# Jackson County, West Virginia: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Ravenswood and Ripley Jackson County is not a build-out site today. It feels the boom through the grid it shares, the utilities that serve it and the work nearby. Electrical contractors employ 50, up 194.1% since 2019 against up 37.1% statewide, at an average $100,979 a year. Jackson County is home to Ravenswood and Ripley. Next door, Kanawha County has 3 data centers. Employers here counted 7,732 jobs in 2025, down 13.1% from 2019. Unemployment was 4.8% in August 2026, against 6.0% in 2019. -13.1% total jobs since 2019, now 7,732 192 MW of operating power plants, mostly solar 16.77¢ per kWh for Appalachian Power Co residential customers, 2024 ## Cities and towns in Jackson County Jackson County is home to Ravenswood and Ripley. Ravenswood3,790 residents Ripley3,038 residents Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Cottageville. 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 Jackson County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in West Virginia | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 27,723 | 27,450 | ▼ 1.0% | 20th of 55 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 8,893 | 7,732 | ▼ 13.1% | 53rd of 55 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $49,615 | $54,912 | ▲ 10.7% | — | | Electrical contractor jobs (2019 → 2025) | 17 | 50 | ▲ 194.1% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 6.0% | 4.8% | ▼ 1.2pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 192 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | 192 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly solar. Its power plants have 192 MW of capacity, 59% of it solar, the 9th largest fleet in West Virginia. Appalachian Power Co is the largest utility serving Jackson County, one of 2 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 16.77¢/kWh in 2024, above the 15.35¢ median for West Virginia utilities. 27,450 people live here, down 1.0% since 2020. ## Who powers Jackson County ### Utilities with service territory in Jackson County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Appalachian Power Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 348,946 | 16.77¢ | 27% | | Monongahela Power Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 334,588 | 13.97¢ | 26% | 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 | |---|---|---| | Solar | 113 MW | 59% | | Battery storage | 79 MW | 41% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | BHER Ravenswood Solar 1 | BHER Ravenswood Solar 1, LLC | Battery storage | 192 MW | 2025 | ## The Jackson County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 7,732 | $54,912 | 1.00 | | Electrical contractors | 50 | $100,979 | 0.90 | 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 Jackson County No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Jackson County. West Virginia has 0 local measures on record statewide. ## Jackson County and its neighbors Of the 7 counties that border Jackson County, Putnam 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 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Jackson County | 27,450 | ▼ 13.1% | 192 MW | — | — | — | | Kanawha County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/west-virginia/kanawha-county) | 172,381 | ▼ 0.6% | 29 MW | — | 3 | — | | Mason County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/west-virginia/mason-county) | 24,707 | ▲ 27.7% | 1,300 MW | 29 MW | — | — | | Meigs County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/ohio/meigs-county) OH | 21,587 | ▼ 6.2% | 95 MW | — | — | — | | Putnam County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/west-virginia/putnam-county) | 56,885 | ▲ 11.5% | 2,957 MW | — | — | — | | Roane County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/west-virginia/roane-county) | 13,317 | ▼ 4.3% | — | — | — | — | | Wirt County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/west-virginia/wirt-county) | 4,879 | ▲ 24.7% | — | — | — | — | | Wood County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/west-virginia/wood-county) | 82,385 | ▼ 0.8% | 42 MW | — | — | — | ## More of West Virginia [All West Virginia countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/west-virginia)[Kanawha County172,381 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/west-virginia/kanawha-county)[Wood County82,385 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/west-virginia/wood-county)[Putnam County56,885 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/west-virginia/putnam-county)[Mason County24,707 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/west-virginia/mason-county)[Roane County13,317 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/west-virginia/roane-county) ## Jackson County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Jackson County, West Virginia? 2 utilities have service territory in Jackson County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Appalachian Power Co, Monongahela Power Co. The largest, Appalachian Power Co, charged residential customers 16.77¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What power plants are in Jackson County? 1 operating plant with 192 MW of capacity. The largest is BHER Ravenswood Solar 1 (192 MW, battery storage). ### Are there data centers in Jackson County? The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Jackson County. The nearest activity on record is next door in Kanawha County. ### Is Jackson County adding jobs? Employers counted 7,732 jobs in 2025 against 8,893 in 2019 (-13.1%, BLS QCEW). ### Does Jackson County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Jackson County. West Virginia has 0 local measures statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/west-virginia/jackson-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/).