Best Places26808, WV Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 26808, 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.
26808 ranks 29,568th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 26808
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.
26808's strengths and weaknesses
Where 26808 ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 76% of zip codes
Where 26808 ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Short commute40.9 minutes each way, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 26808
A household needs to earn about $33,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 26808 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $54,147, 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 26808'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, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 26808
26808 runs younger than the country, 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 26808.
Who works in 26808, and how
Work in 26808 centers on hospitality & food and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 94%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 26808
26808 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 99% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 26808 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 26808, month by month
26808 sees roughly 91 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 33° | 26° |
| April | 65° | 54° | 43° |
| July | 86° | 75° | 66° |
| October | 67° | 56° | 47° |
Flying in and out of 26808
The nearest airport, Hagerstown Regional/Richard A Henson Field, is about 52 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Washington Dulles International, about 56 miles away.
The best schools in and around 26808
Schools across 26808 average a D+, better than 16% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Capon Bridge Elementary SchoolD+ · 22% proficient
Top middle schools
- Capon Bridge Middle SchoolC− · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- Hampshire Senior High SchoolD · 22% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 26808 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
26808 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 26808 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 26808
Is 26808 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 26808 ranks 29,568th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on tree cover, quiet, and low property taxes, and lowest on state infrastructure and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 26808 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $134,115. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $54,147 median income, cost of living beats 10% of zip codes.
Is 26808 safe?
26808 is safer than 50% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $286 per resident a year.
Compare 26808 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 26808. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 26808 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.
26808 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 26808: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 26808: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 26808: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 26808: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
26808 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.