We’re excited to prospect for the pepperoni roll-priced paradises in West Virginia.
Living in West Virginia’s most affordable places frees up cash to raft The Gorge in Lansing or visit the West Virginia State Fair in Lewisburg.
We used Saturday Night Science and Census data to determine the most affordable places to live in West Virginia. We compared the cost of living, real estate prices, and incomes for all 25 cities in West Virginia over 5,000 people.
So, if you’re intrigued by prospecting for affordable living in the Mountain State, take a tour of the cheapest places to live.
$49,025 median income · $785 median rent · #10 home prices in West Virginia
Located in
Wood County, West Virginia
You should feel comfortable parking your things in Parkersburg. Parkersburg is the cheapest city in the Mountain State. It’s easy to save money when home prices are $147,802 and the overall cost of living sits at 80, 7.0% lower than the West Virginia average.
Parkersburg, with a population of 29,240, is one of the bigger cities in West Virginia, located along the Ohio and West Virginia border. Parkersburg City Park and Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park offer fun things to do.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$47,386 median income · $790 median rent · #2 home prices in West Virginia
Located in
Harrison County, West Virginia
Kicking off our list of most affordable places to live in West Virginia is Clarksburg, a small city in the north-central part of the state. If you’re looking to settle down in West Virginia for the long-haul, Clarksburg has you covered with the second cheapest homes for sale in West Virginia, with a median price of $114,207.
Thanks to a median income of $47,386, Clarksburg residents enjoy the fourth best home price to income ratio in the state. Clarksburg’s rent to income ratio is also safely in the top ten, with a median rent of $790/month. Just be sure that you come to Clarksburg with your party-face on, because this city has five festivals a year, celebrating everything from ethnic heritages to Jesus.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$52,466 median income · $847 median rent · #13 home prices in West Virginia
Located in
Fayette County, West Virginia
Located an hour southeast of Charleston, Oak Hill ranks as the third most affordable city in West Virginia. Oak Hill is one of the best places to raise a family in West Virginia, so if you’re just starting off with some new kiddos, Oak Hill is a great, affordable option. Especially when you can get a home here for the 13th cheapest price in the state, with a median price of $150,326. And for adventure-seekers, white-water rafting on Lower New River is a must-do experience.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$49,048 median income · $834 median rent · #4 home prices in West Virginia
Located in
Marshall County, West Virginia
Moundsville is built along the Ohio River, just across the water from the state of Ohio, in the northernmost part of West Virginia. For a town of just 7,869 people, it provides access to a lot of interesting architecture. There’s the gothic West Virginia State Penitentiary, first built in 1876 and closed down in 1995. Meanwhile, a 25-minute drive will take you to America’s Taj Mahal, Prabhupada’s Palace of Gold.
But the main attraction for the residents of Moundsville? It ranks as the number 4 most affordable places to put down roots in West Virginia.
The cost of living comes in at 80% of the overall national average. That value mostly derives from the rock-bottom housing market. The median home price sits at $124,991, the fourth lowest mark in the state. Rents are equally cheap. You can score a rental for a median price of $834 per month.
True, median incomes are low in the area. That figure comes in at just $49,048. But in context, Moundsville still provides excellent value. It has the number 7 best home price-to-income ratio in West Virginia.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$53,848 median income · $949 median rent · #7 home prices in West Virginia
Located in
Putnam County, West Virginia
Nitro is located right outside of Charleston on the Kanawha River. The major employer in town is Monsanto which has had a bit of a love hate relationship over the years. Luckily, it’s more on the love side at the moment. The big draw for out of towners is the Mardi Gras Casino located on the east side of town.
And while you might not always get lucky at the casino, it’s hard to go wrong with the cost of living in Nitro. The city has the seventh cheapest homes and 22nd cheapest rent anywhere in West Virginia. The median home price in Nitro is $140,563, while you can find a place to rent for just $949.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$60,946 median income · $688 median rent · #5 home prices in West Virginia
Located along the Ohio River in northern West Virginia, New Martinsville ranks as the sixth most affordable place in the state for 2026. We don’t think folks in New Martinsville need any convincing that they live in one of the cheapest states in America. Not when they can get a house for $136,698 or an apartment for $688/month. New Martinsville is affordable for both renters and buyers, but buyers have a slight edge, thanks to the city’s standing as the third easiest place to pay off the mortgage statewide.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$44,217 median income · $903 median rent · #16 home prices in West Virginia
Located in
Randolph County, West Virginia
In Randolph County, 1.5 hours south of Morgantown, Elkins ranks as the seventh cheapest city in West Virginia. According to Zillow, the average home price is the 16th lowest in the state at $166,143.
Elkins is close to Blackwater Falls State Park and Spruce Mountain for weekend activities.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$45,100 median income · $912 median rent · #6 home prices in West Virginia
Located in
Wayne County, West Virginia
Huntington is a city in Cabell County and Wayne County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Cabell County, and largest city in the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area, sometimes referred to as the Tri-State Area. A historic and bustling city of commerce and heavy industry, Huntington has long-flourished due to its ideal location on the Ohio River at the mouth of the Guyandotte River. It is home to the Port of Huntington Tri-State, the busiest inland port in the United States.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$63,884 median income · $844 median rent · #18 home prices in West Virginia
Located in
Kanawha County, West Virginia
South Charleston’s balance between affordability and quality of life makes it an attractive place to call home in West Virginia. The city’s median home value is $167,047 and a median rent of $844. Aside from being budget-friendly, South Charleston also has a lot to offer. There are various arts and cultural attractions, including the Criel Mound (South Charleston Adena Burial Mound) and the South Charleston Museum. The museum, located in the historic LaBelle Theater, hosts events such as the West Virginia Film Series, Open Mic Night, and exhibitions.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$48,590 median income · $794 median rent · #11 home prices in West Virginia
Located in
Ohio County, West Virginia
One of principal cities of northern West Virginia, Wheeling comes in as the tenth least expensive place to live statewide. West Virginia is already known for being a state with some of the lowest rent prices in America, but Wheeling takes those savings to the next level. The median rent in Wheeling is $794/month. Add to that a median income of $48,590, and you’ve got residents paying the 15th smallest percentage of their income on housing statewide.
And as a major city, you can be sure you’ll never be bored in Wheeling. Between the Capitol Theater, Centre Market, the Good Zoo, Oglebay Park, and countless other hot spots, you’ll never run out of things to do in Wheeling.
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.
West Virginia statewide median: $174,412
West Virginia statewide median: $59,608
On the map
Where your money goes furthest in West Virginia
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the most affordable places to live in the Mountain State for 2026
Determining affordability for places in West Virginia boils down to how much it costs to live here.
You need to understand your costs relative to what people in the rest of the state are paying.
With that logic in mind, we derived several cost of living statistics from the latest Census American Community Survey 2020-2024 for West Virginia using Saturday Night Science. We indexed the cost of living statistics across the following categories:
- Housing
- Transportation
- Services
- Groceries
- Healthcare
- Utilities
These are then weighted together to produce an overall cost of living index where 100 is the United States average. Anything below 100 is relatively affordable. Anything over 100 is relatively expensive.
We applied the biggest weight to housing as it typically accounts for 25% or more of your budget. Additionally, housing costs are the highest variant cost across a state. We then compare these cost of living metrics for each place in West Virginia to figure out which is the least expensive.
The “Cost of Living Index” allows you to rank all of the 25 places in West Virginia that have more than 5,000 people from least expensive to most expensive. Any ties went to the larger city.
The place in West Virginia with the lowest cost of living according to the data is Parkersburg.
We updated this article for 2026. This report reflects our eleventh time ranking the cheapest places to live in West Virginia.
The full plate
Cheapest Places To Live In West Virginia
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Cost Of Living Index | Median Income | Home Prices | Rent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parkersburg | 29,240 | 80 | $49,025 | $147,802 | $785 |
| 2 | Clarksburg | 15,549 | 80 | $47,386 | $114,207 | $790 |
| 3 | Oak Hill | 7,937 | 82 | $52,466 | $150,326 | $847 |
| 4 | Moundsville | 7,869 | 83 | $49,048 | $124,991 | $834 |
| 5 | Nitro | 6,853 | 83 | $53,848 | $140,563 | $949 |
| 6 | New Martinsville | 5,133 | 83 | $60,946 | $136,698 | $688 |
| 7 | Elkins | 6,811 | 84 | $44,217 | $166,143 | $903 |
| 8 | Huntington | 45,787 | 85 | $45,100 | $139,631 | $912 |
| 9 | South Charleston | 13,457 | 86 | $63,884 | $167,047 | $844 |
| 10 | Wheeling | 26,350 | 87 | $48,590 | $148,167 | $794 |
| 11 | Weirton | 18,647 | 87 | $59,575 | $147,088 | $746 |
| 12 | Dunbar | 7,254 | 87 | $58,379 | $123,693 | $935 |
| 13 | Buckhannon | 5,116 | 87 | $54,615 | $156,489 | $885 |
| 14 | Fairmont | 18,221 | 88 | $63,032 | $185,554 | $916 |
| 15 | Vienna | 10,518 | 88 | $60,388 | $183,598 | $809 |
| 16 | Bluefield | 9,387 | 88 | $49,375 | $105,765 | $804 |
| 17 | Beckley | 16,818 | 89 | $45,826 | $146,483 | $869 |
| 18 | St. Albans | 10,522 | 91 | $53,972 | $148,169 | $931 |
| 19 | Princeton | 5,736 | 91 | $43,900 | $166,770 | $747 |
| 20 | Charleston | 47,421 | 92 | $65,812 | $163,657 | $908 |
| 21 | Hurricane | 6,855 | 94 | $71,167 | $269,184 | $878 |
| 22 | Morgantown | 30,236 | 99 | $44,727 | $280,205 | $937 |
| 23 | Martinsburg | 18,904 | 100 | $59,555 | $307,800 | $1,150 |
| 24 | Bridgeport | 9,252 | 100 | $100,022 | $297,307 | $1,105 |
| 25 | Charles Town | 7,337 | 112 | $89,263 | $400,663 | $1,115 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024, cost-of-living data. 25 places with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
West Virginia Affordability Summary
This is an accurate list of the most affordable places to live in West Virginia for 2026, if you’re looking at the cost of living numbers in West Virginia.
The cheapest cities in West Virginia are Parkersburg, Clarksburg, Oak Hill, Moundsville, Nitro, New Martinsville, Elkins, Huntington, South Charleston, and Wheeling.
