West Virginia has considerable national and ethnic diversity. Settlers before the Civil War consisted principally of English, German, Scotch-Irish, and Welsh immigrants, many of whom came by way of Pennsylvania. A second wave of immigration from the 1880s to the 1920s brought thousands of Italians, Poles, Austrians, and Hungarians to the coal mines and industrial towns, which also attracted many blacks from the South. In 1980, 79% of the residents of the state were born in West Virginia (4th highest among states).
Between 1950 and 1970, West Virginia suffered a 13% loss in population, chiefly from the coal-mining areas; but between 1970 and 1980, population rose by almost 12%. According to federal estimates, the state had a net migration gain of 71,000 in the 1970s and a net migration loss of about 81,000 in the 1980s. Between 1990 and 1998, West Virginia had net gains of 8,000 in domestic migration and 3,000 in international migration. In 1998, the state admitted 375 foreign immigrants. Between 1990 and 1998, the state's overall population increased by 1%. In the period 1995–2000, 138,487 people moved into the state and 149,241 moved out, for a net loss of 10,754, many of whom moved to Ohio.