Best Places26505, WV Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 26505, 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.
26505 ranks 13,527th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 26505
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.
26505's strengths and weaknesses
Where 26505 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Short commute16.8 minutes each way, better than 94% of zip codes
Where 26505 ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Household income$52,207 median, better than only 13% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 20% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 26505
A household needs to earn about $79,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 26505 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $52,207, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 26505's effective rate of 0.49%, 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 26505
26505 runs younger 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 26505.
Who works in 26505, and how
Work in 26505 centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 68%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 18%
Life in 26505
26505 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 85% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 87% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 26505 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 26505, month by month
26505 sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs April through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 33° | 24° |
| April | 68° | 55° | 42° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 64° |
| October | 70° | 58° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 26505
The nearest airport, Morgantown Municipal/Walter L Bill Hart Field, is about 2 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Pittsburgh International, about 60 miles away.
The best schools in and around 26505
Schools across 26505 average a B+, better than 74% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- North Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Suncrest Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Brookhaven Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mountaineer Middle SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
- Suncrest Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- South Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Morgantown High SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
- University High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 26505 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
26505 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 26505 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 26505 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 14% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 26505
Is 26505 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 26505 ranks 13,527th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, an educated workforce, and low disaster risk, and lowest on state infrastructure and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 26505 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $316,081. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $52,207 median income, cost of living beats 17% of zip codes.
Is 26505 safe?
Yes, 26505 is safer than 56% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $290 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 26505?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 24. That works out to about 72 pleasant days a year, more than 28% of zip codes.
Is 26505 good for families?
Schools beat 74% of zip codes, crime safety beats 56%, and childcare runs $727 a month.
Compare 26505 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 26505. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 26505 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.
26505 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 26505: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 26505: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 26505: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 26505: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
26505 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.