Census-designated place · Lincoln County, West Virginia

Alum Creek, West Virginia

Alum Creek is a census-designated place in Lincoln County, West Virginia, part of the Charleston, WV metro area. It has 1,749 residents. Alum Creek, West Virginia has a quality-of-life score of 4 out of 100 (very low), ranking #15,053 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within West Virginia it ranks #148 of 150 cities and towns. It ranks best on rent as share of income (low), grocery stores (high) and effective property tax rate (low). It ranks worst on access to exercise opportunities (low), restaurants and bars (low) and new business applications (low).

4Very low

Quality-of-life score: #15,053 of 15,651 cities and towns
West Virginia: #148 of 150 in WV
Population: 1,749 (2020-2024)
Land area: 10 mi²
Density: 171.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 5401396

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 69 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety17#12,963/15,637
Economy6#14,646/15,631
Housing97#403/14,977
Health1#15,418/15,609
Healthcare1#15,427/15,650
Environment20#12,324/15,453
Education5#14,805/15,649
Infrastructure14#13,454/15,650
Community3#15,143/15,651
Leisure & amenities15#13,348/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Alum Creek, West Virginia ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Lincoln County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Rent as share of income · low17.1%
99/100West Virginia 29.4%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Grocery stores · high3.1 /10k
95/100West Virginia 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLincoln County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.41%
93/100West Virginia 0.50%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Public libraries · high1.5 /10k
87/100West Virginia 1.0 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesLincoln County value
Home price to income ratio · low2.2×
86/100West Virginia 2.7×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077High uncertainty
Pharmacies · high2.1 /10k
77/100West Virginia 2.8 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLincoln County value

Weaknesses

Access to exercise opportunities · low5.1%
0/100West Virginia 58.8%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLincoln County value
Restaurants and bars · low1.6 /10k
0/100West Virginia 8.8 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLincoln County value
New business applications · low5.9 /1k
0/100West Virginia 9.3 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauLincoln County value
Drug overdose deaths · high71.1 /100k
1/100West Virginia 36.6 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataLincoln County value
Depression · high33.2%
1/100West Virginia 31.9%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Injury deaths · high203 /100k
1/100West Virginia 151 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLincoln County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Bachelor's degree or higherWorsening
25.3% (2015-2019) → 6.7% (2020-2024)
−19 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Child poverty rateWorsening
7.1% (2015-2019) → 20.0% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
7.4% (2015-2019) → 19.8% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
High school diploma or higherWorsening
93.4% (2015-2019) → 81.9% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Unemployment rateWorsening
3.3% (2015-2019) → 12.9% (2020-2024)
+9.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Income inequality (Gini index)Worsening
0.329 (2015-2019) → 0.427 (2020-2024)
+30%5 yearsCensus table B19083US 0.482 → 0.483

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Alum Creek, West Virginia improved on 0 of 8 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 6 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined2

Bachelor's+−19 points25.3% → 6.7%
High school+−12 points93.4% → 81.9%

All 8 measures

Change of every measure of Alum Creek, West Virginia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	31.5 min2015-2019	27.0 min2020-2024	−4.5 min	Within the margin of error	88%
Bachelor's degree or higher	25.3%2015-2019	6.7%2020-2024	−19 points	Declined	0%
Broadband subscriptions	84.4%2015-2019	89.4%2020-2024	+4.9 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Effective property tax rate	0.54%2015-2019	0.41%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	42%
High school diploma or higher	93.4%2015-2019	81.9%2020-2024	−12 points	Declined	1%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3292015-2019	0.4272020-2024	+0.098	Within the margin of error	5%
Median household income	$57,8572015-2019	$74,2312020-2024	+28%	Within the margin of error	51%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Alum Creek, West Virginia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Alum Creek, West Virginia in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Alum Creek, West Virginia itself moved −22.4 points in standing on average over the same 7 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,749 residents (±425)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Under 10 men (−11.0 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

1,749 residents (±425)

Alum Creek, West Virginia
West Virginia share

White91%1,592
Black0.0%0
Hispanic or Latino8.3%†145

Education

1,288 residents (±302)

Alum Creek, West Virginia
West Virginia share

No high school diploma18%†233
High school or GED55%†711
Some college9.5%†

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

554 households (±148)

Alum Creek, West Virginia
West Virginia share

Under $25k22%†123
$25k–50k7.6%†42
$50k–75k22%†120
$75k–100k4.3%†24
$100k–150k23%†125
$150k–200k7.4%†41
$200k or more14%†79

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $25k–50k (−27.5 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

554 households (±148)

Alum Creek, West Virginia
West Virginia share

Own91%†505
Rent8.8%†49

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

49 households (±32)

Alum Creek, West Virginia
West Virginia share

Under $75012%†6
$750–1,00047%†23
$1,000–1,50024%†12

Home values

505 homes (±155)

Alum Creek, West Virginia
West Virginia share

Under $150k45%†228
$150k–250k27%†136
$250k–400k28%†

Age of homes

701 homes (±158)

Alum Creek, West Virginia
West Virginia share

2010 or later0.4%†3
2000–20099.1%†64
1980–199931%†

Size of homes

701 homes (±158)

Alum Creek, West Virginia
West Virginia share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom8.1%†57
2 bedrooms21%†149

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

750 workers (±245)

Alum Creek, West Virginia
West Virginia share

Drive alone87%†650
Carpool0.0%0
Public transit0.0%0
Walk10%†77
Bike0.0%0
Work from home3.1%†23
Other0.0%0

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

727 workers (±248)

Alum Creek, West Virginia
West Virginia share

Under 15 min17%†122
15–29 min57%†417
30–44 min5.6%†

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Charleston, WV

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Lincoln County, the county holding most of Alum Creek's residents.

Lincoln County has 172 employer establishments, 87.4 for every 10,000 residents (0.35× the US rate of 248; 0.43× West Virginia's), with 1,612 paid employees at an average annual pay of $37,364. The Census Bureau also counts 600 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 172; 600 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 87.4; US 248 · West Virginia 202
Paid employees: 1,612
Average annual pay: $37,364; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Lincoln County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	18	9.1	0.44×Fewer than typical	127	$72,236	24
Specialty trade contractors	18	9.1	0.59×Fewer than typical	107	$53,243	53
Outpatient care centers	11	5.6	3.04×More than typical	79	$87,278	—
General merchandise stores	10	5.1	2.87×More than typical	56	$23,268	3
Restaurants and other eating places	9	4.6	0.25×Too few to compare	83	$14,325	—
Building equipment contractors	8	4.1	0.68×Too few to compare	46	$58,022	9
Individual and family services	8	4.1	1.45×Too few to compare	579	$19,561	4
Other specialty trade contractors	8	4.1	1.62×Too few to compare	57	$49,842	21
Services to buildings and dwellings	8	4.1	0.60×Too few to compare	56	$59,482	61
Construction of buildings	7	3.6	0.47×Too few to compare	124	$93,669	20
Full-service restaurants	7	3.6	0.46×Too few to compare	70	$13,414	—
Religious organizations	7	3.6	0.64×Too few to compare	12	$20,917	—

Rank places for an industry Open Lincoln County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 19,685 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

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Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Alum Creek is mostly in Lincoln County.

See federal money in Lincoln County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Alum Creek, West Virginia is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Carol D. MillerR-WV-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 5.3%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Charleston, WV42

Other cities and towns in Lincoln County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

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