Several factors contribute to cancer rates, from personal habits and genetics to air pollution or groundwater quality in a given area. People experiencing social, economic, or environmental disadvantages are disproportionately affected by high cancer rates in certain regions—including access or barriers to early screening and care.
Cancer rates also fluctuate by jobs: Higher rates of cancer can be found among meat industry and rubber manufacturing workers, and farmers.
Stacker compiled the counties with the highest cancer rates in West Virginia using data from the CDC. Keep reading to see where in your state cancer cases are the most common.
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#55. Monongalia County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 442.4
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 449.1
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2 / 55#54. Hardy County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 538.1
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 384.2
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3 / 55#53. Berkeley County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 542.8
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 463.6
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4 / 55#52. Pendleton County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 562.6
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 307.3
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6 / 55#50. Grant County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 598.4
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 387.4
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7 / 55#49. Doddridge County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 602.4
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 402.4
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8 / 55#48. Gilmer County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 614.8
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 490.8
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9 / 55#47. Hampshire County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 632.5
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 413.1
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10 / 55#45. Calhoun County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 643.0
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 390.6
#44. Preston County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 651.0
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 457.5
#43. Barbour County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 651.6
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 483.8
#42. Wirt County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 659.2
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 446.0
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15 / 55Dee Browning // Shutterstock
16 / 55#40. Cabell County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 664.5
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 507.5
#39. Marion County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 670.1
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 504.6
#38. Ritchie County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 671.0
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 429.9
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19 / 55#37. Braxton County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 675.6
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 450.0
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20 / 55#35. Marshall County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 687.4
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 452.4
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22 / 55#34. Raleigh County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 687.7
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 485.3
#33. Wood County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 691.8
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 481.4
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24 / 55#32. Jackson County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 693.2
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 473.9
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25 / 55#30. Harrison County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 701.6
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 504.8
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27 / 55#29. Upshur County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 702.6
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 497.8
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28 / 55#28. Taylor County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 707.6
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 499.7
#27. Ohio County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 712.1
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 492.5
#25. Summers County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 714.4
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 447.3
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32 / 55#24. Nicholas County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 714.5
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 474.8
#23. Kanawha County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 717.4
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 503.9
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34 / 55#22. Greenbrier County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 718.8
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 471.8
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36 / 55#20. Mason County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 722.1
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 487.4
#19. Fayette County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 725.1
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 504.8
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38 / 55#18. Morgan County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 725.8
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 452.8
#17. Wyoming County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 729.5
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 503.6
#15. McDowell County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 738.8
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 488.1
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42 / 55#14. Brooke County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 741.8
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 469.9
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43 / 55#13. Clay County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 744.2
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 499.8
#12. Lincoln County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 746.0
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 537.2
#10. Wayne County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 752.4
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 522.5
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47 / 55#9. Hancock County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 755.5
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 481.4
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48 / 55#8. Wetzel County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 767.8
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 506.9
#7. Tyler County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 769.2
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 493.1
#5. Roane County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 788.1
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 530.5
#4. Tucker County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 797.9
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 464.2
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53 / 55#3. Lewis County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 806.3
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 560.2
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54 / 55#2. Webster County
- Cancer rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 820.4
- Age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 537.1
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