Charles Town, Bridgeport, Hurricane: These cities aren’t just some of the best places to live in West Virginia. They are also home to some of the richest people in the Mountain State.
Charles Town in particular houses the richest residents in the state thanks, in part, to a median household income of $89,263 and a ridiculously low poverty rate of 6.5%.
If you’re thinking of moving to one of these towns, you’ll probably need to start saving. The richest places in West Virginia share common characteristics such as having a genius level populous, sky high home prices, and a Pleasantville level of married couples.
How did we come up with these mega wealthy cities? We analyzed Census data from the 2020-2024 American Community Survey for the 37 places in West Virginia with more than 3,000 people.
$89,263 median income · 6.5% poverty · #2 income in West Virginia
Charles Town, officially the City of Charles Town, is a city in Jefferson County, West Virginia, and is also the county seat. The population was 5,259 at the 2010 United States Census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$100,022 median income · 3.9% poverty · #1 income in West Virginia
Located in
Harrison County, West Virginia
Bridgeport is a city in Harrison County, West Virginia, USA. The population was 8,149 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$71,167 median income · 8.5% poverty · #3 income in West Virginia
Located in
Putnam County, West Virginia
Hurricane is a city in Putnam County, West Virginia, in the United States. The population was 6,284 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$67,635 median income · 9.0% poverty · #4 income in West Virginia
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$59,555 median income · 19.8% poverty · #13 income in West Virginia
Located in
Berkeley County, West Virginia
Martinsburg is a city in and the county seat of Berkeley County, West Virginia, United States, in the tip of the state’s Eastern Panhandle region. Its population was 17,687 in the 2016 census estimate, making it the largest city in the Eastern Panhandle and the ninth-largest municipality in the state. Martinsburg is part of the Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$60,571 median income · 19.2% poverty · #10 income in West Virginia
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$63,032 median income · 17.4% poverty · #7 income in West Virginia
Located in
Marion County, West Virginia
Fairmont is a city in Marion County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 18,704 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Marion County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$60,769 median income · 12.6% poverty · #9 income in West Virginia
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$63,884 median income · 16.9% poverty · #6 income in West Virginia
Located in
Kanawha County, West Virginia
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$65,812 median income · 15.8% poverty · #5 income in West Virginia
Located in
Kanawha County, West Virginia
Charleston is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of West Virginia, and the county seat of Kanawha County. It is located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers. As of the 2013 Census Estimate, it had a population of 50,821, while its metropolitan area had 224,743. It is a center of government, commerce, and industry.
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: $59,608
West Virginia statewide median: $174,412
West Virginia statewide median: 16.7%
West Virginia statewide median: 5.4%
On the map
Where the money lives in West Virginia
Saturday Night Science
How we determined the richest places in West Virginia for 2026
The first thing most people reach for is personal income. After all, rich people have really high salaries. But one statistic doesn’t capture what it means to be one of the “richest places,” so we applied Saturday Night Science to two measures from the 2020-2024 American Community Survey:
- Median household income
- Median home value
Median household income is the most digestible way to understand how rich a place is, and home values are a measure of accumulated wealth. The two combine to define a “Rich City.”
After collecting the data for all 37 places in West Virginia with more than 3,000 people, we ranked each place from 1 to 37 on both criteria, then averaged the two ranks into a “Rich Score.” The place with the lowest Rich Score, Charles Town, is crowned the richest city in West Virginia for 2026.
The full plate
All 37 richest cities in West Virginia, ranked
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Rich Score | Population | Median income | Median home value | Poverty | Unemployment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Town | 1.50 | 7,337 | $89,263 | $400,663 | 6.5% | 5.9% |
| 2 | Bridgeport | 2.50 | 9,252 | $100,022 | $297,307 | 3.9% | 2.3% |
| 3 | Hurricane | 4.50 | 6,855 | $71,167 | $269,184 | 8.5% | 3.6% |
| 4 | Pleasant Valley | 6.50 | 3,482 | $67,635 | $203,734 | 9.0% | 2.2% |
| 5 | Martinsburg | 7.50 | 18,904 | $59,555 | $307,800 | 19.8% | 5.2% |
| 6 | Barboursville | 8.50 | 4,376 | $60,571 | $210,951 | 19.2% | 4.2% |
| 7 | Fairmont | 9.50 | 18,221 | $63,032 | $185,554 | 17.4% | 6.7% |
| 8 | Westover | 9.50 | 4,026 | $60,769 | $189,261 | 12.6% | 3.0% |
| 9 | South Charleston | 11.00 | 13,457 | $63,884 | $167,047 | 16.9% | 7.0% |
| 10 | Charleston | 12.00 | 47,421 | $65,812 | $163,657 | 15.8% | 6.5% |
| 11 | Vienna | 12.00 | 10,518 | $60,388 | $183,598 | 10.2% | 3.5% |
| 12 | Lewisburg | 12.00 | 3,835 | $49,560 | $297,777 | 28.0% | 5.3% |
| 13 | Summersville | 13.00 | 3,373 | $56,571 | $188,561 | 20.3% | 6.3% |
| 14 | Morgantown | 17.50 | 30,236 | $44,727 | $280,205 | 30.4% | 6.2% |
| 15 | Buckhannon | 18.50 | 5,116 | $54,615 | $156,489 | 21.7% | 4.7% |
| 16 | Weirton | 19.00 | 18,647 | $59,575 | $147,088 | 12.6% | 7.1% |
| 17 | New Martinsville | 19.50 | 5,133 | $60,946 | $136,698 | 15.5% | 5.3% |
| 18 | St. Albans | 20.00 | 10,522 | $53,972 | $148,169 | 14.1% | 5.4% |
| 19 | Ripley | 20.50 | 3,071 | $41,518 | $204,495 | 27.1% | 2.2% |
| 20 | Oak Hill | 20.50 | 7,937 | $52,466 | $150,326 | 21.7% | 4.6% |
| 21 | Keyser | 21.00 | 4,857 | $46,955 | $173,916 | 31.8% | 12.9% |
| 22 | Nitro | 23.50 | 6,853 | $53,848 | $140,563 | 20.2% | 5.4% |
| 23 | Dunbar | 23.50 | 7,254 | $58,379 | $123,693 | 14.9% | 1.8% |
| 24 | Wheeling | 24.50 | 26,350 | $48,590 | $148,167 | 20.5% | 6.5% |
| 25 | Princeton | 24.50 | 5,736 | $43,900 | $166,770 | 16.9% | 1.6% |
| 26 | Parkersburg | 24.50 | 29,240 | $49,025 | $147,802 | 22.5% | 7.9% |
| 27 | Elkins | 24.50 | 6,811 | $44,217 | $166,143 | 17.3% | 6.5% |
| 28 | Ravenswood | 25.00 | 3,830 | $34,241 | $179,946 | 31.4% | 0.0% |
| 29 | Weston | 27.00 | 3,840 | $52,070 | $123,433 | 23.0% | 16.2% |
| 30 | Moundsville | 27.50 | 7,869 | $49,048 | $124,991 | 22.5% | 3.2% |
| 31 | Point Pleasant | 27.50 | 3,961 | $37,563 | $161,562 | 24.4% | 8.1% |
| 32 | Beckley | 27.50 | 16,818 | $45,826 | $146,483 | 28.9% | 3.2% |
| 33 | Bluefield | 29.00 | 9,387 | $49,375 | $105,765 | 18.5% | 4.4% |
| 34 | Huntington | 29.50 | 45,787 | $45,100 | $139,631 | 25.7% | 6.8% |
| 35 | Clarksburg | 30.50 | 15,549 | $47,386 | $114,207 | 23.5% | 4.4% |
| 36 | Grafton | 31.00 | 4,618 | $40,402 | $141,607 | 24.9% | 7.4% |
| 37 | Welch | 37.00 | 3,507 | $32,969 | $47,895 | 28.2% | 0.0% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024, Zillow research. 37 cities with more than 3,000 residents.
Charles Town is the richest place in West Virginia for 2026
When we set out to identify the richest places in West Virginia, we weren’t sure what we’d find, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in the state. The richest cities in West Virginia are Charles Town, Bridgeport, and Hurricane, and when you look at the data they sit at the very top of the income ladder for everyone who lives there.
Breaking into the top ten takes a median household income of at least $59,555. If you’re curious about the other end of the ledger, the poorest places are listed to the right.
