Is being in an area that’s growing quickly a good thing or a bad thing?
Depends on who you ask. Some want bigger, more exciting cities like Charleston and Huntington, while others want peace and quiet like in Grafton and New Martinsville, thank you very much.
But today we’re going to put opinions aside and just look at the cold hard facts — over the past five years, which cities in West Virginia have the grown the fastest.
After getting knee deep in the Census’s American Community Survey, we emerged with this set of cities in the Mountain State that have people climbing over each other to get in:
- Oak Hill
- Charles Town
- Bridgeport
- Morgantown
- Martinsburg
- Hurricane
- Elkins
- Keyser
- Buckhannon
- Princeton
If you happen to be a resident of one of these communities, you’re probably not too surprised to find it on our list.
If you’re not–and you’re wondering why these places are kind of a big deal–keep reading. We’ll tell you what makes each of these 10 places in West Virginia are growing like weeds–but first, a bit about our methodology.
How We Measured The Fastest Growing Cities In Mountain State
To figure out which cities are growing the most, we simply had to look at the growth rates for cities over the last five years, according to the American Community Survey put out by the census every year. Specifically:
- Population in 2014
- Population in 2010
- Growth rate from 2010 to 2014 (The latest available data)
We ranked all 27 West Virginia cities with a population over 5,000 people from highest growth rate to lowest.
The city with the highest growth rate during this time was crowned the fastest growing city in the Mountain State.
And for those of you who are a little rusty with their statistics, you can calculate the growth rate by the following formula:
[Population 2014 – Population 2010] / [Population 2010]
1. Oak Hill
Population: 8,270 Population 2010: 7,659
Growth Rate: 7.98%
Absolute Growth: 611
2. Charles Town
Population: 5,464 Population 2010: 5,074
Growth Rate: 7.69%
Absolute Growth: 390
3. Bridgeport
Population: 8,316 Population 2010: 7,978
Growth Rate: 4.24%
Absolute Growth: 338
4. Morgantown
Population: 30,133 Population 2010: 29,076
Growth Rate: 3.64%
Absolute Growth: 1,057
5. Martinsburg
Population: 17,508 Population 2010: 17,133
Growth Rate: 2.19%
Absolute Growth: 375
6. Hurricane
Population: 6,352 Population 2010: 6,264
Growth Rate: 1.4%
Absolute Growth: 88
7. Elkins
Population: 7,241 Population 2010: 7,144
Growth Rate: 1.36%
Absolute Growth: 97
8. Keyser
Population: 5,350 Population 2010: 5,311
Growth Rate: 0.73%
Absolute Growth: 39
9. Buckhannon
Population: 5,646 Population 2010: 5,628
Growth Rate: 0.32%
Absolute Growth: 18
10. Princeton
Population: 6,387 Population 2010: 6,370
Growth Rate: 0.27%
Absolute Growth: 17
Adding It Up
So there you have it, the fastest growing cities in West Virginia are led by Oak Hill which has been growing a blistering pace these past five years relative to other places around the state.
It’ll be interesting to see if these places can keep growing at the same pace over the next five years. We’ll be here to let you know!
For more West Virginia reading , check out:
- 10 Small Towns In West Virginia Where You’d Never Want To Live
- These Are The 10 Most Boring Places In West Virginia
- These Are The 10 Best Places To Live In West Virginia According To Science
Detailed List Of Fastest Growing Places In West Virginia
| City | Rank |
|---|---|
| Oak Hill | 1 |
| Charles Town | 2 |
| Bridgeport | 3 |
| Morgantown | 4 |
| Martinsburg | 5 |
| Hurricane | 6 |
| Elkins | 7 |
| Keyser | 8 |
| Buckhannon | 9 |
| Princeton | 10 |
| Beckley | 11 |
| South Charleston | 12 |
| Dunbar | 13 |
| Huntington | 14 |
| Fairmont | 15 |
| Grafton | 16 |
| Clarksburg | 17 |
| Vienna | 18 |
| Bluefield | 19 |
| Charleston | 20 |
| Weirton | 21 |
| St. Albans | 22 |
| Parkersburg | 23 |
| New Martinsville | 24 |
| Wheeling | 25 |
| Nitro | 26 |
| Moundsville | 27 |