Bridgeport, Hurricane, Dunbar: 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.
Bridgeport in particular houses the richest residents in the state thanks, in part, to a median household income of $87,936 and a ridiculously low poverty rate of 4.4065544729849435%.
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 2017-2021 American Community Survey for the 25 places in West Virginia with more than 5,000 people.
Here are the 10 richest places in West Virginia for 2023:
For more on how we calculated the top ten, read on or skip to the end for the full list of the richest cities in West Virginia.
Rich people not your cup of tea? Feel free to check out some more reading about West Virginia:
The 10 Richest Cities In West Virginia For 2023
1. Bridgeport
/10
Population: 9,165
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $87,936
Unemployment Rate: 1.5%
Poverty Rate: 4.4%
More on Bridgeport: Real Estate | Photos
2. Hurricane
/10
Population: 6,901
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Income: $65,373
Unemployment Rate: 2.7%
Poverty Rate: 7.6%
More on Hurricane: Real Estate | Photos
3. Dunbar
/10
Population: 7,500
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 4)
Median Income: $46,219
Unemployment Rate: 1.6%
Poverty Rate: 11.7%
More on Dunbar: Real Estate
4. Vienna
/10
Population: 10,676
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 1)
Median Income: $58,587
Unemployment Rate: 6.7%
Poverty Rate: 10.5%
More on Vienna: Real Estate | Photos
5. St. Albans
/10
Population: 10,842
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 1)
Median Income: $55,189
Unemployment Rate: 6.6%
Poverty Rate: 15.0%
More on St. Albans: Real Estate | Photos
6. Charles Town
/10
Population: 6,373
Rank Last Year: 6 (No Change)
Median Income: $79,158
Unemployment Rate: 9.1%
Poverty Rate: 9.6%
More on Charles Town: Real Estate | Photos
7. Charleston
/10
Population: 49,055
Rank Last Year: 9 (Up 2)
Median Income: $54,101
Unemployment Rate: 6.3%
Poverty Rate: 17.5%
More on Charleston: Real Estate | Photos
8. South Charleston
/10
Population: 13,595
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 3)
Median Income: $54,954
Unemployment Rate: 6.2%
Poverty Rate: 18.3%
More on South Charleston: Real Estate | Photos
9. Buckhannon
/10
Population: 5,343
Rank Last Year: 14 (Up 5)
Median Income: $46,602
Unemployment Rate: 6.1%
Poverty Rate: 19.5%
More on Buckhannon: Real Estate | Photos
10. New Martinsville
/10
Population: 5,208
Rank Last Year: 15 (Up 5)
Median Income: $48,147
Unemployment Rate: 6.6%
Poverty Rate: 18.0%
More on New Martinsville: Real Estate | Photos
Methodology: How We Determined The Richest Places In West Virginia For 2023
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the richest places is to simply identify personal incomes. After all, rich people have really high salaries.
However, we don’t believe that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “richest places”. So we looked at this set of criteria from the newly released 2017-2021 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
- Unemployment Rate
Median household income is the most digestible way to understand how rich a place really is. The unemployment rate tries to capture the prospects for more people to become rich. If more people are employed, the richer the future looks.
After we collected the data for all 25 places with more than 5,000 people in West Virginia, we ranked each place from 1 to 25 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the richest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Rich Score” with the place having the lowest overall Rich Score, Bridgeport, crowned the “Richest City In West Virginia For 2023”. You can download the data here.
You can learn more about the top ten below or skip to the end to see the rankings for all 25 places.
Summary: The Wealthiest Places In West Virginia For 2023
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the richest places in West Virginia, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in West Virginia.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very top of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you’re curious enough, here are the poorest cities in West Virginia, according to data:
Poorest: Morgantown
2nd Poorest: Huntington
3rd Poorest: Elkins
For more West Virginia reading, check out:
- Cheapest Places To Live In West Virginia
- Most Dangerous Cities In West Virginia
- Safest Places In West Virginia
Detailed List Of The Richest Cities In West Virginia
| Rank | City | RichScore |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bridgeport | 1.0 |
| 2 | Hurricane | 2.67 |
| 3 | Dunbar | 6.33 |
| 4 | Vienna | 7.33 |
| 5 | St. Albans | 8.33 |
| 6 | Charles Town | 8.67 |
| 7 | Charleston | 8.67 |
| 8 | South Charleston | 8.67 |
| 9 | Buckhannon | 10.67 |
| 10 | New Martinsville | 10.67 |
| 11 | Wheeling | 11.33 |
| 12 | Weirton | 12.0 |
| 13 | Fairmont | 12.33 |
| 14 | Nitro | 13.67 |
| 15 | Clarksburg | 14.33 |
| 16 | Moundsville | 14.33 |
| 17 | Beckley | 15.0 |
| 18 | Oak Hill | 16.67 |
| 19 | Princeton | 18.33 |
| 20 | Bluefield | 18.67 |
| 21 | Parkersburg | 19.33 |
| 22 | Martinsburg | 20.0 |
| 23 | Elkins | 20.67 |
| 24 | Huntington | 21.33 |
| 25 | Morgantown | 24.0 |
