Town · Pocahontas County, West Virginia

Marlinton, West Virginia

Marlinton is a town in Pocahontas County, West Virginia. It has 1,201 residents. Marlinton, West Virginia has a quality-of-life score of 23 out of 100 (low), ranking #12,116 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within West Virginia it ranks #82 of 150 cities and towns. It ranks best on hot days (low), public libraries (high) and restaurants and bars (high). It ranks worst on depression (high), frequent mental distress (high) and unemployment rate (high).

23Low

Quality-of-life score: #12,116 of 15,651 cities and towns
West Virginia: #82 of 150 in WV
Population: 1,201 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 511.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 5451676

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 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.

Safety47#8,277/15,637
Economy1#15,531/15,631
Housing49#7,643/14,977
Health2#15,272/15,609
Healthcare17#13,040/15,650
Environment74#4,026/15,453
Education32#10,692/15,649
Infrastructure37#9,894/15,650
Community36#10,057/15,651
Leisure & amenities49#7,930/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Hot days · low0 days
100/100West Virginia 10 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationPocahontas County value
Public libraries · high6.5 /10k
99/100West Virginia 1.0 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesPocahontas County value
Restaurants and bars · high18.4 /10k
98/100West Virginia 8.8 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPocahontas County value
Students per teacher · low10.2×
97/100West Virginia 13.2×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsPocahontas County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low105 min
94/100West Virginia 145 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesPocahontas County value
Public EV charging ports · high18.4 /10k
94/100West Virginia 3.1 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyPocahontas County value

Weaknesses

Depression · high33.5%
1/100West Virginia 31.9%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Frequent mental distress · high24.8%
1/100West Virginia 23.4%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Unemployment rate · high21.9%
1/100West Virginia 4.3%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
Average weekly wage · low$811
1/100West Virginia $1,161United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPocahontas County value
Pharmacies · low0.0 /10k
1/100West Virginia 2.8 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPocahontas County value
Dental care shortage · high20.0
1/100West Virginia 15.5United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationPocahontas County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
1,266 (2015-2019) → 1,201 (2020-2024)
−5.1%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedImproving
0.8 /1k (2021) → 8.3 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+1,007%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
68.0% (2015-2019) → 92.8% (2020-2024)
+25 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
27.6% (2015-2019) → 51.0% (2020-2024)
+23 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
42.9% (2015-2019) → 65.6% (2020-2024)
+23 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
64.6% (2015-2019) → 47.3% (2020-2024)
−17 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

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, Marlinton, West Virginia improved on 1 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 13 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.

Improved1

Broadband+25 points68.0% → 92.8%

Declined1

Rent / income+23 points27.6% → 51.0%

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Marlinton, West Virginia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	19.0 min2015-2019	18.1 min2020-2024	−0.9 min	Within the margin of error	58%
Bachelor's degree or higher	12.9%2015-2019	21.0%2020-2024	+8.1 points	Within the margin of error	84%
Broadband subscriptions	68.0%2015-2019	92.8%2020-2024	+25 points	Improved	95%
Child poverty rate	64.6%2015-2019	47.3%2020-2024	−17 points	Within the margin of error	91%
Effective property tax rate	0.49%2015-2019	0.51%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	14%
High school diploma or higher	83.7%2015-2019	86.4%2020-2024	+2.7 points	Within the margin of error	66%
Home price to income ratio	1.8×2015-2019	2.5×2020-2024	+0.7×	Within the margin of error	35%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4802015-2019	0.4622020-2024	−0.018	Within the margin of error	66%
Median household income	$31,6072015-2019	$37,2732020-2024	+18%	Within the margin of error	29%
Poverty rate	41.4%2015-2019	34.9%2020-2024	−6.5 points	Within the margin of error	86%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	27.6%2015-2019	51.0%2020-2024	+23 points	Declined	1%
Rent-burdened households	42.9%2015-2019	65.6%2020-2024	+23 points	Within the margin of error	6%
Unemployment rate	9.8%2015-2019	21.9%2020-2024	+12 points	Within the margin of error	0%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	13.0%2015-2019	9.4%2020-2024	−3.7 points	Within the margin of error	80%

“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 Marlinton, West Virginia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Marlinton, 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, Marlinton, West Virginia itself moved −5.3 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

1,201 residents (±229)

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

500 households (±96)

Marlinton, West Virginia
West Virginia share

Under $25k36%†182
$25k–50k25%†127
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

500 households (±96)

Marlinton, West Virginia
West Virginia share

Own60%300
Rent40%†200

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

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

425 workers (±120)

Marlinton, West Virginia
West Virginia share

Drive alone57%†242
Carpool24%†104
Public transit

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 Pocahontas County, the county holding most of Marlinton's residents.

Pocahontas County has 231 employer establishments, 299 for every 10,000 residents (1.20× the US rate of 248; 1.48× West Virginia's), with 3,174 paid employees at an average annual pay of $29,606. The Census Bureau also counts 589 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 231; 589 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 299; US 248 · West Virginia 202
Paid employees: 3,174
Average annual pay: $29,606; US $68,342

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

Construction of buildings	23	29.8	3.94×More than typical	77	$33,039	26
Restaurants and other eating places	18	23.3	1.27×More than typical	174	$16,184	5
Specialty trade contractors	13	16.8	1.09×About typical	40	$43,000	73
Full-service restaurants	11	14.2	1.85×More than typical	126	$15,738	—
Truck transportation	10	12.9	2.56×More than typical	115	$33,409	9
Ambulatory health care services	9	11.6	0.56×Too few to compare	109	$38,431	5
Gasoline stations	9	11.6	3.59×Too few to compare	61	$30,836	—
Lessors of real estate	7	9.1	0.74×Too few to compare	34	$27,206	74
Other specialty trade contractors	7	9.1	3.61×Too few to compare	19	$43,684	34
Traveler accommodation	7	9.1	5.02×Too few to compare	1,231	$22,318	13
Automotive repair and maintenance	6	7.8	1.54×Too few to compare	16	$28,500	16
Individual and family services	6	7.8	2.77×Too few to compare	110	$21,245	9

Rank places for an industry Open Pocahontas County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 7,727 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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

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

See federal money in Pocahontas 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.

Marlinton, 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.

Pocahontas County24100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Pocahontas 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/5451676

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends