Best PlacesRaleigh County, WV Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Raleigh County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Raleigh County ranks 2,385th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Raleigh 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.
The best areas in Raleigh County
The parts of Raleigh County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Prosperity
More households have young kids, fewer homes sit empty, and more adults hold degrees.
Ameagle
It is quieter, though fewer residents vote.
Daniels, Shady Spring & Cool Ridge
Tree cover is thicker and incomes run higher.
Beckley
Commutes are shorter and streets are more walkable.
Scores across Raleigh County run from about the 2nd to the 81st percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Raleigh County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Raleigh County ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 93% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 92% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 87% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 81% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 75% of counties
Where Raleigh County ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 3% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 4% of counties
- Household income$55,646 median, better than only 17% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 19% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 25% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Raleigh County
A household needs to earn about $39,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Raleigh County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $55,646, 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 Raleigh County's effective rate of 0.50%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Raleigh County
Raleigh County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Raleigh County.
Who works in Raleigh County, and how
Work in Raleigh County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Raleigh County
Raleigh County has less parkland per resident than most counties and more late-night spots per resident than 85% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Raleigh County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Raleigh County growing, and who is moving in?
Raleigh County has lost about 7% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Beckley, WV metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Raleigh County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Raleigh County, month by month
Raleigh County sees roughly 85 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 Raleigh County
The nearest airport, Raleigh County Memorial, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 177 miles away.
The best schools in and around Raleigh County
Schools across Raleigh County average a C, better than 30% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Hollywood ElementaryB · 48% proficient
- Crescent ElementaryB− · 42% proficient
- Maxwell Hill ElementaryC+ · 37% proficient
Top middle schools
- Park Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Shady Spring Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Independence Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Shady Spring HighC+ · 38% proficient
- Woodrow Wilson High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Liberty High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Raleigh County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Raleigh 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 Raleigh County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Raleigh County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 10% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Raleigh County
Is Raleigh County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Raleigh County ranks 2,385th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on tree cover, fast internet, and heat safety, and lowest on state infrastructure and health outcomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Raleigh County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $156,648. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $55,646 median income, cost of living beats 25% of counties.
Is Raleigh County safe?
Raleigh County is safer than 40% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $338 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Raleigh County?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 23. That works out to about 85 pleasant days a year, more than 46% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Raleigh County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Prosperity, Ameagle, and Daniels, Shady Spring & Cool Ridge. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Raleigh County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Raleigh County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Raleigh 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.
Raleigh County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Raleigh County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Raleigh County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Raleigh County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Raleigh County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Raleigh 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.