Best PlacesWest Side, Charleston, WV Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Side, Charleston, 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.
West Side, Charleston ranks 5,388th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and health outcomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in West Side, Charleston
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.
West Side, Charleston's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Side, Charleston ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$747 a month, better than 93% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
- Short commute18.5 minutes each way, better than 87% of neighborhoods
Where West Side, Charleston ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 57 pleasant days a year, better than only 4% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in West Side, Charleston
A household needs to earn about $21,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Side, Charleston home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $32,854, 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 West Side, Charleston's effective rate of 0.81%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in West Side, Charleston
West Side, Charleston's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 West Side, Charleston.
Who works in West Side, Charleston, and how
Work in West Side, Charleston centers on health care & social and hospitality & food. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 69%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 24%
Life in West Side, Charleston
West Side, Charleston has more restaurants and bars per resident than 77% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of West Side, Charleston and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West Side, Charleston, month by month
West Side, Charleston sees roughly 57 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 West Side, Charleston
The nearest airport, West Virginia International Yeager, is about 3 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is John Glenn Columbus International, about 131 miles away.
The best schools in and around West Side, Charleston
Schools across West Side, Charleston average a D, better than 13% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Piedmont Year-round EducationD− · 15% proficient
- Mary C. Snow West Side ElementaryF · 10% proficient
Top middle schools
- West Side Middle SchoolF · 12% proficient
Top high schools
- Capital High SchoolC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Side, Charleston school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Side, Charleston 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 West Side, Charleston against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in West Side, Charleston
Is West Side, Charleston a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Side, Charleston ranks 5,388th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on cell coverage, affordable childcare, and walkability, and lowest on health outcomes and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Side, Charleston expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $79,457. The overall cost of living runs about 25% below the national average. Set against a $32,854 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.
Is West Side, Charleston safe?
West Side, Charleston is safer than 17% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $662 per resident a year.
Compare West Side, Charleston with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Side, Charleston. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Side, Charleston 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.
West Side, Charleston detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Side, Charleston: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Side, Charleston: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Side, Charleston: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Side, Charleston: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Side, Charleston 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.