Best PlacesGilmer County, WV Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Gilmer County, 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.
Gilmer County ranks 2,939th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Gilmer County
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.
Gilmer County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Gilmer County ranks high
- QuietBetter than 94% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 91% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 86% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 84% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 77% of counties
Where Gilmer County ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 3% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 4% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 4% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Gilmer County
A household needs to earn about $25,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Gilmer County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $49,278, 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 Gilmer County's effective rate of 0.47%, 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 Gilmer County
Gilmer County runs older than the country, 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 Gilmer County.
Who works in Gilmer County, and how
Work in Gilmer County centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Gilmer County
Gilmer County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Gilmer County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Gilmer County growing, and who is moving in?
Gilmer County has lost about 16% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Washington, DC.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Gilmer County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Gilmer County, month by month
Gilmer County sees roughly 65 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 Gilmer County
The nearest airport, North Central West Virginia, is about 41 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Pittsburgh International, about 113 miles away.
The best schools in and around Gilmer County
Schools across Gilmer County average a D+, better than 14% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Frametown Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Arnoldsburg SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Davis Elementary SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Top middle schools
- Wirt County Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Doddridge County Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Ritchie County MiddleD+ · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Gilmer County High SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Calhoun Middle/high SchoolD · 23% proficient
- Lewis County High SchoolD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Gilmer County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Gilmer County 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 Gilmer County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Gilmer County
Is Gilmer County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Gilmer County ranks 2,939th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on quiet, tree cover, and a stable housing market, and lowest on state infrastructure and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Gilmer County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $99,844. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $49,278 median income, cost of living beats 6% of counties.
Is Gilmer County safe?
Gilmer County is safer than 12% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $850 per resident a year.
Compare Gilmer County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Gilmer County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Gilmer County 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.
Gilmer County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Gilmer County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Gilmer County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Gilmer County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Gilmer County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Gilmer County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.