Best Places25853, WV Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 25853, 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.
25853 ranks 31,131st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 25853
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.
25853's strengths and weaknesses
Where 25853 ranks high
- QuietBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 78% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 78% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 67% of zip codes
Where 25853 ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 25853
A household needs to earn about $3,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 25853 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $51,836, 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 25853's effective rate of 0.54%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 25853
25853 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 25853.
Who works in 25853, and how
Work in 25853 centers on public administration and other services. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 25853
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 25853.
What the weather is like in 25853, month by month
25853 sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 33° | 27° |
| April | 70° | 55° | 44° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 66° |
| October | 71° | 57° | 47° |
Flying in and out of 25853
The nearest airport, Raleigh County Memorial, is about 15 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 169 miles away.
The best schools in and around 25853
Schools across 25853 average a C−, better than 21% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mullens Elementary SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Coal City ElementaryD · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- Independence Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Independence High SchoolD · 18% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 25853 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
25853 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 25853 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 25853
Is 25853 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 25853 ranks 31,131st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on quiet, fast internet, and tree cover, and lowest on cell coverage and health outcomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 25853 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $9,999. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $51,836 median income, cost of living beats 14% of zip codes.
Is 25853 safe?
25853 is safer than 14% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $483 per resident a year.
Compare 25853 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 25853. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 25853 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.
25853 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 25853: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 25853: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 25853: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 25853: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
25853 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.