Best Places26440, WV Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 26440, 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.
26440 ranks 27,298th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. State infrastructure pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on low disaster risk.
The best neighborhoods in 26440
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.
26440's strengths and weaknesses
Where 26440 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 84% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 74% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 73% of zip codes
Where 26440 ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Household income$50,614 median, better than only 11% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 26440
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 26440 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $50,614, 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 26440's effective rate of 0.45%, 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 26440
26440 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 26440.
Who works in 26440, and how
Work in 26440 centers on health care & social and transportation & warehousing. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 26440
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 26440.
What the weather is like in 26440, month by month
26440 sees roughly 71 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs April through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 33° | 24° |
| April | 69° | 55° | 42° |
| July | 88° | 75° | 64° |
| October | 71° | 57° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 26440
The nearest airport, North Central West Virginia, is about 17 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Pittsburgh International, about 82 miles away.
The best schools in and around 26440
Schools across 26440 average a C−, better than 18% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Anna Jarvis Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Kasson Elementary Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Terra Alta/east Preston SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Taylor County Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Grafton High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Preston High SchoolD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 26440 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
26440 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 26440 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 26440
Is 26440 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 26440 ranks 27,298th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, low property taxes, 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 26440 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $165,835. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $50,614 median income, cost of living beats 14% of zip codes.
Is 26440 safe?
Yes, 26440 is safer than 73% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $225 per resident a year.
Compare 26440 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 26440. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 26440 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.
26440 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 26440: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 26440: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 26440: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 26440: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
26440 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.