The U.S. has reported more than 32.0 million confirmed COVID-19 cases as of May 4, 2021. More than 570,000 Americans have died of COVID-19 — the highest death toll of any country.

The virus has spread throughout the country in a way that has been difficult to predict, surging in one region, then showing signs of improvement, and then reappearing in other regions. Though local outbreaks may ebb and flow, the current surge in cases has been felt nearly nationwide, leading to new travel restrictions and business closures around the country.

Nationwide, there were an average of 15.6 daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 Americans in the week ending May 4, 2021. Cumulatively, the U.S. has reported 9,806.5 cases per 100,000 Americans, and 174.8 deaths per 100,000 Americans.

The extent of the spread of the novel coronavirus continues to vary considerably from state to state, and even from county to county. Even as the number of daily new cases is flattening or even declining in some parts of the country, new cases are surging at a growing rate in others.

The coronavirus has spread to different parts of the country in different stages throughout the pandemic. In the spring, the worst hit states were in the Northeast, as New York City became the epicenter of the nation’s crisis. The virus spread to states throughout the Sun Belt in the summer, and hit states in the Midwest and West during the fall. By November 2020, nearly every state was categorized as a COVID-19 hot spot, according to definitions based on new cases per capita from the nonprofit health organization Kaiser Family Foundation.

In West Virginia, there were an average of 19.3 daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents in the week ending May 4, 2021. The West Virginia case growth rate ranks as the 14th highest of all 50 states.

While the nation’s largest counties were hit hardest in the early months of the pandemic, nearly every county has suffered from the coronavirus. Outbreaks can occur quickly in places where large numbers of people tend to congregate, leaving counties with colleges, correctional facilities, and nursing homes particularly at risk.

In Wayne County, there were an average of 45.6 new confirmed cases per day per 100,000 residents in the week ending May 4, 2021 — the highest rate of any county in West Virginia. Since the pandemic began, the county has reported 3,009 confirmed cases, or 7,391.7 cases per 100,000.

There have been 40 deaths, or 98.3 deaths per 100,000 residents.

To determine the county in each state with the highest rate of daily cases of the virus, 24/7 Wall St. compiled and reviewed data from state and local health departments. We ranked counties according to the average new number of cases per 100,000 residents per day during the week ending May 4, 2021. Population data used to adjust case and death totals came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2018 American Community Survey and are five-year estimates.

These are all the counties in West Virginia where COVID-19 is slowing (and where it’s still getting worse).

No.	County	Population	New daily cases per 100,000	Total cases	Total deaths	Cases per 100,000	Deaths per 100,000
1	Wayne County	40,708	45.6	3,009	40	7,391.7	98.3
2	Raleigh County	76,232	43.4	6,626	82	8,691.9	107.6
3	Hardy County	13,842	37.7	1,501	24	10,843.8	173.4
4	Wetzel County	15,614	37.5	1,284	29	8,223.4	185.7
5	Gilmer County	8,205	34.1	791	5	9,640.5	60.9
6	Berkeley County	113,495	33.1	12,122	121	10,680.6	106.6
7	Greenbrier County	35,347	28.3	2,748	62	7,774.4	175.4
8	Boone County	22,817	28.1	1,965	33	8,612.0	144.6
9	Putnam County	56,652	27.1	5,025	90	8,869.9	158.9
10	Pleasants County	7,507	26.6	857	11	11,416.0	146.5
11	Jackson County	29,018	25.5	2,021	60	6,964.6	206.8
12	Jefferson County	56,179	25.0	4,526	48	8,056.4	85.4
13	Barbour County	16,730	24.8	1,411	26	8,434.0	155.4
14	Wirt County	5,797	24.6	406	3	7,003.6	51.8
15	McDowell County	19,217	23.4	1,545	21	8,039.8	109.3
16	Marion County	56,497	23.2	4,322	46	7,650.0	81.4
17	Kanawha County	185,710	22.8	14,657	331	7,892.4	178.2
18	Nicholas County	25,324	22.4	1,592	19	6,286.5	75.0
19	Mingo County	24,741	21.4	2,510	39	10,145.1	157.6
20	Monroe County	13,467	20.5	1,112	17	8,257.2	126.2
21	Marshall County	31,645	20.1	3,374	76	10,662.0	240.2
22	Ritchie County	9,932	18.9	691	11	6,957.3	110.8
23	Ohio County	42,547	18.4	4,141	81	9,732.8	190.4
24	Lincoln County	21,078	18.3	1,443	22	6,846.0	104.4
25	Morgan County	17,624	18.3	1,137	20	6,451.4	113.5
26	Fayette County	44,126	17.9	3,375	75	7,648.6	170.0
27	Harrison County	68,209	17.5	5,591	74	8,196.9	108.5
28	Wyoming County	21,711	17.3	1,962	39	9,036.9	179.6
29	Mercer County	60,486	17.1	4,722	116	7,806.8	191.8
30	Webster County	8,518	16.1	471	7	5,529.5	82.2
31	Hampshire County	23,363	15.9	1,765	33	7,554.7	141.2
32	Brooke County	22,772	15.8	2,169	60	9,524.9	263.5
33	Calhoun County	7,396	15.7	284	0	3,839.9	0.0
34	Summers County	13,018	15.4	801	21	6,153.0	161.3
35	Pocahontas County	8,531	15.1	662	11	7,759.9	128.9
36	Mason County	26,939	14.8	1,983	36	7,361.1	133.6
37	Doddridge County	8,536	14.8	573	6	6,712.7	70.3
38	Mineral County	27,278	14.5	2,817	84	10,327.0	307.9
39	Clay County	8,785	13.7	473	9	5,384.2	102.4
40	Grant County	11,641	13.7	1,266	27	10,875.4	231.9
41	Braxton County	14,282	13.6	898	3	6,287.6	21.0
42	Monongalia County	105,252	11.2	9,115	82	8,660.2	77.9
43	Roane County	14,205	11.1	602	8	4,237.9	56.3
44	Hancock County	29,680	11.0	2,761	88	9,302.6	296.5
45	Wood County	85,556	10.1	7,687	165	8,984.8	192.9
46	Pendleton County	7,056	9.3	698	9	9,892.3	127.6
47	Randolph County	29,065	9.0	2,531	12	8,708.1	41.3
48	Tyler County	8,909	8.5	687	9	7,711.3	101.0
49	Preston County	33,837	8.1	2,846	46	8,410.9	135.9
50	Upshur County	24,605	7.5	1,843	33	7,490.3	134.1
51	Lewis County	16,276	7.1	1,157	20	7,108.6	122.9
52	Taylor County	16,951	5.5	1,212	23	7,150.0	135.7
53	Cabell County	95,318	4.4	8,595	170	9,017.2	178.4
54	Logan County	33,801	1.8	3,034	93	8,976.1	275.1
55	Tucker County	7,027	0.6	523	10	7,442.7	142.3

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