State
West Virginia
West Virginia has a quality-of-life score of 18 out of 100 (very low), ranking #42 of 51 US states. It ranks best on cost of buying a home today (low), home price to income ratio (low) and severe housing problems (low). It ranks worst on gyms and fitness centers (low), some college (low) and bachelor's degree or higher (low).
- Quality-of-life score
- #42 of 51 states
- Population
- 1,766,147 (2025)
- Land area
- 24,041 mi²
- Density
- 73.5 /mi²
- FIPS code
- 54
Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 78 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.
Scores by category
Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US states.
- Safety62#20/51
- Economy0#51/51
- Housing88#7/51
- Health0#51/51
- Healthcare14#44/51
- Environment48#26/49
- Education6#48/51
- Infrastructure2#50/51
- Community20#41/51
- Leisure & amenities30#36/51
Strengths · Weaknesses
Indicators where West Virginia ranks highest and lowest among US states (score = percentile, 100 = best).
Strengths
- Cost of buying a home today · low21.2%
- Home price to income ratio · low2.7×
- Severe housing problems · low11.1%
- Pharmacies · high2.8 /10k
- High ozone days · low0 days94/100United States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyAggregated from counties
- Property crime rate · low1,053 /100k
Weaknesses
- Gyms and fitness centers · low0.8 /10k
- Some college · low56.7%
- Bachelor's degree or higher · low24.1%
- Preventable hospital stays · high4,063 /100k
- Depression · high31.9%
- Frequent mental distress · high23.4%
Trends
The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.
- Drought exposureWorsening
1% (2021) → 31% (Oct 2025–Sep 2026)
+30 pts5 yearsUS 40% → 43%
- High ozone daysImproving
0 days (2017) → 0 days (2022)
−84%5 yearsUS 9 days → 7 days
- Drug overdose deathsImproving
82.3 /100k (2021) → 36.6 /100k (Mar 2025–Feb 2026)
−56%5 yearsUS 30.8 /100k → 18.4 /100k
- New business applicationsImproving
6.1 /1k (2020) → 9.3 /1k (2025)
+53%5 yearsUS 13.1 /1k → 16.6 /1k
- Broadband subscriptionsImproving
76.0% (2015-2019) → 86.1% (2020-2024)
+10 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
- Homicide rateImproving
6.4 /100k (2021) → 3.2 /100k (May 2025–Apr 2026)
−50%5 yearsUS 7.8 /100k → 4.8 /100k
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.
States like West Virginia five years ago that improved
The places whose measures looked most like those of 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.
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.
Public money & outcomes
Federal money per resident by fiscal year next to how the place changed, and, when its money jumped, how it compares with similar counties. A comparison, not cause and effect.
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.
Counties of West Virginia
All 55 counties, best quality-of-life score first.
- 1Jefferson County69
- 2Monongalia County69
- 3Putnam County66
- 4Marion County54
- 5Tucker County52
- 6Harrison County52
- 7Hancock County52
- 8Berkeley County51
- 9Ohio County50
- 10Mineral County47
- 11Brooke County46
- 12Kanawha County44
- 13Wood County43
- 14Morgan County40
- 15Pendleton County39
- 16Marshall County37
- 17Grant County36
- 18Cabell County36
- 19Pleasants County35
- 20Preston County35
- 21Upshur County34
- 22Greenbrier County34
- 23Randolph County33
- 24Nicholas County30
- 25Mercer County30
- 26Wetzel County30
- 27Tyler County25
- 28Barbour County25
- 29Monroe County25
- 30Taylor County25
- 31Pocahontas County24
- 32Gilmer County23
- 33Wayne County23
- 34Raleigh County23
- 35Hardy County23
- 36Hampshire County23
- 37Jackson County23
- 38Mason County22
- 39Wirt County22
- 40Lewis County21
- 41Fayette County19
- 42Braxton County18
- 43Doddridge County17
- 44Ritchie County16
- 45Logan County16
- 46Calhoun County16
- 47Roane County15
- 48Boone County15
- 49Webster County14
- 50Summers County13
- 51Wyoming County12
- 52McDowell County10
- 53Mingo County8
- 54Lincoln County6
- 55Clay County6
Metro areas in West Virginia
Metropolitan and micropolitan areas based in West Virginia, largest first.
Largest cities and towns in West Virginia
By population.
- Charleston47,421
- Huntington45,787
- Morgantown30,236
- Parkersburg29,240
- Wheeling26,350
- Martinsburg18,904
- Weirton18,647
- Fairmont18,221
- Beckley16,818
- Clarksburg15,549
- Teays Valley14,151
- South Charleston13,457
- Cheat Lake10,902
- St. Albans10,522
- Vienna10,518
- Cross Lanes9,671
- Bluefield9,387
- Bridgeport9,252
- Oak Hill7,937
- Moundsville7,869
- Charles Town7,337
- Dunbar7,254
- Pea Ridge6,988
- Hurricane6,855
Neighboring states
Places that share a border, best score first.
Similar states
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.
- Mapping Injury, Overdose, and ViolenceCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2026-10-01
- Daily county PM2.5 and ozone (EPA downscaler model)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2022
- Care Compare: Hospital General Information and Timely and Effective CareCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services · release 2026-07-22
- Distance to airports and intercity railFederal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census Bureau · release 2025+amtrak-2026-04-23
- Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Return A master filesFederal Bureau of Investigation · release 2025
- Health Professional Shortage AreasHealth Resources and Services Administration · release 2026-10-03
- Public Libraries SurveyInstitute of Museum and Library Services · release FY2024
- Common Core of DataNational Center for Education Statistics · release 2024
- U.S. Drought Monitor county statisticsNational Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAA · release 2026-09-29
- Fatality Analysis Reporting SystemNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration · release 2024
- nClimGrid-Daily county averagesNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · release 2025
- Regional Economic AccountsU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis · release 2024
- Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
- Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2026 Q1
- American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
- Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
- Business Formation StatisticsU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-10-01
- 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
- Alternative Fuels Data Center station locatorU.S. Department of Energy · release 2026-10
- Election Administration and Voting SurveyU.S. Election Assistance Commission · release 2024
- County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement
- Zillow Home Value Index, Observed Rent Index and affordabilityZillow Research · release 2026-08
