Best PlacesBens Run, WV Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Bens Run, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Bens Run ranks 34,414th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Bens Run
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.
Bens Run's strengths and weaknesses
Where Bens Run ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
- QuietBetter than 91% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 86% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 80% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 72% of towns
Where Bens Run ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 3% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than only 3% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 4% of towns
- Short commute37.3 minutes each way, better than only 9% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 9% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Bens Run
A household needs to earn about $36,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Bens Run home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $61,758, 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 Bens Run's effective rate of 0.55%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Bens Run
Bens Run'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 Bens Run.
Who works in Bens Run, and how
Work in Bens Run centers on education 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 93%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Bens Run
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Bens Run.
What the weather is like in Bens Run, month by month
Bens Run sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 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 | 69° | 55° | 42° |
| July | 88° | 75° | 64° |
| October | 71° | 57° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Bens Run
The nearest airport, Mid-Ohio Valley Regional, is about 25 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Pittsburgh International, about 83 miles away.
The best schools in and around Bens Run
Schools across Bens Run average a C, better than 34% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Arthur I Boreman Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Sistersville Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
- St. Marys Elementary SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- Pleasants County Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Tyler Consolidated Middle SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Top high schools
- St. Marys High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Tyler Consolidated High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Bens Run school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Bens Run 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 Bens Run against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Bens Run
Is Bens Run a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Bens Run ranks 34,414th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on tree cover, quiet, and a stable housing market, and lowest on internet speeds and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Bens Run expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $142,655. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $61,758 median income, cost of living beats 56% of towns.
Is Bens Run safe?
Yes, Bens Run is safer than 64% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $244 per resident a year.
Compare Bens Run with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Bens Run. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Bens Run 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.
Bens Run detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Bens Run: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Bens Run: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Bens Run: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Bens Run: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Bens Run 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.