Best PlacesFrench Creek, WV Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around French Creek, 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.
French Creek ranks 38,036th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in French Creek
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.
French Creek's strengths and weaknesses
Where French Creek ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 98% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 95% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 85% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 80% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 76% of towns
Where French Creek ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 3% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 8% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 8% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 9% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 11% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in French Creek
A household needs to earn about $38,000 a year to comfortably buy the median French Creek home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $61,877, 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 French Creek's effective rate of 0.30%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in French Creek
French Creek'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 French Creek.
Who works in French Creek, and how
Work in French Creek centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in French Creek
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across French Creek.
What the weather is like in French Creek, month by month
French Creek sees roughly 74 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 French Creek
The nearest airport, North Central West Virginia, is about 31 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Pittsburgh International, about 113 miles away.
The best schools in and around French Creek
Schools across French Creek average a D+, better than 12% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- French Creek ElementaryC · 35% proficient
- George Ward Elementary SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Washington District ElementaryC− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- B-u Middle SchoolD− · 15% proficient
Top high schools
- Buckhannon Upshur High SchoolD · 23% proficient
- Tygarts Valley Middle/high SchoolD− · 16% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every French Creek school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
French Creek 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 French Creek against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in French Creek
Is French Creek a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, French Creek ranks 38,036th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low disaster risk, low property taxes, and clean air, and lowest on state infrastructure and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is French Creek expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $156,789. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $61,877 median income, cost of living beats 38% of towns.
Is French Creek safe?
Yes, French Creek is safer than 72% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $221 per resident a year.
Compare French Creek with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to French Creek. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in French Creek 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.
French Creek detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for French Creek: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in French Creek: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of French Creek: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in French Creek: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
French Creek 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.