Coal-mining employment in West Virginia 2011-2021

In 2021, 11,511 people were working in West Virginia's coal industry in total. Of that number, around 79 percent of the employees worked in underground coal mines.

Coal-mining in West Virginia

Coal-mining in West Virginia totaled 13,962 jobs in 2018, with 10,767 jobs located in underground mines and 3,195 jobs dedicated to surface mines. In 2020, two out of ten leading underground coal mines by production are in West Virginia. In the Appalachian region, where West Virginia is located, there were nearly 34,000 coal mining jobs in 2020, down from nearly 30,620 in 2018.

West Virigina's standing as a U.S. coal producer

In 2009, coal was extracted from 51 different coal seams in the state, and there are 65 seams located in the region that are considered economically viable. While West Virginia is not the first largest producer of coal in the United States, it nevertheless remains one of the largest producers in the United States, only surpassed by Wyoming. In 2020, Wyoming produced 218.6 million short tons of coal, and West Virginia produced some 67.3 million short tons. Despite being one of the largest producers in the United States, coal consumption is greater in many other U.S. states than in West Virginia.