Did You Know?

• Berkeley County is the second largest county in West Virginia with a population of 104,169 which is a 37.2% increase from a population of 75,905 in 2000.
• At the end of June 2008 Berkeley County had $1,006,783,000 in deposits in 13 FDIC insured banks.
• West Virginia had the nation’s most improved economy in 2008, based on its 46th place ranking in 2007 and its sixth place ranking in 2008.
• The privatization of Workers Comp has reduced business workers’ compensation costs an average of 27% resulting in a savings of roughly $150 million for West Virginia companies.
• Cost of living and home prices are among the lowest in the nation.
• West Virginia leads the nation in terms of technology and internet in the classroom.
• West Virginia is #1 in exporting electricity and coal in the nation.
• West Virginia has some of the lowest electricity rates in the country.
• Shepherd University was named the top-ranked West Virginia public baccalaureate institution for the second year, earning the 40th spot among Best Baccalaureate Colleges in the South in the 2010 edition of America's Best Colleges, published by U.S. News Media Group.
• Shepherd was accepted into the prestigious 26-member Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC) in June and recognized by the Princeton Review as a Best College in the Southeast for the fifth year in a row in July.
• A documentary profiling the history of Martinsburg aired on West Virginia PBS in the spring of 2009. The documentary, which is part of a series called “Road Trip to History,” focuses on the city’s history as told by members of the community.