Best Places26631, WV Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 26631, 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.
26631 ranks 32,584th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and health outcomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 26631
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.
26631's strengths and weaknesses
Where 26631 ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 81% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 57% of zip codes
Where 26631 ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Household income$42,788 median, better than only 3% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 26631
A household needs to earn about $44,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 26631 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $42,788; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 26631's effective rate of 0.42%, 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 26631
26631's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 26631.
Who works in 26631, and how
Work in 26631 centers on retail trade and admin & support services. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 2%
- Transit, walk, or bike 16%
Life in 26631
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 26631.
What the weather is like in 26631, month by month
26631 sees roughly 65 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 42, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42° | 33° | 26° |
| April | 67° | 54° | 44° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 66° |
| October | 69° | 57° | 47° |
Flying in and out of 26631
The nearest airport, North Central West Virginia, is about 40 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Pittsburgh International, about 119 miles away.
The best schools in and around 26631
Schools across 26631 average a D, better than 8% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Flatwoods Elementary SchoolD− · 12% proficient
- Burnsville Elementary SchoolF · 9% proficient
Top middle schools
- Braxton County Middle SchoolD · 20% proficient
Top high schools
- Braxton County High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 26631 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
26631 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 26631 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 26631
Is 26631 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 26631 ranks 32,584th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on tree cover, clean air, and low property taxes, and lowest on health outcomes and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 26631 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $176,268. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $42,788 median income, cost of living beats 7% of zip codes.
Is 26631 safe?
26631 is safer than 31% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $355 per resident a year.
Compare 26631 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 26631. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 26631 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.
26631 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 26631: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 26631: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 26631: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 26631: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
26631 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.