Best PlacesElmwood, WV Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Elmwood, 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.
Elmwood ranks 34,800th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and health outcomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Elmwood
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.
Elmwood's strengths and weaknesses
Where Elmwood ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 92% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 85% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 78% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 72% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 72% of towns
Where Elmwood ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 2% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than only 3% of towns
- Short commute39.3 minutes each way, better than only 6% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 59 pleasant days a year, better than only 7% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 16% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Elmwood
A household needs to earn about $32,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Elmwood home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $69,939, 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 Elmwood's effective rate of 0.55%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in Elmwood
Elmwood's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Elmwood.
Who works in Elmwood, and how
Work in Elmwood centers on construction and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Elmwood
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Elmwood.
What the weather is like in Elmwood, month by month
Elmwood sees roughly 59 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° | 43° |
| July | 89° | 76° | 66° |
| October | 73° | 58° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Elmwood
The nearest airport, West Virginia International Yeager, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is John Glenn Columbus International, about 106 miles away.
The best schools in and around Elmwood
Schools across Elmwood average a C−, better than 24% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Confidence ElementaryC− · 28% proficient
- Roosevelt Elementary SchoolD+ · 22% proficient
- Leon Elementary SchoolD · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- Winfield Middle SchoolB · 43% proficient
- Ripley Middle SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- Winfield High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Buffalo High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Elmwood school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Elmwood 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 Elmwood against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Elmwood
Is Elmwood a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Elmwood ranks 34,800th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low disaster risk, tree cover, and a strong job market, and lowest on health outcomes and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Elmwood expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $128,770. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $69,939 median income, cost of living beats 48% of towns.
Is Elmwood safe?
Yes, Elmwood is safer than 72% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $219 per resident a year.
Compare Elmwood with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Elmwood. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Elmwood 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.
Elmwood detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Elmwood: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Elmwood: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Elmwood: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Elmwood: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Elmwood 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.