West Virginia cities

The best places to live in West Virginia

West Virginia's largest cities ranked on cost, safety, schools, jobs and quality of life. Clarksburg leads the list.

We scored West Virginia's cities on the same factors as our state rankings, then ranked them. Below are the 10 largest by population. Two scores per city: value (what you get for the cost) and overall livability (everything combined). Tap any city for its full profile.

#CityMedian homeRentValueOverall
1 Clarksburg $92,100 $723 79 73
2 Fairmont $122,100 $799 70 72
3 Weirton $96,700 $643 81 64
4 Charleston $157,000 $800 45 62
5 Beckley $110,600 $765 48 57
6 Martinsburg $164,100 $1,020 32 44
7 Parkersburg $94,300 $704 53 38
8 Wheeling $116,300 $693 51 38
9 Huntington $98,600 $759 28 29
10 Morgantown $215,200 $855 13 23

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Sources: Home prices and rent from Zillow; income and jobs from the U.S. Census; schools from state education data; crime from the FBI; air quality from the EPA. Rankings are within West Virginia. Updated 2026.