Best PlacesRitchie County, WV Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Ritchie 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.
Ritchie County ranks 2,502nd 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 Ritchie 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.
Ritchie County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Ritchie County ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 96% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 95% of counties
- QuietBetter than 90% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 83% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 81% of counties
Where Ritchie County ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 1% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 3% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 3% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Short commute33.0 minutes each way, better than only 7% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Ritchie County
A household needs to earn about $30,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Ritchie County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $55,517, 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 Ritchie County's effective rate of 0.48%, 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 Ritchie County
Ritchie County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Ritchie County.
Who works in Ritchie County, and how
Work in Ritchie County centers on manufacturing and public administration. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Ritchie County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Ritchie County.
Is Ritchie County growing, and who is moving in?
Ritchie County has lost about 19% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Doddridge County, WV.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Ritchie County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Ritchie County, month by month
Ritchie County sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs April through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 33° | 24° |
| April | 69° | 55° | 42° |
| July | 88° | 75° | 64° |
| October | 71° | 57° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Ritchie County
The nearest airport, Mid-Ohio Valley Regional, is about 23 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Pittsburgh International, about 98 miles away.
The best schools in and around Ritchie County
Schools across Ritchie County average a C, better than 39% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Smithville ElementaryA+ · 90% proficient
- Harrisville ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
- St. Marys Elementary SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ritchie County MiddleD+ · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Ritchie County High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Ritchie County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Ritchie 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 Ritchie County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Ritchie County
Is Ritchie County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Ritchie County ranks 2,502nd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a stable housing market, tree cover, and quiet, 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 Ritchie County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $119,568. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $55,517 median income, cost of living beats 25% of counties.
Is Ritchie County safe?
Yes, Ritchie County is safer than 56% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $306 per resident a year.
Compare Ritchie County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Ritchie County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Ritchie 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.
Ritchie County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Ritchie County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Ritchie County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Ritchie County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Ritchie County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Ritchie 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.