Best PlacesZenith, WV Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Zenith, 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.
Zenith ranks 28,408th 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 Zenith
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.
Zenith's strengths and weaknesses
Where Zenith ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 94% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 90% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 81% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 78% of towns
- QuietBetter than 74% of towns
Where Zenith ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 3% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 8% of towns
- Short commute37.1 minutes each way, better than only 9% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Zenith
A household needs to earn about $35,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Zenith home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $64,147, 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 Zenith's effective rate of 0.54%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in Zenith
Zenith 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 Zenith.
Who works in Zenith, and how
Work in Zenith centers on manufacturing and construction. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Zenith
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Zenith.
What the weather is like in Zenith, month by month
Zenith sees roughly 88 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 34° | 27° |
| April | 67° | 55° | 45° |
| July | 85° | 74° | 65° |
| October | 69° | 57° | 47° |
Flying in and out of Zenith
The nearest airport, Greenbrier Valley, is about 30 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Raleigh-Durham International, about 152 miles away.
The best schools in and around Zenith
Schools across Zenith average a C, better than 29% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Mountain View Elementary & Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Peterstown Elementary SchoolD+ · 23% proficient
Top middle schools
- Peterstown Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- James Monroe High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Zenith school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Zenith 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 Zenith against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Zenith
Is Zenith a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Zenith ranks 28,408th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, low crime, and low disaster risk, and lowest on state infrastructure and health outcomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Zenith expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $139,841. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $64,147 median income, cost of living beats 27% of towns.
Is Zenith safe?
Yes, Zenith is safer than 90% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $166 per resident a year.
Compare Zenith with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Zenith. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Zenith 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.
Zenith detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Zenith: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Zenith: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Zenith: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Zenith: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Zenith 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.