Best Places26040, WV Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 26040, 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.
26040 ranks 25,367th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and health outcomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 26040
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.
26040's strengths and weaknesses
Where 26040 ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 81% of zip codes
- Short commute23.2 minutes each way, better than 69% of zip codes
Where 26040 ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Household income$42,970 median, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 26040
A household needs to earn about $25,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 26040 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $42,970, 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 26040's effective rate of 0.70%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 26040
26040 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 26040.
Who works in 26040, and how
Work in 26040 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 26040
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 26040.
What the weather is like in 26040, month by month
26040 sees roughly 70 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 31° | 23° |
| April | 66° | 53° | 41° |
| July | 86° | 74° | 64° |
| October | 69° | 57° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 26040
Pittsburgh International sits about 44 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 4.8 million passengers in 2025, with 104 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 26040
Schools across 26040 average a C, better than 32% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Glen Dale Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Center Mcmechen Elementary SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sherrard Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- John Marshall High SchoolC · 34% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 26040 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
26040 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 26040 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 26040
Is 26040 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 26040 ranks 25,367th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on walkability, fast internet, and a stable housing market, and lowest on health outcomes and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 26040 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $95,120. The overall cost of living runs about 26% below the national average. Set against a $42,970 median income, cost of living beats 12% of zip codes.
Is 26040 safe?
26040 is safer than 30% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $363 per resident a year.
Compare 26040 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 26040. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 26040 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.
26040 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 26040: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 26040: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 26040: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 26040: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
26040 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.