City · Tucker County, West Virginia

Parsons, West Virginia

Parsons is a city in Tucker County, West Virginia. It has 1,448 residents. Parsons, West Virginia has a quality-of-life score of 42 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #9,066 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within West Virginia it ranks #31 of 150 cities and towns. It ranks best on suicide rate (low), preventable hospital stays (low) and hot days (low). It ranks worst on depression (high), pharmacies (low) and flu vaccinations (low).

42Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #9,066 of 15,651 cities and towns
West Virginia: #31 of 150 in WV
Population: 1,448 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,290.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 5462284

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 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.

Safety84#2,570/15,637
Economy2#15,342/15,631
Housing59#6,087/14,977
Health32#10,639/15,609
Healthcare29#11,152/15,650
Environment84#2,510/15,453
Education14#13,435/15,649
Infrastructure13#13,687/15,650
Community66#5,343/15,651
Leisure & amenities85#2,295/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Suicide rate · low0.0 /100k
100/100West Virginia 18.9 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataTucker County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,120 /100k
99/100West Virginia 4,063 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTucker County value
Hot days · low0 days
99/100West Virginia 10 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationTucker County value
Firearm deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100West Virginia 16.0 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataTucker County value
Drug overdose deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100West Virginia 36.6 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataTucker County value
Restaurants and bars · high19.9 /10k
98/100West Virginia 8.8 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsTucker County value

Weaknesses

Depression · high32.5%
1/100West Virginia 31.9%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Pharmacies · low0.0 /10k
1/100West Virginia 2.8 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsTucker County value
Flu vaccinations · low22.0%
2/100West Virginia 36.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTucker County value
Unemployment rate · high15.2%
3/100West Virginia 4.3%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
Frequent mental distress · high22.9%
3/100West Virginia 23.4%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Reading scores · low2.59
4/100West Virginia 2.92United States 3.052018University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTucker County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
1,592 (2015-2019) → 1,448 (2020-2024)
−9%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateWorsening
18.5% (2015-2019) → 50.6% (2020-2024)
+32 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
36.6% (2015-2019) → 47.7% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Unemployment rateWorsening
5.1% (2015-2019) → 15.2% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
1.7× (2015-2019) → 2.4× (2020-2024)
+36%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
High school diploma or higherWorsening
87.1% (2015-2019) → 80.1% (2020-2024)
−7 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%

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, Parsons, West Virginia improved on 0 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 12 moved within the margin of error and 1 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.

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Parsons, West Virginia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	26.1 min2015-2019	32.0 min2020-2024	+5.9 min	Within the margin of error	7%
Bachelor's degree or higher	15.2%2015-2019	10.6%2020-2024	−4.6 points	Within the margin of error	8%
Broadband subscriptions	77.7%2015-2019	81.5%2020-2024	+3.7 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Effective property tax rate	0.52%2015-2019	0.31%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Little change	61%
High school diploma or higher	87.1%2015-2019	80.1%2020-2024	−7 points	Within the margin of error	3%
Home price to income ratio	1.7×2015-2019	2.4×2020-2024	+0.6×	Within the margin of error	40%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4122015-2019	0.4792020-2024	+0.067	Within the margin of error	11%
Median household income	$46,8752015-2019	$40,5472020-2024	−13%	Within the margin of error	2%
Poverty rate	19.8%2015-2019	23.6%2020-2024	+3.8 points	Within the margin of error	16%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	25.7%2015-2019	28.4%2020-2024	+2.7 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Rent-burdened households	36.6%2015-2019	47.7%2020-2024	+11 points	Within the margin of error	21%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	7.8%2015-2019	8.7%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	35%

“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 Parsons, West Virginia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Parsons, 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, Parsons, West Virginia itself moved −20.8 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

1,448 residents (±235)

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

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 B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

1,448 residents (±235)

Parsons, West Virginia
West Virginia share

White92%1,335
Black0.0%0
Hispanic or Latino0.1%†1

Education

1,052 residents (±174)

Parsons, West Virginia
West Virginia share

No high school diploma20%†209
High school or GED46%485
Some college18%†185

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

561 households (±98)

Parsons, West Virginia
West Virginia share

Under $25k37%†207
$25k–50k24%†136
$50k–75k18%†102
$75k–100k14%†77
$100k–150k4.8%†27
$150k–200k1.1%†6
$200k or more1.1%†6

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 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

561 households (±98)

Parsons, West Virginia
West Virginia share

Own68%382
Rent32%†179

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

158 households (±61)

Parsons, West Virginia
West Virginia share

Under $75054%†86
$750–1,00032%†50
$1,000–1,50014%†22

Home values

382 homes (±78)

Parsons, West Virginia
West Virginia share

Under $150k71%271
$150k–250k16%†62
$250k–400k9.9%†38

Age of homes

693 homes (±100)

Parsons, West Virginia
West Virginia share

2010 or later4.5%†31
2000–20094.2%†29
1980–199928%†

Size of homes

693 homes (±100)

Parsons, West Virginia
West Virginia share

Studio0.3%†2
1 bedroom9.7%†67
2 bedrooms24%†168

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

469 workers (±112)

Parsons, West Virginia
West Virginia share

Drive alone71%334
Carpool13%†63
Public transit0.0%0
Walk5.1%†24
Bike0.0%0
Work from home10%†48
Other0.0%0

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Work from home (+9.8 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 B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

421 workers (±101)

Parsons, West Virginia
West Virginia share

Under 15 min39%†164
15–29 min20%†84
30–44 min16%†67

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

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 Tucker County, the county holding most of Parsons's residents.

Tucker County has 159 employer establishments, 241 for every 10,000 residents (0.97× the US rate of 248; 1.19× West Virginia's), with 1,927 paid employees at an average annual pay of $42,072. The Census Bureau also counts 472 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 159; 472 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 241; US 248 · West Virginia 202
Paid employees: 1,927
Average annual pay: $42,072; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	27	40.9	2.23×More than typical	226	$17,159	—
Full-service restaurants	16	24.2	3.15×More than typical	148	$17,554	—
Construction of buildings	12	18.2	2.40×More than typical	48	$47,958	22
Amusement, gambling and recreation industries	7	10.6	3.99×Too few to compare	163	$19,344	6
Other amusement and recreation industries	7	10.6	4.37×Too few to compare	163	$19,344	6
Limited-service restaurants	6	9.1	1.13×Too few to compare	60	$14,367	—
Gasoline stations	5	7.6	2.33×Too few to compare	43	$19,884	—
Lessors of real estate	5	7.6	0.61×Too few to compare	38	$42,921	58
Snack and non-alcoholic beverage bars	5	7.6	2.99×Too few to compare	18	$23,222	—
Specialty trade contractors	5	7.6	0.49×Too few to compare	8	$46,750	27
Traveler accommodation	5	7.6	4.19×Too few to compare	176	$27,602	4
Ambulatory health care services	4	6.1	0.29×Too few to compare	85	$71,682	17

Rank places for an industry Open Tucker County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 6,606 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: Parsons is mostly in Tucker County.

See federal money in Tucker 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.

Parsons, 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.

Tucker County52100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Tucker 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

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