The 10 Best Counties To Live In West Virginia For 2022


Using science and data, we can tell you which counties in West Virginia have the most for people looking to make the move to West Virginia.

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Some of you might be asking yourself, at this very moment: is West Virginia a good place?

The answer is unequivocally yes… if you know where to locate the best places to live in West Virginia.

Lucky for you, we’re here to help you identify the best counties to live in the Mountain State based on the most recently available data from the Census. And this isn’t our first rodeo — we’ve been helping people find the best places to live in America for years.

So, the question becomes, if you wanted to relocate to the best part of West Virginia, where would you go? To answer that we looked at crime, cost of living, and demographic data for all 55 counties in the state.

After the analytic dust settled, we identified the 10 best counties to live in Mountain State for 2022.

Jefferson County is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in West Virginia. And you might want to avoid Mingo County if you can — at least according to the data.

So if you’re thinking of making the move West Virginia, we’ve got you covered. Keep on reading for a detailed methodology.

Or, check out the best places to live in West Virginia and the cheapest places to live in West Virginia.

The Best Counties To Live In West Virginia For 2022

1. Jefferson County

Charles Town, WV

Biggest Place: Charles Town

Population: 56,922
Median Income: $82,551.0 (best)
Median Home Price: $261,500.0 (best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.7% (15th best)
More on Jefferson County: PhotosData

2. Putnam County

Hurricane, WV

Biggest Place: Teays Valley

Population: 56,604
Median Income: $63,954.0 (3rd best)
Median Home Price: $175,700.0 (5th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.7% (6th best)
More on Putnam County: PhotosData

3. Morgan County

Biggest Place: Bath (Berkeley Springs)

Population: 17,800
Median Income: $57,116.0 (4th best)
Median Home Price: $189,800.0 (3rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 6.2% (24th best)
More on Morgan County: Data

4. Mineral County

Keyser, WV

Biggest Place: Keyser

Population: 27,047
Median Income: $51,723.0 (12th best)
Median Home Price: $144,500.0 (7th best)
Unemployment Rate: 7.4% (34th best)
More on Mineral County: PhotosData

5. Brooke County

Weirton, WV

Biggest Place: Weirton

Population: 22,162
Median Income: $48,168.0 (18th best)
Median Home Price: $97,200.0 (38th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.8% (7th best)
More on Brooke County: PhotosData

6. Berkeley County

Martinsburg, WV

Biggest Place: Martinsburg

Population: 117,615
Median Income: $65,286.0 (2nd best)
Median Home Price: $187,400.0 (4th best)
Unemployment Rate: 6.0% (23rd best)
More on Berkeley County: PhotosData

7. Tucker County

Biggest Place: Parsons

Population: 6,943
Median Income: $47,527.0 (22nd best)
Median Home Price: $126,700.0 (13th best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.1% (12th best)
More on Tucker County: Data

8. Ohio County

Wheeling, WV

Biggest Place: Wheeling

Population: 41,875
Median Income: $48,056.0 (20th best)
Median Home Price: $127,600.0 (11th best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.9% (2best)
More on Ohio County: PhotosData

9. Monongalia County

Morgantown, WV

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Morgantown

Population: 106,196
Median Income: $54,198.0 (6th best)
Median Home Price: $212,300.0 (2nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 6.6% (28th best)
More on Monongalia County: PhotosData

10. Marion County

Fairmont, WV

Biggest Place: Fairmont

Population: 56,233
Median Income: $52,856.0 (8th best)
Median Home Price: $122,700.0 (19th best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.7% (14th best)
More on Marion County: PhotosData

Methodology: How do you determine which West Virginia county is the best?

To give you the best county in West Virginia, we have to look at a handful of metrics that signal the quality of a place. To do that, we need to make some assumptions about what’s a “best county” and what isn’t. And, for reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, don’t take this analysis to court.

With that in mind, we went to two of the best sources of data on the internet; the American Community Survey data and FBI Crime data for the most recent time period.

We paid particular attention to:

  • Violent Crime Rates
  • Property Crime Rates
  • Median Home Values
  • Median Income
  • Unemployment Rates
  • Adult Education Levels
  • Health Insurance Coverage
  • Poverty Rates

We then ranked each county in West Virginia across each of the criteria from one to 55, with one being the best.

Taking the average rank across all criteria, we created a quality of life score with the county posting the lowest overall score being the “Best County To Live In West Virginia”.

