Buchanan County, Va.

Population: 23,106

Trump vote share: 69.7 percent

Welcome to coal country. Mining is the biggest source of jobs in Buchanan County, which is in Appalachia and borders both Kentucky and West Virginia.



But the coal business is troubled. The county’s unemployment rate in December was 10.6 percent, the highest in Virginia and more than double the statewide rate of 3.9 percent. And since 1980, its population has fallen by about 40 percent.

Dana O’Quinn, a lifelong resident, has been a barber for close to 40 years. These days, fewer people are coming in to get their hair cut.

“The older people like myself will make it,” she said. “It’s the younger people that I worry about.” They are the ones who are leaving, she said, hoping to find jobs elsewhere.



David Tiller got his hair cut by Dana O’Quinn at Frank’s Barber Shop in Grundy, Va., on Thursday. George Etheredge for The New York Times





Those who have remained are much poorer than people elsewhere in the state. Fewer than one in 10 adults have a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Ms. O’Quinn, a Democrat, won’t be voting for Mr. Trump. But she acknowledged his appeal, saying people in Buchanan County are looking for a change.

“There’s no better place to live,” she said. “But it has been hit hard.”