Best PlacesWest Virginia Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in West Virginia, 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.
West Virginia ranks 42nd of 50 U.S. states on the BestNeighborhood index. It ranks low mainly on health outcomes and biking. It does better on quiet, which keeps it off the bottom.
The best neighborhoods in West Virginia
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 West Virginia
The counties of West Virginia, grouped by direction and ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood in each. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the state.
Berkeley County, Monongalia County & Marion County
Big-city amenities are closer, fewer homes sit empty, and incomes run higher.
Wood County
Tree cover is thinner and it is noisier.
Cabell County, Putnam County & Jackson County
Scores close to Wood County, except that streets are more car-dependent here.
Ohio County, Marshall County & Hancock County
Prices have run up less.
Randolph County, Upshur County & Barbour County
Local pay stretches less far and fewer adults hold degrees.
Raleigh County, Mercer County & Fayette County
Homes cost less and heat risk is lower.
Kanawha County & Logan County
Crime runs higher and disaster risk is higher.
Pocahontas County
Advertised internet is slower and fewer households have young kids.
Lewis County, Braxton County & Roane County
Commutes are longer and health outcomes score lower.
West Virginia shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 1% of the country and others in the top 2%. Pick the area first, then the home.
West Virginia's strengths and weaknesses
West Virginia ranks near the bottom because several of the basics fall short at once. Quiet, tree cover, and a stable housing market carry most of that.
The weak spots are broad rather than narrow: health outcomes, biking, and the cost of living against local pay all drag on the score. Those are area averages, and the map below shows which parts run well above them.
Where West Virginia ranks high
- QuietBetter than 93% of states
- Tree shadeBetter than 93% of states
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 89% of states
- Disaster safetyBetter than 83% of states
- Low property taxBetter than 81% of states
Where West Virginia ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 1% of states
- BikingBetter than only 1% of states
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of states
- Household income$64,501 median, better than only 3% of states
- TransitBetter than only 3% of states
What it costs to buy a home in West Virginia
A household needs to earn about $44,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Virginia home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $64,501, 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 Virginia's effective rate of 0.52%, 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 West Virginia
West Virginia 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 West Virginia.
Who works in West Virginia, and how
Work in West Virginia centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in West Virginia
West Virginia has more restaurants and bars per resident than 98% of states and more late-night spots per resident than 77% of states. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of West Virginia and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West Virginia, month by month
West Virginia sees roughly 71 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° |
The best schools in and around West Virginia
Schools across West Virginia average a C, better than 17% of states.
Top elementary schools
- Wells AcademyA+ · 98% proficient
- Smithville ElementaryA+ · 90% proficient
- Greenmont Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
Top middle schools
- Tazewell MiddleA+ · 70% proficient
- Graham MiddleA+ · 68% proficient
- Harding Middle SchoolA · 66% proficient
Top high schools
- Graham HighA+ · 86% proficient
- Tazewell HighA+ · 81% proficient
- Watauga HighA · 73% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Virginia school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Virginia 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 Virginia against the other 49 states.
Who West Virginia suits
Families
Schools land around the 17th percentile and crime safety beats 69%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 10% already work from home.
Common questions about living in West Virginia
Is West Virginia a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Virginia ranks 42nd of 50 states. It scores highest on quiet, tree cover, and a stable housing market, and lowest on health outcomes and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Virginia expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $176,146. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $64,501 median income, cost of living beats 3% of states.
Is West Virginia safe?
Yes, West Virginia is safer than 69% of states. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $297 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in West Virginia?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 46 with lows near 26. That works out to about 71 pleasant days a year, more than 21% of states.
What are the best areas in West Virginia?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Berkeley County, Monongalia County & Marion County, Wood County, and Cabell County, Putnam County & Jackson County. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is West Virginia good for families?
Schools beat 17% of states, crime safety beats 69%, and childcare runs $790 a month.
Is West Virginia good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 3% of states, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 80% of states. About 10% of workers already work from home.
Compare West Virginia with other states
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Virginia. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Virginia 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 Virginia detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Virginia: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Virginia: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Virginia: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Virginia: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Virginia 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.
- 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.