The result is some of the safest, quiet, and best counties to raise a family in the Mountain State.

Read on to see why Jefferson County is the best county, while Mingo County is probably in contention for being the worst county in West Virginia.

Summary: The Best Counties In West Virginia To Call Home For 2018

It turns out living in West Virginia can vary from one part of the state to the next — who woulda thought?

But now you the know the really good parts and the parts to avoid and that’s why you came here to learn at the end of the day. And for that, you are welcome.

Here’s a look at the worst counties in West Virginia according to the data:

  1. Mingo County
  2. Mcdowell County
  3. Webster County

For more West Virginia reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Best Counties In West Virginia

County Rank Population Median Income Median Home Price
Jefferson County 1 56,922 $82,551.0 $261,500.0
Putnam County 2 56,604 $63,954.0 $175,700.0
Morgan County 3 17,800 $57,116.0 $189,800.0
Mineral County 4 27,047 $51,723.0 $144,500.0
Brooke County 5 22,162 $48,168.0 $97,200.0
Berkeley County 6 117,615 $65,286.0 $187,400.0
Tucker County 7 6,943 $47,527.0 $126,700.0
Ohio County 8 41,875 $48,056.0 $127,600.0
Monongalia County 9 106,196 $54,198.0 $212,300.0
Marion County 10 56,233 $52,856.0 $122,700.0
Wood County 11 84,387 $48,711.0 $126,300.0
Mason County 12 26,700 $51,820.0 $100,200.0
Harrison County 13 67,620 $52,134.0 $123,000.0
Jackson County 14 28,793 $49,115.0 $126,100.0
Taylor County 15 16,817 $52,958.0 $116,000.0
Marshall County 16 30,900 $48,179.0 $111,100.0
Hardy County 17 13,789 $46,513.0 $141,500.0
Pendleton County 18 6,968 $46,358.0 $130,000.0
Doddridge County 19 8,499 $51,300.0 $124,300.0
Kanawha County 20 181,014 $47,122.0 $115,300.0
Hampshire County 21 23,304 $48,528.0 $155,300.0
Pleasants County 22 7,457 $55,508.0 $110,500.0
Wayne County 23 39,952 $43,710.0 $103,800.0
Preston County 24 33,610 $51,992.0 $121,300.0
Greenbrier County 25 34,893 $39,807.0 $123,000.0
Raleigh County 26 74,452 $43,283.0 $110,600.0
Cabell County 27 93,328 $41,472.0 $126,900.0
Upshur County 28 24,451 $40,802.0 $118,400.0
Mercer County 29 59,370 $40,716.0 $100,900.0
Wirt County 30 5,764 $45,315.0 $93,500.0
Grant County 31 11,565 $43,313.0 $140,900.0
Boone County 32 21,897 $45,297.0 $76,700.0
Hancock County 33 29,118 $48,140.0 $94,600.0
Nicholas County 34 24,857 $40,318.0 $95,800.0
Randolph County 35 28,763 $45,206.0 $117,300.0
Tyler County 36 8,736 $47,598.0 $90,900.0
Pocahontas County 37 8,382 $37,642.0 $119,600.0
Barbour County 38 16,543 $38,906.0 $103,800.0
Lewis County 39 16,024 $43,894.0 $108,400.0
Wetzel County 40 15,291 $44,539.0 $97,000.0
Monroe County 41 13,344 $44,828.0 $115,300.0
Fayette County 42 43,087 $43,722.0 $95,100.0
Ritchie County 43 9,747 $44,328.0 $96,100.0
Summers County 44 12,710 $37,769.0 $96,000.0
Lincoln County 45 20,617 $42,064.0 $86,300.0
Braxton County 46 14,032 $43,819.0 $93,700.0
Logan County 47 32,593 $36,250.0 $97,700.0
Wyoming County 48 20,890 $44,095.0 $72,900.0
Gilmer County 49 7,970 $42,883.0 $79,900.0
Roane County 50 13,831 $38,895.0 $97,900.0
Calhoun County 51 7,185 $38,668.0 $100,800.0
Clay County 52 8,599 $35,154.0 $86,100.0
Webster County 53 8,289 $33,358.0 $74,200.0
Mcdowell County 54 18,083 $26,072.0 $39,500.0
Mingo County 55 23,808 $35,454.0 $78,000.0
Editor’s Note: We updated this article for 2022. This is our ninth time ranking the best counties to live in West Virginia.

About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.