Best PlacesGilkerson, WV Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Gilkerson, 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.
Gilkerson ranks 37,662nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Gilkerson
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.
Gilkerson's strengths and weaknesses
Where Gilkerson ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
- QuietBetter than 93% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 92% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 91% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 86% of towns
Where Gilkerson ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 3% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than only 3% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 4% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 7% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 61 pleasant days a year, better than only 9% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Gilkerson
A household needs to earn about $23,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Gilkerson home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $63,159, 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 Gilkerson's effective rate of 0.42%, 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 Gilkerson
Gilkerson runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Gilkerson.
Who works in Gilkerson, and how
Work in Gilkerson centers on other services and public administration. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Gilkerson
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Gilkerson.
What the weather is like in Gilkerson, month by month
Gilkerson sees roughly 61 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 Gilkerson
The nearest airport, Tri-State/Milton J Ferguson Field, is about 16 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is John Glenn Columbus International, about 126 miles away.
The best schools in and around Gilkerson
Schools across Gilkerson average a D+, better than 13% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Salt Rock Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- East Lynn Elementary SchoolD+ · 22% proficient
- Wayne Elementary SchoolD · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- Barboursville Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Wayne Middle SchoolD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Cabell Midland High SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
- Wayne High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Gilkerson school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Gilkerson 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 Gilkerson against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Gilkerson
Is Gilkerson a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Gilkerson ranks 37,662nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on tree cover, quiet, and a stable housing market, and lowest on cell coverage and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Gilkerson expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $92,776. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $63,159 median income, cost of living beats 34% of towns.
Is Gilkerson safe?
Gilkerson is safer than 49% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $281 per resident a year.
Compare Gilkerson with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Gilkerson. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Gilkerson 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.
Gilkerson detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Gilkerson: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Gilkerson: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Gilkerson: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Gilkerson: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Gilkerson 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.