Charles Town, Bridgeport, Hurricane: These cities aren’t just some of the best places to live in West Virginia. They are also home to some of the richest people in the Mountain State.
Charles Town in particular houses the richest residents in the state thanks, in part, to a median household income of $83,275 and a ridiculously low poverty rate of 5.3133302078449764%.
If you’re thinking of moving to one of these towns, you’ll probably need to start saving. The richest places in West Virginia share common characteristics such as having a genius level populous, sky high home prices, and a Pleasantville level of married couples.
How did we come up with these mega wealthy cities? We analyzed Census data from the 2018-2022 American Community Survey for the 39 places in West Virginia with more than 3,000 people.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Richest Places In West Virginia For 2024
For more on how we calculated the top ten, read on or skip to the end for the full list of the richest cities in West Virginia.
Rich people not your cup of tea? Feel free to check out some more reading about West Virginia:
The 10 Richest Cities In West Virginia For 2024
1. Charles Town
/10
Population: 6,584
Median Income: $83,275
Median Home Values: $372,666
More on Charles Town: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
2. Bridgeport
/10
Population: 9,255
Median Income: $96,063
Median Home Values: $269,583
More on Bridgeport: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
3. Hurricane
/10
Population: 6,908
Median Income: $70,861
Median Home Values: $240,660
More on Hurricane: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
4. Pleasant Valley
/10
Population: 3,480
Median Income: $61,067
Median Home Values: $203,882
More on Pleasant Valley: Data | Real Estate
5. Martinsburg
/10
Population: 18,678
Median Income: $55,240
Median Home Values: $275,161
More on Martinsburg: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
6. Barboursville
/10
7. Vienna
/10
Population: 10,642
Median Income: $62,979
Median Home Values: $174,695
More on Vienna: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
8. Westover
/10
Population: 4,012
Median Income: $55,625
Median Home Values: $176,115
More on Westover: Data | Real Estate
9. Charleston
/10
Population: 48,415
Median Income: $58,902
Median Home Values: $154,944
More on Charleston: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
10. Lewisburg
Methodology: How We Determined The Richest Places In West Virginia For 2024
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the richest places is simply identifying personal incomes. After all, rich people have really high salaries.
However, we don’t believe that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “richest places.” So we looked at this set of criteria from the newly released 2018-2022 American Community Survey and applied Saturday Night Science:
- Median Home Values
- Median Household Income
Median household income is the most digestible way to understand how rich a place is. And home values are a measure of wealth. The two combine to define a “Rich City.”
After we collected the data for all 39 places with more than 3,000 people in West Virginia, we ranked each place from 1 to 39 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the richest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Rich Score,” with the place having the lowest overall Rich Score, Charles Town, crowned the “Richest City In West Virginia For 2024.”
The data has been updated for 2024. This is our tenth time ranking the wealthiest cities in West Virginia.
You can skip to the end to see the rankings for all 39 places.
Summary: The Wealthiest Places In West Virginia For 2024
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the richest places in West Virginia, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in West Virginia.
The richest cities in West Virginia are Charles Town, Bridgeport, Hurricane, Pleasant Valley, Martinsburg, Barboursville, Vienna, Westover, Charleston, and Lewisburg.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very top of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you’re curious enough, here are the poorest cities in West Virginia, according to data:
Poorest: Williamson
2nd Poorest: Welch
3rd Poorest: Huntington
For more West Virginia reading, check out:
- Safest Places In West Virginia
- Best Places To Live In West Virginia
- Most Dangerous Cities In West Virginia
Detailed List Of The Richest Cities In West Virginia
| Rank | City | RichScore | Median Income | Average Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Town | 1.5 | $83,275 | $372,666 |
| 2 | Bridgeport | 2.0 | $96,063 | $269,583 |
| 3 | Hurricane | 4.5 | $70,861 | $240,660 |
| 4 | Pleasant Valley | 6.5 | $61,067 | $203,882 |
| 5 | Martinsburg | 7.0 | $55,240 | $275,161 |
| 6 | Barboursville | 7.0 | $61,236 | $177,528 |
| 7 | Vienna | 7.5 | $62,979 | $174,695 |
| 8 | Westover | 10.5 | $55,625 | $176,115 |
| 9 | Charleston | 11.5 | $58,902 | $154,944 |
| 10 | Lewisburg | 12.5 | $47,563 | $263,908 |
| 11 | South Charleston | 12.5 | $58,756 | $153,555 |
| 12 | Fairmont | 13.5 | $55,084 | $157,592 |
| 13 | St. Albans | 14.0 | $60,524 | $138,016 |
| 14 | Summersville | 16.5 | $53,529 | $150,220 |
| 15 | Keyser | 16.5 | $46,724 | $159,152 |
| 16 | Morgantown | 18.0 | $41,103 | $267,332 |
| 17 | Weirton | 18.5 | $57,373 | $130,867 |
| 18 | New Martinsville | 19.0 | $50,235 | $135,488 |
| 19 | Ripley | 22.0 | $35,489 | $181,763 |
| 20 | Buckhannon | 22.5 | $43,621 | $152,327 |
| 21 | Kenova | 23.0 | $49,896 | $122,509 |
| 22 | Oak Hill | 23.5 | $48,050 | $127,514 |
| 23 | Wheeling | 24.0 | $46,516 | $133,839 |
| 24 | Princeton | 24.0 | $41,782 | $151,800 |
| 25 | Nitro | 24.0 | $49,742 | $121,752 |
| 26 | Point Pleasant | 25.5 | $45,996 | $133,546 |
| 27 | Ravenswood | 25.5 | $31,818 | $157,644 |
| 28 | Dunbar | 26.0 | $48,396 | $114,878 |
| 29 | Elkins | 26.5 | $39,875 | $142,726 |
| 30 | Parkersburg | 26.5 | $41,921 | $134,004 |
| 31 | Moundsville | 28.0 | $46,070 | $117,602 |
| 32 | Weston | 28.0 | $44,955 | $126,845 |
| 33 | Grafton | 28.5 | $38,934 | $137,222 |
| 34 | Clarksburg | 29.0 | $46,595 | $103,032 |
| 35 | Bluefield | 31.5 | $45,854 | $101,761 |
| 36 | Beckley | 33.0 | $41,277 | $113,834 |
| 37 | Huntington | 33.5 | $39,066 | $115,258 |
| 38 | Welch | 38.0 | $32,109 | $38,219 |
| 39 | Williamson | 38.5 | $23,173 | $52,802 |
