Best Places25434, WV Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 25434, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
25434 ranks 27,270th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 25434
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
25434's strengths and weaknesses
Where 25434 ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 75% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 67% of zip codes
Where 25434 ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Short commute41.6 minutes each way, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 25434
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 25434 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $67,112, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 25434's effective rate of 0.29%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 25434
25434 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 25434.
Who works in 25434, and how
Work in 25434 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 25434
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 25434.
What the weather is like in 25434, month by month
25434 sees roughly 83 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 33° | 26° |
| April | 68° | 54° | 43° |
| July | 88° | 76° | 66° |
| October | 69° | 56° | 47° |
Flying in and out of 25434
The nearest airport, Hagerstown Regional/Richard A Henson Field, is about 42 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Washington Dulles International, about 64 miles away.
The best schools in and around 25434
Schools across 25434 average a C−, better than 20% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Paw Paw Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Slanesville Elementary SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top middle schools
- Romney Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Capon Bridge Middle SchoolC− · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- Hampshire Senior High SchoolD · 22% proficient
- Paw Paw High SchoolD− · 12% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 25434 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
25434 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 25434 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 25434
Is 25434 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 25434 ranks 27,270th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low property taxes, fast internet, and tree cover, and lowest on state infrastructure and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 25434 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $169,508. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $67,112 median income, cost of living beats 34% of zip codes.
Is 25434 safe?
25434 is safer than 25% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $394 per resident a year.
Compare 25434 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 25434. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 25434 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
25434 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 25434: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 25434: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 25434: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 25434: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
25434 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.