Best Places26283, WV Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 26283, 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.
26283 ranks 19,577th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 26283
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.
26283's strengths and weaknesses
Where 26283 ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 78% of zip codes
Where 26283 ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 26283
A household needs to earn about $34,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 26283 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $67,868, 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 26283's effective rate of 0.35%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 26283
26283 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 26283.
Who works in 26283, and how
Work in 26283 centers on education and construction. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 26283
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 26283.
What the weather is like in 26283, month by month
26283 sees roughly 71 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 31° | 20° |
| April | 68° | 52° | 38° |
| July | 85° | 72° | 60° |
| October | 70° | 54° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 26283
The nearest airport, North Central West Virginia, is about 27 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Pittsburgh International, about 101 miles away.
The best schools in and around 26283
Schools across 26283 average a C−, better than 22% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- North Elementary SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Kasson Elementary Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Tucker Valley Elementary Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Belington Middle SchoolC · 31% proficient
- Elkins Middle SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Top high schools
- Elkins High SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Tucker County High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Philip Barbour High School ComplexC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 26283 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
26283 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 26283 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 26283
Is 26283 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 26283 ranks 19,577th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a stable housing market, low property taxes, and tree cover, and lowest on state infrastructure and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 26283 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $137,149. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $67,868 median income, cost of living beats 46% of zip codes.
Is 26283 safe?
Yes, 26283 is safer than 68% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $238 per resident a year.
Compare 26283 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 26283. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 26283 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.
26283 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 26283: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 26283: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 26283: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 26283: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
26283 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.