● Ranked from real West Virginia data · 2024-25 season
Best counties to lease or own hunting land in West Virginia
West Virginia counties where private hunting access is worth the most — strong deer harvest AND very little public land, so a hunter has real demand and nowhere free to go. If you own ground here, this is what it's worth.
#1Preston County4,943 deer · 3.4% public3.4% public→#2Jackson County3,694 deer · 3.2% public3.2% public→#3Wood County3,403 deer · 1.3% public1.3% public→#4Upshur County3,286 deer · 0.3% public0.3% public→#5Mason County3,442 deer · 5.5% public5.5% public→#6Ritchie County3,276 deer · 4.7% public4.7% public→#7Greenbrier County3,521 deer · 17.7% public17.7% public→#8Randolph County4,065 deer · 32.7% public32.7% public→#9Lewis County2,823 deer · 8.5% public8.5% public→#10Monroe County2,762 deer · 8.2% public8.2% public→#11Kanawha County2,502 deer · 1.9% public1.9% public→#12Hampshire County2,595 deer · 5.8% public5.8% public→
How this list is ranked
Ranked by opportunity = reported deer harvest (normalized) × private-land scarcity (1 − huntable public %). Strong harvest with little public land ranks highest. A relative guide from public data, not an appraisal.
Data year: 2024-25 season. Each row links to its full page with every number cited to its agency source. A place missing a signal is never guessed — it simply can't rank.
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