Micro area · West Virginia

Elkins, WV micropolitan area

Elkins, WV is a micropolitan area of 1 county in West Virginia, home to 26,882 residents. Elkins, WV micropolitan area has a quality-of-life score of 32 out of 100 (low), ranking #633 of 925 US metro and micro areas. Among metro and micro areas based in West Virginia it ranks #9 of 11. It ranks best on hot days (low), public libraries (high) and severe housing problems (low). It ranks worst on depression (high), frequent mental distress (high) and adult obesity (high).

32Low
Quality-of-life score
#633 of 925 metro and micro areas
West Virginia
#9 of 11 in WV
Population
26,882 (2025)
Land area
1,040 mi²
Density
25.9 /mi²
CBSA code
21180

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 66 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map
Location of Elkins, WV micropolitan area

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US metro and micro areas.

  • Safety51#452/924
  • Economy6#873/925
  • Housing76#219/925
  • Health6#873/925
  • Healthcare37#582/923
  • Environment94#60/917
  • Education16#773/925
  • Infrastructure16#781/925
  • Community27#678/925
  • Leisure & amenities70#276/925

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Elkins, WV micropolitan area ranks highest and lowest among US metro and micro areas (score = percentile, 100 = best).

Strengths

Weaknesses

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.

Metro and micro areas like Elkins, WV micropolitan area five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Elkins, WV micropolitan area 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.

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).

Income

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

Homes

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

Getting to work

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

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

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.

Federal contract spending

Federal grants & assistance

Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.

Counties in Elkins, WV

Whole counties, as the U.S. Office of Management and Budget delineates the area. Federal spending below is the exact sum of these counties.

  1. Randolph CountyCentral county3326,882

Principal cities

The cities the area is named for.

  1. ElkinsPrincipal city6,811

Largest cities and towns

By population, for places with most of their residents in the area.

  1. Elkins6,811
  2. Valley Bend661
  3. Mill Creek659
  4. Beverly629
  5. Valley Head462
  6. Montrose295
  7. East Dailey292
  8. Womelsdorf (Coalton)280
  9. Huttonsville225
  10. Norton196
  11. Harman119
  12. Dailey23
  13. Bowden0
  14. Helvetia0
  15. Pickens0
  16. Whitmer0

Other metro and micro areas in West Virginia

Areas based in West Virginia, best score first.

Similar metro and micro areas

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.

JSON · /api/v1/places/M21180