Best PlacesUpper Falls, WV Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Upper Falls, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Upper Falls ranks 16,168th 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 Upper Falls
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.
Upper Falls' strengths and weaknesses
Where Upper Falls ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 96% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 82% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 78% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 72% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 71% of towns
Where Upper Falls ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 3% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 59 pleasant days a year, better than only 6% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 20% of towns
- School gradeC, better than only 29% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 35% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Upper Falls
A household needs to earn about $45,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Upper Falls home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $80,092, 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 Upper Falls' effective rate of 0.74%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Upper Falls
Upper Falls's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Upper Falls.
Who works in Upper Falls, and how
Work in Upper Falls centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Upper Falls
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Upper Falls.
What the weather is like in Upper Falls, month by month
Upper Falls sees roughly 59 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 46, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46° | 35° | 26° |
| April | 72° | 57° | 43° |
| July | 89° | 76° | 66° |
| October | 73° | 58° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Upper Falls
The nearest airport, West Virginia International Yeager, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is John Glenn Columbus International, about 126 miles away.
The best schools in and around Upper Falls
Schools across Upper Falls average a C, better than 29% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Andrews Heights Elementary SchoolC− · 25% proficient
- Central Elementary SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Lakewood Elementary SchoolD · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hayes Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- Saint Albans High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Upper Falls school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Upper Falls 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 Upper Falls against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Upper Falls
Is Upper Falls a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Upper Falls ranks 16,168th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, cell coverage, and what local pay buys, and lowest on state infrastructure and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Upper Falls expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $172,808. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $80,092 median income, cost of living beats 78% of towns.
Is Upper Falls safe?
Yes, Upper Falls is safer than 71% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $225 per resident a year.
Compare Upper Falls with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Upper Falls. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Upper Falls 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.
Upper Falls detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Upper Falls: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Upper Falls: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Upper Falls: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Upper Falls: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Upper Falls 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.