-virginia/taylor-county) | 16,287 | ▲ 9.5% | — | 30 MW | — | — | | Tucker County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/west-virginia/tucker-county) | 6,540 | ▲ 7.6% | 66 MW | 12 MW | — | — | | Upshur County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/west-virginia/upshur-county) | 23,758 | ▲ 3.9% | — | — | — | — | ## More of West Virginia [All West Virginia countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/west-virginia)[Harrison County64,221 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/west-virginia/harrison-county)[Preston County34,004 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/west-virginia/preston-county)[Randolph County26,882 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/west-virginia/randolph-county)[Upshur County23,758 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/west-virginia/upshur-county)[Taylor County16,287 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/west-virginia/taylor-county) ## Barbour County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Barbour County, West Virginia? 3 utilities have service territory in Barbour County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Monongahela Power Co, Harrison Rural Elec Assn, Inc, Philippi Municipal Electric. The largest, Monongahela Power Co, charged residential customers 13.97¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What power plants are in Barbour County? 1 operating plant with 98 MW of capacity. The largest is Laurel Mountain Hybrid (98 MW, wind). ### Are there data centers in Barbour County? The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Barbour County. The nearest activity on record is next door in Harrison County. ### Is Barbour County adding jobs? Employers counted 3,990 jobs in 2025 against 3,615 in 2019 (+10.4%, BLS QCEW). ### Does Barbour County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Barbour County. West Virginia has 0 local measures statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/west-virginia/barbour-county Updated: 2026-10-08. Refreshed weekly by SAVRN from EIA, BLS, BEA, Census and the SAVRN trackers. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).