Best PlacesJumping Branch, WV Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Jumping Branch, 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.
Jumping Branch ranks 37,754th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and health outcomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Jumping Branch
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.
Jumping Branch's strengths and weaknesses
Where Jumping Branch ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
- QuietBetter than 88% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 86% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 85% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 79% of towns
Where Jumping Branch ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 3% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than only 3% of towns
- Short commute37.5 minutes each way, better than only 9% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 15% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 15% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Jumping Branch
A household needs to earn about $39,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Jumping Branch home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $54,866, 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 Jumping Branch'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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Jumping Branch
Jumping Branch runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Jumping Branch.
Who works in Jumping Branch, and how
Work in Jumping Branch centers on public administration and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Jumping Branch
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Jumping Branch.
What the weather is like in Jumping Branch, month by month
Jumping Branch sees roughly 86 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 32° | 23° |
| April | 68° | 53° | 42° |
| July | 84° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 68° | 56° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Jumping Branch
The nearest airport, Raleigh County Memorial, is about 12 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 168 miles away.
The best schools in and around Jumping Branch
Schools across Jumping Branch average a C−, better than 24% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Sun Valley Elementary SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
- Jumping Branch Elementary SchoolD · 19% proficient
Top middle schools
- Shady Spring Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Pikeview Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- Shady Spring HighC+ · 38% proficient
- Pikeview High SchoolD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Jumping Branch school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Jumping Branch 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 Jumping Branch against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Jumping Branch
Is Jumping Branch a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Jumping Branch ranks 37,754th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on tree cover, quiet, and low property taxes, 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 Jumping Branch expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $158,008. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $54,866 median income, cost of living beats 15% of towns.
Is Jumping Branch safe?
Yes, Jumping Branch is safer than 62% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $244 per resident a year.
Compare Jumping Branch with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Jumping Branch. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Jumping Branch 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.
Jumping Branch detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Jumping Branch: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Jumping Branch: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Jumping Branch: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Jumping Branch: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Jumping Branch 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.