Best Places26287, WV Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 26287, 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.
26287 ranks 20,733rd 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 26287
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.
26287's strengths and weaknesses
Where 26287 ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 93% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 26287 ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Household income$49,501 median, better than only 10% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 17% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 26287
A household needs to earn about $34,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 26287 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $49,501, 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 26287'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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 26287
26287 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 26287.
Who works in 26287, and how
Work in 26287 centers on health care & social and public administration. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 26287
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 26287.
What the weather is like in 26287, month by month
26287 sees roughly 119 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 76 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 26° | 20° |
| April | 59° | 47° | 38° |
| July | 76° | 66° | 59° |
| October | 61° | 50° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 26287
The nearest airport, North Central West Virginia, is about 31 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Pittsburgh International, about 98 miles away.
The best schools in and around 26287
Schools across 26287 average a C−, better than 19% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Davis Thomas Elementary Middle SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Tucker Valley Elementary Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Tucker County High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 26287 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
26287 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 26287 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 26287
Is 26287 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 26287 ranks 20,733rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low property taxes, heat safety, and tree cover, and lowest on state infrastructure and health outcomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 26287 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $140,779. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $49,501 median income, cost of living beats 16% of zip codes.
Is 26287 safe?
Yes, 26287 is safer than 83% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $194 per resident a year.
Compare 26287 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 26287. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 26287 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.
26287 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 26287: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 26287: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 26287: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 26287: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
26287 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.