City · Ritchie County, West Virginia

Pennsboro, West Virginia

Pennsboro is a city in Ritchie County, West Virginia. It has 1,334 residents. Pennsboro, West Virginia has a quality-of-life score of 12 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,756 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within West Virginia it ranks #128 of 150 cities and towns. It ranks best on suicide rate (low), pharmacies (high) and drug overdose deaths (low). It ranks worst on depression (high), dental care shortage (high) and frequent mental distress (high).

12Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,756 of 15,651 cities and towns
West Virginia: #128 of 150 in WV
Population: 1,334 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 494.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 5462764

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 70 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.

Safety53#7,369/15,637
Economy17#13,047/15,631
Housing62#5,689/14,977
Health19#12,651/15,609
Healthcare10#14,076/15,650
Environment18#12,652/15,453
Education23#12,080/15,649
Infrastructure7#14,586/15,650
Community22#12,145/15,651
Leisure & amenities34#10,383/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Pennsboro, West Virginia ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Ritchie 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 dataRitchie County value
Pharmacies · high3.7 /10k
99/100West Virginia 2.8 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsRitchie 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 dataRitchie County value
Grocery stores · high3.7 /10k
98/100West Virginia 1.5 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsRitchie County value
Home price to income ratio · low1.7×
97/100West Virginia 2.7×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Students per teacher · low10.9×
94/100West Virginia 13.2×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsRitchie County value

Weaknesses

Depression · high32.7%
1/100West Virginia 31.9%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Dental care shortage · high20.0
1/100West Virginia 15.5United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationRitchie County value
Frequent mental distress · high24.0%
1/100West Virginia 23.4%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Primary care physicians · low12 /100k
1/100West Virginia 80 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRitchie County value
Dentists · low12 /100k
1/100West Virginia 60 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRitchie County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low29.3%
2/100West Virginia 58.8%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRitchie County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,076 (2015-2019) → 1,334 (2020-2024)
+24%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
44.7% (2015-2019) → 17.0% (2020-2024)
−28 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
New homes permittedWorsening
1.5 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
33.3% (2015-2019) → 47.3% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
17.2% (2015-2019) → 4.7% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Unemployment rateImproving
12.8% (2015-2019) → 1.8% (2020-2024)
−11 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

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, Pennsboro, West Virginia improved on 1 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 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

Uninsured−12 points17.2% → 4.7%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Pennsboro, West Virginia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	22.5 min2015-2019	31.4 min2020-2024	+9.0 min	Within the margin of error	3%
Bachelor's degree or higher	12.6%2015-2019	10.5%2020-2024	−2 points	Within the margin of error	16%
Broadband subscriptions	78.8%2015-2019	82.4%2020-2024	+3.6 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Effective property tax rate	0.81%2015-2019	0.47%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	79%
High school diploma or higher	81.5%2015-2019	72.4%2020-2024	−9 points	Within the margin of error	2%
Home price to income ratio	1.4×2015-2019	1.7×2020-2024	+0.3×	Within the margin of error	59%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4332015-2019	0.4112020-2024	−0.022	Within the margin of error	69%
Median household income	$41,7862015-2019	$51,3272020-2024	+23%	Within the margin of error	39%
Poverty rate	25.8%2015-2019	22.2%2020-2024	−3.6 points	Within the margin of error	73%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	17.2%2015-2019	4.7%2020-2024	−12 points	Improved	98%

“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 Pennsboro, West Virginia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Pennsboro, 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, Pennsboro, West Virginia itself moved −8.1 points in standing on average over the same 8 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

1,334 residents (±290)

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

489 households (±92)

Pennsboro, West Virginia
West Virginia share

Under $25k16%†77
$25k–50k27%†133
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

489 households (±92)

Pennsboro, West Virginia
West Virginia share

Own75%365
Rent25%†124

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

535 workers (±148)

Pennsboro, West Virginia
West Virginia share

Drive alone72%385
Carpool22%†119
Public transit0.0%0

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 Ritchie County, the county holding most of Pennsboro's residents.

Ritchie County has 188 employer establishments, 230 for every 10,000 residents (0.93× the US rate of 248; 1.14× West Virginia's), with 2,893 paid employees at an average annual pay of $45,877. The Census Bureau also counts 547 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 188; 547 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 230; US 248 · West Virginia 202
Paid employees: 2,893
Average annual pay: $45,877; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	11	13.5	0.65×Fewer than typical	99	$44,202	10
Religious organizations	10	12.3	2.21×More than typical	26	$13,923	—
Restaurants and other eating places	10	12.3	0.67×Fewer than typical	159	$15,082	—
Banks and credit unions	8	9.8	3.03×Too few to compare	43	$33,186	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	7	8.6	1.70×Too few to compare	17	$25,000	13
Full-service restaurants	7	8.6	1.12×Too few to compare	52	$16,385	—
General merchandise stores	7	8.6	4.85×Too few to compare	35	$23,229	—
Specialty trade contractors	7	8.6	0.55×Too few to compare	14	$37,571	30
Construction of buildings	6	7.4	0.97×Too few to compare	28	$40,000	13
Truck transportation	6	7.4	1.45×Too few to compare	79	$67,215	15
Gasoline stations	5	6.1	1.89×Too few to compare	46	$22,652	3
Individual and family services	5	6.1	2.19×Too few to compare	32	$22,938	3

Rank places for an industry Open Ritchie County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 8,161 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 $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Pennsboro, West Virginia: $0 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,995
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; 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

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

29.1KFY2024
0FY2025

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 7, 2026, loaded Oct 7, 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 Pennsboro, West Virginia, so they do not add up across cities.

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

See federal money in Ritchie 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.

Pennsboro, 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.

Ritchie County16100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Ritchie 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/5462764

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends