The 10 Most Miserable Cities In West Virginia For 2023


The most miserable cities in West Virginia are Weirton and Charles Town for 2023 based on Saturday Night Science.

Do you live in one of the most miserable places in West Virginia?

Only a third of West Virginians say they are truly happy. That’s too bad, considering that folks in West Virginia don’t really have it too bad in the grand scheme of things.

But, we were curious – which West Virginia cities might be the most miserable? We’re about to find out, using Saturday Night Science and data.

After analyzing the 25 largest cities, we sadly present the most miserable cities in the Mountain State.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town ranked. If you have a smile on your face, you probably don’t live in one of these cities.

Oh, and by the way, Morgantown is the happiest place in West Virginia.

For more West Virginia reading, check out:

The 10 Most Miserable Places In West Virginia For 2023

Weirton, WV

Source: Wikipedia User Jeremywagg (original), Yassie (derivative work) | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 19,150
Poverty Level: 13.4%
Median Home Price $96,700
Married Households 20.0%
Households With Kids 23.91%
More on Weirton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Charles Town, WV

Source: Wikipedia User Acroterion | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 6,373
Poverty Level: 9.6%
Median Home Price $298,300
Married Households 10.0%
Households With Kids 36.99%
More on Charles Town: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Oak Hill, WV

Source: Wikipedia User Tim Kiser (w:User:Malepheasant) | CC BY-SA 3.0 us
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 8,228
Poverty Level: 19.5%
Median Home Price $103,800
Married Households 34.0%
Households With Kids 30.23%
More on Oak Hill: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Nitro, WV

Source: Wikipedia User Jim.henderson | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 6,630
Poverty Level: 17.0%
Median Home Price $106,900
Married Households 43.0%
Households With Kids 33.21%
More on Nitro: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Bluefield, WV

Source: Wikipedia User SheepNotGoats (Talk) | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 9,699
Poverty Level: 20.6%
Median Home Price $78,100
Married Households 25.0%
Households With Kids 27.67%
More on Bluefield: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Martinsburg, WV

Source: Wikipedia User Howcheng | Attribution
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 18,502
Poverty Level: 24.3%
Median Home Price $164,100
Married Households 12.0%
Households With Kids 32.85%
More on Martinsburg: Data | Cost Of Living

Princeton, WV

Source: Wikipedia User Tim Kiser (w:User:Malepheasant) | CC BY-SA 2.5
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,885
Poverty Level: 20.5%
Median Home Price $102,300
Married Households 30.0%
Households With Kids 29.69%
More on Princeton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Elkins, WV

Source: Wikipedia User Tim Kiser (w:User:Malepheasant) | CC BY-SA 2.5
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 6,980
Poverty Level: 19.2%
Median Home Price $116,200
Married Households 21.0%
Households With Kids 26.0%
More on Elkins: Data | Cost Of Living

Clarksburg, WV

Source: Wikipedia User Tim Kiser (w:User:Malepheasant) | CC BY-SA 2.5
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 16,085
Poverty Level: 24.1%
Median Home Price $92,100
Married Households 28.0%
Households With Kids 27.46%
More on Clarksburg: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Moundsville, WV

Source: Wikipedia User Tim Kiser (w:User:Malepheasant) | CC BY-SA 2.5
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 8,195
Poverty Level: 21.2%
Median Home Price $83,300
Married Households 32.0%
Households With Kids 18.29%
More on Moundsville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living

Methodology: How We Measured The Most Miserable Cities In The Mountain State

To rank the unhappiest places in West Virginia, we had to determine what criteria make people happy. It isn’t a stretch to assume that happy people earn great salaries, are relatively stress-free, and have a stable home life.

So we went to the Census’s American Community Survey 2017-2021 report for the happy criteria, flipped the list with Saturday Night Science, and it spit out the answer.

Like magic.

Here are the criteria we used to measure misery:

  • Percentage of residents with a college degree
  • Average commute times
  • Unemployment rates
  • Cost of living
  • % of married couples
  • % of families with kids
  • Poverty rate

After we decided on the criteria, we gathered the data for the 25 places in West Virginia with over 5,000 people.

We then ranked each place from one to 25 for each of the seven criteria, with a score of one being the most miserable (Any ties were given to the larger place).

Next, we averaged the seven rankings into a Miserable Index for each place with the lowest overall Miserable Index “earning” the title “Most Miserable City In West Virginia.”

If you’d like to see the complete list of states, most miserable to happiest, scroll to the bottom of this post to see the unabridged chart.

We updated this article for 2023, and it’s our tenth time ranking the most miserable cities in West Virginia.

There You Have It – The Least Happy Cities In West Virginia

As we said earlier, trying to determine the most miserable cities in West Virginia is usually a subjective matter.

But if you’re analyzing cities where people are not stable, where you’re stuck in traffic, and no one spent the time to go to college, then this is an accurate list.

If you’re curious enough, here are the happiest cities in West Virginia, according to science:

  1. Morgantown
  2. Bridgeport
  3. Charleston

For more West Virginia reading, check out:

Miserable Cities In West Virginia For 2023

Rank City Population Poverty Level Median Home Value % Married % Kids
1 Weirton, WV 19,150 13.4% $96,700 20.0% 23.91%
2 Charles Town, WV 6,373 9.6% $298,300 10.0% 36.99%
3 Oak Hill, WV 8,228 19.5% $103,800 34.0% 30.23%
4 Nitro, WV 6,630 17.0% $106,900 43.0% 33.21%
5 Bluefield, WV 9,699 20.6% $78,100 25.0% 27.67%
6 Martinsburg, WV 18,502 24.3% $164,100 12.0% 32.85%
7 Princeton, WV 5,885 20.5% $102,300 30.0% 29.69%
8 Elkins, WV 6,980 19.2% $116,200 21.0% 26.0%
9 Clarksburg, WV 16,085 24.1% $92,100 28.0% 27.46%
10 Moundsville, WV 8,195 21.2% $83,300 32.0% 18.29%
11 New Martinsville, WV 5,208 18.0% $105,000 33.0% 24.27%
12 Hurricane, WV 6,901 7.6% $151,900 38.0% 31.24%
13 Beckley, WV 17,261 22.9% $110,600 25.0% 29.17%
14 Parkersburg, WV 29,910 21.7% $94,300 30.0% 23.14%
15 St. Albans, WV 10,842 15.0% $120,600 40.0% 25.74%
16 Fairmont, WV 18,369 19.9% $122,100 29.0% 25.85%
17 Wheeling, WV 27,142 16.5% $116,300 25.0% 23.67%
18 Huntington, WV 46,923 30.2% $98,600 23.0% 20.77%
19 Dunbar, WV 7,500 11.7% $103,800 30.0% 18.13%
20 South Charleston, WV 13,595 18.3% $126,600 26.0% 26.16%
21 Buckhannon, WV 5,343 19.5% $133,600 26.0% 24.23%
22 Vienna, WV 10,676 10.5% $141,600 39.0% 21.47%
23 Charleston, WV 49,055 17.5% $157,000 27.0% 22.75%
24 Bridgeport, WV 9,165 4.4% $227,100 35.0% 26.67%
25 Morgantown, WV 29,316 34.1% $215,200 12.0% 15.23%
About Nick Johnson

Nick Johnson earned his masters in Business Administration from the Drucker School At Claremont Graduate University. He has written for 39 publications across the country and ran the media relations department at Movoto, a real estate portal based in San Francisco. He has been featured in over 500 publications as an expert in real estate and as an authority on real estate trends.

Nick's the creator of the HomeSnacks YouTube channel that now has over 260,000 subscribers and is an excellent source to learn about different parts of the country.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *