Best PlacesBranchland, WV Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Branchland, 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.
Branchland ranks 47,859th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and health outcomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Branchland
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.
Branchland's strengths and weaknesses
Where Branchland ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 98% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 81% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 80% of towns
- QuietBetter than 80% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 72% of towns
Where Branchland ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 2% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 2% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than only 3% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 6% of towns
- School gradeD, better than only 7% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Branchland
A household needs to earn about $24,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Branchland home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $48,705, 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 Branchland's effective rate of 0.46%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Branchland
Branchland's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Branchland.
Who works in Branchland, and how
Work in Branchland centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Branchland
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Branchland.
What the weather is like in Branchland, month by month
Branchland sees roughly 60 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 46, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46° | 35° | 26° |
| April | 72° | 57° | 44° |
| July | 89° | 77° | 67° |
| October | 74° | 59° | 47° |
Flying in and out of Branchland
The nearest airport, Tri-State/Milton J Ferguson Field, is about 22 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is John Glenn Columbus International, about 128 miles away.
The best schools in and around Branchland
Schools across Branchland average a D, better than 7% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Salt Rock Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Hamlin Pk-8C− · 28% proficient
- Duval Pk-8D · 17% proficient
Top middle schools
- Barboursville Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Guyan Valley MiddleD− · 16% proficient
Top high schools
- Cabell Midland High SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
- Lincoln County High SchoolD · 22% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Branchland school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Branchland 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 Branchland against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Branchland
Is Branchland a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Branchland ranks 47,859th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a stable housing market, low property taxes, and tree cover, and lowest on health outcomes and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Branchland expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $96,679. The overall cost of living runs about 23% below the national average. Set against a $48,705 median income, cost of living beats 16% of towns.
Is Branchland safe?
Branchland is safer than 20% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $418 per resident a year.
Compare Branchland with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Branchland. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Branchland 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.
Branchland detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Branchland: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Branchland: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Branchland: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Branchland: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Branchland 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.