Best PlacesMatoaka, WV Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Matoaka, 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.
Matoaka ranks 44,777th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Matoaka
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.
Matoaka's strengths and weaknesses
Where Matoaka ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 91% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 89% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 86% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 76% of towns
Where Matoaka ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 3% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 5% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 7% of towns
- Household income$45,547 median, better than only 8% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 8% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Matoaka
A household needs to earn about $32,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Matoaka home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $45,547, 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 Matoaka's effective rate of 0.39%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in Matoaka
Matoaka 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 Matoaka.
Who works in Matoaka, and how
Work in Matoaka centers on other services and education. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Matoaka
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Matoaka.
What the weather is like in Matoaka, month by month
Matoaka sees roughly 100 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 42, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42° | 32° | 23° |
| April | 66° | 53° | 42° |
| July | 81° | 71° | 62° |
| October | 67° | 55° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Matoaka
The nearest airport, Raleigh County Memorial, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 154 miles away.
The best schools in and around Matoaka
Schools across Matoaka average a D+, better than 18% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Herndon Cons Elementary & Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Lashmeet/matoaka Elementary SchoolC · 30% proficient
- SpanishburgC− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- Pikeview Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- Pikeview High SchoolD · 23% proficient
- Wyoming County East High SchoolD · 22% proficient
- Montcalm High SchoolD− · 15% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Matoaka school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Matoaka 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 Matoaka against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Matoaka
Is Matoaka a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Matoaka ranks 44,777th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on tree cover, heat safety, and low property taxes, and lowest on state infrastructure and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Matoaka expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $128,307. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $45,547 median income, cost of living beats 8% of towns.
Is Matoaka safe?
Matoaka is safer than 40% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $306 per resident a year.
Compare Matoaka with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Matoaka. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Matoaka 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.
Matoaka detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Matoaka: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Matoaka: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Matoaka: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Matoaka: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Matoaka 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.