City · Mineral County, West Virginia

Keyser, West Virginia

Keyser is a city in Mineral County, West Virginia, part of the Cumberland, MD-WV metro area. It has 4,857 residents. Keyser, West Virginia has a quality-of-life score of 22 out of 100 (low), ranking #12,186 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within West Virginia it ranks #87 of 150 cities and towns. It ranks best on average commute time (low), mammography screening (high) and time spent in the emergency room (low). It ranks worst on depression (high), hospital quality rating (low) and new business applications (low).

22Low

Quality-of-life score: #12,186 of 15,651 cities and towns
West Virginia: #87 of 150 in WV
Population: 4,857 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 2,460.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 5443492

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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.

Safety55#7,034/15,637
Economy5#14,793/15,631
Housing48#7,733/14,977
Health9#14,158/15,609
Healthcare27#11,469/15,650
Environment32#10,503/15,453
Education28#11,260/15,649
Infrastructure41#9,211/15,650
Community36#10,050/15,651
Leisure & amenities62#5,959/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Keyser, West Virginia ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Mineral 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

Average commute time · low17.1 min
90/100West Virginia 26.6 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Mammography screening · high54.0%
88/100West Virginia 45.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMineral County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low119 min
88/100West Virginia 145 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesMineral County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.51%
87/100West Virginia 0.50%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Public libraries · high1.5 /10k
86/100West Virginia 1.0 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesMineral County value
Public transit commuters · high2.5%
86/100West Virginia 0.5%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301High uncertainty

Weaknesses

Depression · high32.4%
1/100West Virginia 31.9%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Hospital quality rating · low1.0
1/100West Virginia 2.8United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesMineral County value
New business applications · low7.2 /1k
3/100West Virginia 9.3 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauMineral County value
Poverty rate · high31.8%
3/100West Virginia 16.2%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Access to exercise opportunities · low36.5%
4/100West Virginia 58.8%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMineral County value
Unemployment rate · high12.9%
4/100West Virginia 4.3%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025

Trends

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

Child poverty rateWorsening
9.4% (2015-2019) → 56.6% (2020-2024)
+47 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
33.8% (2015-2019) → 52.6% (2020-2024)
+19 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
75.9% (2015-2019) → 85.9% (2020-2024)
+9.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Poverty rateWorsening
24.3% (2015-2019) → 31.8% (2020-2024)
+7.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Average commute timeImproving
24.9 min (2015-2019) → 17.1 min (2020-2024)
−31%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Income inequality (Gini index)Worsening
0.418 (2015-2019) → 0.547 (2020-2024)
+31%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, Keyser, West Virginia improved on 0 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 11 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.

Declined1

Inequality+0.1290.418 → 0.547

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Keyser, West Virginia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	24.9 min2015-2019	17.1 min2020-2024	−7.8 min	Within the margin of error	96%
Bachelor's degree or higher	16.3%2015-2019	18.0%2020-2024	+1.7 points	Within the margin of error	40%
Broadband subscriptions	75.9%2015-2019	85.9%2020-2024	+9.9 points	Within the margin of error	59%
Effective property tax rate	0.73%2015-2019	0.51%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	62%
High school diploma or higher	89.1%2015-2019	87.0%2020-2024	−2.1 points	Within the margin of error	15%
Home price to income ratio	2.7×2015-2019	3.0×2020-2024	+0.3×	Within the margin of error	60%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4182015-2019	0.5472020-2024	+0.129	Declined	2%
Median household income	$36,4482015-2019	$46,9552020-2024	+29%	Within the margin of error	53%
Poverty rate	24.3%2015-2019	31.8%2020-2024	+7.4 points	Within the margin of error	7%
Rent as share of income	27.0%2015-2019	30.8%2020-2024	+3.8 points	Within the margin of error	28%
Rent-burdened households	33.8%2015-2019	52.6%2020-2024	+19 points	Within the margin of error	10%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	12.5%2015-2019	7.0%2020-2024	−5.6 points	Within the margin of error	88%

“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 Keyser, West Virginia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Keyser, 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, Keyser, West Virginia itself moved −8.8 points in standing on average over the same 10 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

4,857 residents (±31)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

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

Household income

2,069 households (±249)

Keyser, West Virginia
West Virginia share

Under $25k30%†624
$25k–50k24%†491
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,069 households (±249)

Keyser, West Virginia
West Virginia share

Own51%1,063
Rent49%1,006

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,650 workers (±305)

Keyser, West Virginia
West Virginia share

Drive alone67%1,113
Carpool7.7%†127
Public transit2.5%†

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 Cumberland, MD-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 Mineral County, the county holding most of Keyser's residents.

Mineral County has 456 employer establishments, 170 for every 10,000 residents (0.69× the US rate of 248; 0.84× West Virginia's), with 6,849 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,036. The Census Bureau also counts 1,527 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 456; 1,527 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 170; US 248 · West Virginia 202
Paid employees: 6,849
Average annual pay: $48,036; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	35	13.1	0.71×Fewer than typical	469	$12,989	10
Ambulatory health care services	31	11.6	0.55×Fewer than typical	223	$48,874	136
Religious organizations	30	11.2	2.02×More than typical	75	$17,307	—
Construction of buildings	24	9	1.18×About typical	108	$57,333	84
Specialty trade contractors	21	7.8	0.51×Fewer than typical	140	$68,079	103
Full-service restaurants	19	7.1	0.92×About typical	168	$13,196	5
Grocery and convenience stores	15	5.6	1.89×More than typical	246	$22,337	3
Banks and credit unions	13	4.9	1.50×More than typical	75	$42,720	—
Lessors of real estate	13	4.9	0.39×Fewer than typical	28	$52,179	94
Limited-service restaurants	13	4.9	0.60×Fewer than typical	290	$12,755	3
Automotive repair and maintenance	12	4.5	0.89×About typical	38	$38,026	37
Child day care services	10	3.7	1.53×More than typical	56	$19,107	26

Rank places for an industry Open Mineral County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 26,801 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

In FY2026, an estimated $2.9M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Keyser, West Virginia: $594 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $2.9M; −53% vs FY2025
Per resident: $594; US $1,994
Sole-source: 64%; US 30%
Single offer: 1.4%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Navy$1.6M57%
Department of the Army$978.9K34%
Department of the Air Force$248K8.6%
Defense Contract Management Agency$15.3K0.5%
Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services$1,9090.1%

Top recipients

NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORP$2.8M99%
KNOBLEY TECHNICAL ASSOCIATES, LLC$15.3K0.5%
CH2M HILL, INC$10.2K0.4%
AMS INDUSTRIAL LLC$6,0500.2%
ORBIS SIBRO INC$4,0040.1%
BC ALLEN COMPANY LLC

Spending by fiscal year

2.2MFY2017
320.8KFY2018
4.7MFY2019
1.6MFY2020
1.5MFY2021
665.3KFY2022
3MFY2023
4.7M

Top industries (NAICS)

Other fabricated metal product manufacturing · 3329$2.8M99%
Scientific research and development services · 5417$15.3K0.5%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$14.2K0.5%
Other heavy and civil engineering construction · 2379$7,9590.3%
Services to buildings and dwellings · 5617$1,4720.1%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Keyser, West Virginia, so they do not add up across cities.

Keyser, West Virginia's figures are part of those of Mineral County, WV ($197.9M in FY2026), never added to them: 1.5% of that total.

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

See federal money in Mineral 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.

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

House

Riley M. MooreR-WV-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 1.8%

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.

Mineral County47100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Cumberland, MD-WV42

Other cities and towns in Mineral 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
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
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

JSON · /api/v1/places/5443492

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends