Gayest places in West Virginia research summary. We used Saturday Night Science to research the cities in West Virginia with the highest percent of same-sex households for 2026. The data comes from the American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year vintage, which counts same-sex married spouses and same-sex unmarried partners at the city level.
7.8% gay households · #1 gayest in West Virginia
3.4% gay households · #2 gayest in West Virginia
Located in
Mercer County, West Virginia
Bluefield is a city in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 10,447 at the 2010 census. It is the core city of the Bluefield WV-VA micropolitan area, which has a population of 107,342.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
1.8% gay households · #3 gayest in West Virginia
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
1.7% gay households · #4 gayest in West Virginia
Located in
Upshur County, West Virginia
Buckhannon is the only incorporated city in, and the county seat of, Upshur County, West Virginia, United States, and is located along the Buckhannon River. The population was 5,639 at the 2010 census. Buckhannon is home to West Virginia Wesleyan College and the West Virginia Strawberry Festival, held annually on the third week of May. The city is located 115 miles northeast from the capital city of Charleston and 140 miles south of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
1.7% gay households · #5 gayest in West Virginia
Located in
Mercer County, West Virginia
Princeton, often referred to as the “Jewel of the South,” is a city in and the county seat of Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 6,432 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Bluefield, WV-VA micropolitan area which has a population of 107,342. The town hosts the Princeton Rays baseball club of the Appalachian League.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
1.6% gay households · #6 gayest in West Virginia
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
1.6% gay households · #7 gayest in West Virginia
1.6% gay households · #8 gayest in West Virginia
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
1.5% gay households · #9 gayest in West Virginia
Located in
Kanawha County, West Virginia
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
1.4% gay households · #10 gayest in West Virginia
New Martinsville is a city in Wetzel County, West Virginia, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 5,366 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Wetzel County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is West Virginia’s statewide median.
On the map
Where West Virginia’s LGBTQ households are
Saturday Night Science
How we determined the gayest places in West Virginia for 2026
In order to rank the gayest cities in West Virginia, we used Saturday Night Science and the 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the U.S. Census. We looked at:
- Percentage of all households that are unmarried, same-sex partners
We limited the analysis to non-CDPs that have over 1,000 households.
We ranked each place from 1 to 51 with the city containing the highest percentage of unmarried, same-sex partner households being the most gay.
In the end, Chester ended up being the most gay place with 7.8% gay households.
Skip to the end to see the list of all the places in the state from gayest to straightest.
We updated this report for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the gayest places in West Virginia.
The full plate
Gayest Places In West Virginia
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Households | LGBTQ Households | % Gay Households |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chester | 1,135 | 89 | 7.8% |
| 2 | Bluefield | 4,027 | 138 | 3.4% |
| 3 | Summersville | 1,457 | 26 | 1.8% |
| 4 | Buckhannon | 1,902 | 33 | 1.7% |
| 5 | Princeton | 2,826 | 49 | 1.7% |
| 6 | Point Pleasant | 1,962 | 32 | 1.6% |
| 7 | Wellsburg | 1,012 | 16 | 1.6% |
| 8 | Westover | 1,912 | 30 | 1.6% |
| 9 | South Charleston | 6,189 | 92 | 1.5% |
| 10 | New Martinsville | 2,220 | 32 | 1.4% |
| 11 | Nitro | 2,828 | 39 | 1.4% |
| 12 | Ravenswood | 1,714 | 21 | 1.2% |
| 13 | Huntington | 19,753 | 241 | 1.2% |
| 14 | Morgantown | 11,946 | 127 | 1.1% |
| 15 | Fairmont | 8,017 | 80 | 1.0% |
| 16 | Beckley | 7,050 | 57 | 0.8% |
| 17 | Moundsville | 3,414 | 27 | 0.8% |
| 18 | Kingwood | 1,300 | 10 | 0.8% |
| 19 | Weston | 1,621 | 12 | 0.7% |
| 20 | Elkins | 2,965 | 21 | 0.7% |
| 21 | Dunbar | 3,688 | 26 | 0.7% |
| 22 | Martinsburg | 7,963 | 53 | 0.7% |
| 23 | Williamstown | 1,408 | 9 | 0.6% |
| 24 | Charleston | 21,116 | 134 | 0.6% |
| 25 | Wheeling | 12,614 | 80 | 0.6% |
| 26 | Oak Hill | 3,344 | 20 | 0.6% |
| 27 | Bethlehem | 1,088 | 6 | 0.6% |
| 28 | St. Albans | 4,667 | 23 | 0.5% |
| 29 | Clarksburg | 6,753 | 29 | 0.4% |
| 30 | Parkersburg | 13,313 | 56 | 0.4% |
| 31 | Vienna | 4,699 | 18 | 0.4% |
| 32 | Winfield | 1,072 | 4 | 0.4% |
| 33 | Weirton | 8,707 | 32 | 0.4% |
| 34 | Madison | 1,073 | 3 | 0.3% |
| 35 | Bridgeport | 4,099 | 9 | 0.2% |
| 36 | Charles Town | 2,799 | 6 | 0.2% |
| 37 | Milton | 1,148 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 38 | Petersburg | 1,015 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 39 | Hurricane | 2,914 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 40 | Barboursville | 1,496 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 41 | White Sulphur Springs | 1,205 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 42 | Kenova | 1,353 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 43 | Keyser | 2,069 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 44 | Fayetteville | 1,353 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 45 | Lewisburg | 1,922 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 46 | Philippi | 1,224 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 47 | Grafton | 1,898 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 48 | Ripley | 1,485 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 49 | Williamson | 1,405 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 50 | Follansbee | 1,372 | 0 | 0.0% |
| 51 | Pleasant Valley | 1,481 | 0 | 0.0% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. Places with over 1,000 households.
Summary
There You Have It – The Most LGBT Friendly Cities In West Virginia For 2026
If you’re looking at the number of gay households in West Virginia, this is an accurate list.
The gayest cities in West Virginia are Chester, Bluefield, Summersville, Buckhannon, Princeton, Point Pleasant, Wellsburg, Westover, South Charleston, and New Martinsville. Not sold on West Virginia? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
