Best PlacesMcDowell County, WV Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in McDowell 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.
McDowell County ranks 3,131st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and health outcomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in McDowell 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.
McDowell County's strengths and weaknesses
Where McDowell County ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 99% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 97% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 87% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 76% of counties
- Cheap childcare$688 a month, better than 60% of counties
Where McDowell County ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 1% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 1% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 1% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 1% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 1% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in McDowell County
A household needs to earn about $14,000 a year to comfortably buy the median McDowell County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $35,908, 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 McDowell County's effective rate of 0.44%, 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 2 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in McDowell County
McDowell County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for McDowell County.
Who works in McDowell County, and how
Work in McDowell County centers on health care & social and public administration. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in McDowell County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across McDowell County.
Is McDowell County growing, and who is moving in?
McDowell County has lost about 16% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Mingo County, WV.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving McDowell County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in McDowell County, month by month
McDowell County sees roughly 87 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 33° | 27° |
| April | 70° | 55° | 44° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 66° |
| October | 71° | 57° | 47° |
Flying in and out of McDowell County
The nearest airport, Raleigh County Memorial, is about 40 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 156 miles away.
The best schools in and around McDowell County
Schools across McDowell County average a D, better than 8% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Tazewell IntermediateA− · 62% proficient
- Hurley Elementary/middleB · 48% proficient
- Abb's Valley-boissevain ElementaryB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Tazewell MiddleA+ · 70% proficient
- Graham MiddleA+ · 68% proficient
- Pineville Middle SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- Graham HighA+ · 86% proficient
- Tazewell HighA+ · 81% proficient
- Hurley HighA− · 62% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every McDowell County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
McDowell 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 McDowell County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in McDowell County
Is McDowell County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, McDowell County ranks 3,131st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a stable housing market, tree cover, and low property taxes, and lowest on health outcomes and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is McDowell County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $56,055. The overall cost of living runs about 26% below the national average. Set against a $35,908 median income, cost of living beats 1% of counties.
Is McDowell County safe?
McDowell County is safer than 14% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $469 per resident a year.
Compare McDowell County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to McDowell County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in McDowell 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.
McDowell County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for McDowell County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in McDowell County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of McDowell County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in McDowell County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
McDowell 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.