Best PlacesShanks, WV Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Shanks, 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.
Shanks ranks 36,694th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Shanks
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.
Shanks' strengths and weaknesses
Where Shanks ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 97% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 96% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 82% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 82% of towns
- QuietBetter than 79% of towns
Where Shanks ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 3% of towns
- Short commute39.9 minutes each way, better than only 5% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 10% of towns
- Household income$51,010 median, better than only 13% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 15% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Shanks
A household needs to earn about $47,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Shanks home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $51,010, 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 Shanks' effective rate of 0.46%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Shanks
Shanks 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 Shanks.
Who works in Shanks, and how
Work in Shanks centers on education and construction. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Shanks
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Shanks.
What the weather is like in Shanks, month by month
Shanks sees roughly 85 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 33° | 26° |
| April | 68° | 54° | 43° |
| July | 88° | 76° | 66° |
| October | 69° | 56° | 47° |
Flying in and out of Shanks
The nearest airport, Hagerstown Regional/Richard A Henson Field, is about 58 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Washington Dulles International, about 70 miles away.
The best schools in and around Shanks
Schools across Shanks average a C−, better than 22% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Augusta Elementary SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Romney Elementary SchoolD+ · 23% proficient
Top middle schools
- Romney Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Hampshire Senior High SchoolD · 22% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Shanks school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Shanks 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 Shanks against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Shanks
Is Shanks a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Shanks ranks 36,694th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, fast internet, and low property taxes, and lowest on state infrastructure and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Shanks expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $190,472. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $51,010 median income, cost of living beats 10% of towns.
Is Shanks safe?
Shanks is safer than 55% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $270 per resident a year.
Compare Shanks with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Shanks. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Shanks 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.
Shanks detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Shanks: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Shanks: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Shanks: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Shanks: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Shanks 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.