Town · Greenbrier County, West Virginia

Rainelle, West Virginia

Rainelle is a town in Greenbrier County, West Virginia. It has 1,458 residents. Rainelle, West Virginia has a quality-of-life score of 24 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,970 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within West Virginia it ranks #76 of 150 cities and towns. It ranks best on hot days (low), primary care physicians (high) and pharmacies (high). It ranks worst on depression (high), frequent mental distress (high) and adult smoking (high).

24Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,970 of 15,651 cities and towns
West Virginia: #76 of 150 in WV
Population: 1,458 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,310.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 5466652

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 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.

Safety45#8,539/15,637
Economy6#14,736/15,631
Housing36#9,586/14,977
Health0#15,570/15,609
Healthcare30#10,994/15,650
Environment94#975/15,453
Education35#10,141/15,649
Infrastructure22#12,253/15,650
Community22#12,182/15,651
Leisure & amenities63#5,799/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Rainelle, West Virginia ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Greenbrier 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
99/100West Virginia 10 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationGreenbrier County value
Primary care physicians · high151 /100k
99/100West Virginia 80 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGreenbrier County value
Pharmacies · high2.8 /10k
95/100West Virginia 2.8 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsGreenbrier County value
Restaurants and bars · high13.9 /10k
93/100West Virginia 8.8 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsGreenbrier County value
Effective property tax rate · low0.44%
92/100West Virginia 0.50%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090High uncertainty
Public libraries · high1.9 /10k
90/100West Virginia 1.0 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesGreenbrier County value

Weaknesses

Depression · high34.5%
0/100West Virginia 31.9%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Frequent mental distress · high27.4%
0/100West Virginia 23.4%United States 18.6%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Adult smoking · high30.0%
0/100West Virginia 21.4%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Dental care shortage · high20.0
1/100West Virginia 15.5United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationGreenbrier County value
Injury deaths · high167 /100k
2/100West Virginia 151 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGreenbrier County value
Physical inactivity · high41.5%
2/100West Virginia 32.6%United States 26.5%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,250 (2015-2019) → 1,458 (2020-2024)
+17%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
68.8% (2015-2019) → 90.5% (2020-2024)
+22 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
59.4% (2015-2019) → 40.4% (2020-2024)
−19 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
52.3% (2015-2019) → 61.2% (2020-2024)
+8.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Poverty rateImproving
36.1% (2015-2019) → 29.8% (2020-2024)
−6.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Unemployment rateImproving
8.7% (2015-2019) → 2.7% (2020-2024)
−6 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, Rainelle, West Virginia improved on 1 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 9 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+22 points68.8% → 90.5%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Rainelle, West Virginia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Broadband subscriptions	68.8%2015-2019	90.5%2020-2024	+22 points	Improved	92%
Child poverty rate	59.4%2015-2019	40.4%2020-2024	−19 points	Within the margin of error	93%
High school diploma or higher	86.5%2015-2019	80.7%2020-2024	−5.7 points	Within the margin of error	5%
Home price to income ratio	2.1×2015-2019	2.3×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	71%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4182015-2019	0.4722020-2024	+0.054	Within the margin of error	15%
Median household income	$28,1252015-2019	$35,6252020-2024	+27%	Within the margin of error	48%
Poverty rate	36.1%2015-2019	29.8%2020-2024	−6.4 points	Within the margin of error	85%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	30.5%2015-2019	34.3%2020-2024	+3.8 points	Within the margin of error	28%
Rent-burdened households	52.3%2015-2019	61.2%2020-2024	+8.9 points	Within the margin of error	27%

“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 Rainelle, West Virginia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Rainelle, 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, Rainelle, West Virginia itself moved −6.6 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

1,458 residents (±468)

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

661 households (±164)

Rainelle, West Virginia
West Virginia share

Under $25k41%†269
$25k–50k25%†166
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

661 households (±164)

Rainelle, West Virginia
West Virginia share

Own67%†442
Rent33%†219

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

507 workers (±228)

Rainelle, West Virginia
West Virginia share

Drive alone79%†401
Carpool12%†62
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 Greenbrier County, the county holding most of Rainelle's residents.

Greenbrier County has 888 employer establishments, 276 for every 10,000 residents (1.11× the US rate of 248; 1.36× West Virginia's), with 10,528 paid employees at an average annual pay of $42,865. The Census Bureau also counts 2,331 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 888; 2,331 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 276; US 248 · West Virginia 202
Paid employees: 10,528
Average annual pay: $42,865; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	101	31.4	1.51×More than typical	1,306	$66,525	109
Restaurants and other eating places	59	18.3	1.00×About typical	843	$21,888	10
Specialty trade contractors	55	17.1	1.10×About typical	233	$42,747	163
Construction of buildings	48	14.9	1.97×More than typical	332	$37,617	93
Religious organizations	36	11.2	2.02×More than typical	141	$21,270	—
Lessors of real estate	32	10	0.81×About typical	74	$50,932	288
Outpatient care centers	27	8.4	4.56×More than typical	394	$58,307	—
Full-service restaurants	26	8.1	1.05×About typical	435	$22,308	4
Limited-service restaurants	26	8.1	1.01×About typical	337	$21,374	4
Building equipment contractors	23	7.2	1.19×About typical	70	$35,486	41
Offices of physicians	23	7.2	1.10×About typical	535	$84,406	35
Gasoline stations	22	6.8	2.11×More than typical	196	$28,010	3

Rank places for an industry Open Greenbrier County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 32,154 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 $2,444 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Rainelle, West Virginia: $1.68 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $2,444; −71% vs FY2025
Per resident: $1.68; US $1,995
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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 Army$2,444100%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

2.8KFY2017
2.9KFY2018
2.4KFY2019
-320.5FY2020
7.7KFY2021
19.8KFY2022
8.8KFY2023
1.8KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Services to buildings and dwellings · 5617$2,444100%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 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 Rainelle, West Virginia, so they do not add up across cities.

Rainelle, West Virginia's figures are part of those of Greenbrier County, WV ($7.2M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Greenbrier 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.

Rainelle, 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.

Greenbrier County34100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Greenbrier 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/5466652

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends