Worst Small Towns In West Virginia For 2020


Using science and data, we can tell you which teeny specks in WV are the pits.

Sam Sparkes, RoadSnacks
December 27, 2019 - 73,359 views
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Editor’s Note: This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. Don’t freak out we updated this article for 2020. This is our sixth time ranking the worst small places to live in West Virginia.

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Most Americans have never been to West Virginia. However, as the people who live there know, West Virginia is an awesome state.

But is it all roses? Definitely not. Just like any other state, West Virginia has its trouble spots. This article aims to determine, using science, the absolute worst small towns to live in the Mountain State. Don't shoot the messenger, this is all using data.

After analyzing more than 114 of West Virginia's smallest cities, we came up with this list as the 10 worst small towns in West Virginia where you'd never want to live:

These are the worst small towns in West Virginia for 2020:

  1. Pennsboro
  2. Mount Gay-Shamrock
  3. Marlinton
  4. Brush Fork
  5. Oceana
  6. Newell
  7. Williamson (Photos)
  8. Glenville
  9. Wayne (Photos)
  10. Bluewell

So what is the worst small town to call home in west virginia for 2020? According to the most recent census data, Pennsboro is the worst small town to live in West Virginia.

Of course, many of these cities would rank highly if they were in other states, since West Virginia has its stuff figured out.

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers, or scroll to the bottom to see how your town ranked.

And if you already know about the small towns, check out the best places to live in West Virginia or the worst places to live in West Virginia.

If you're looking for something more national, check out the worst cities in America or the worst states in America.

The 10 Worst Small Towns In West Virginia For 2020

1. Pennsboro

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,073
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $53,300 (6th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 23.1% (4th worst)
More on Pennsboro:  Data

2. Mount Gay-Shamrock

Overall SnackAbility

2
/10

Population: 1,178
Rank Last Year: -
Median Home Value: $74,200 (28th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 36.8% (2nd worst)
More on Mount Gay-Shamrock:  Data

3. Marlinton

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,152
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 1)
Median Home Value: $63,100 (14th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 8.7% (40th worst)
More on Marlinton:  Data

4. Brush Fork

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,499
Rank Last Year: 14 (Up 9)
Median Home Value: $69,800 (23rd worst)
Unemployment Rate: 12.1% (21st worst)
More on Brush Fork:  Data

5. Oceana

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,192
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 4)
Median Home Value: $51,900 (5th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 10.4% (30th worst)
More on Oceana:  Data

6. Newell

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,349
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 4)
Median Home Value: $38,300 (2nd worst)
Unemployment Rate: 17.3% (7th worst)
More on Newell:  Data

7. Williamson

Williamson, WV

Source: Wikipedia User FloNight (Sydne | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,883
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 4)
Median Home Value: $82,100 (47th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 24.6% (3rd worst)
More on Williamson:  Data | Photos

8. Glenville

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,692
Rank Last Year: 13 (Up 3)
Median Home Value: $83,700 (50th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 16.2% (10th worst)
More on Glenville:  Data

9. Wayne

Wayne, WV

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,492
Rank Last Year: 9 (Down 2)
Median Home Value: $84,000 (51st worst)
Unemployment Rate: 14.1% (13th worst)
More on Wayne:  Data | Photos

10. Bluewell

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,277
Rank Last Year: 19 (Up 7)
Median Home Value: $74,200 (28th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 1.9% (107th worst)
More on Bluewell:  Data

How do you decide if a place is lousy or not?

In order to rank the worst small towns to live in West Virginia, we had to determine what criteria people like or dislike about a place. It isn't a stretch to assume that people like low crime, solid education, things to do and a stable economy.

So we scraped the internet for those criteria, and it spit out the answer. Like magic.

How we determined the worst small towns to live in West Virginia for 2020

We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible. Using FBI crime data and the Census's 2014-2018 American Community Survey, this is the criteria we used:

  • Population Density (The lower the worse)
  • Highest Unemployment Rates
  • Low housing costs (meaning there's no demand)
  • Adjusted Median Income (Median income adjusted for the cost of living)
  • Education (Number of high school dropouts)
  • High Crime

We looked at cities with populations between 1,000 and 5,000 people, of which, there were a lot - 114 to be exact.

Additional note: We get the crime numbers from the FBI, which gets its crime numbers from the cities themselves. Dropout numbers are based on the adult population, not just the current graduation rates of teenagers.

This list is a scientific analysis based on real data and is completely unbiased.

There You Have It - The Worst Small Towns In West Virginia

If you're analyzing teeny places in the Mountain State with the worst economic situations, where there's high crime and there's not a lot to do, this is an accurate list.

If you're curious enough, here are the best small towns to live in West Virginia, according to science:

  1. Williamstown (Pop. 2,927)
  2. Winfield (Pop. 2,636)
  3. Bolivar (Pop. 1,270)

For more West Virginia reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Worst Small Towns In West Virginia

Rank Town Population Unemployment Rate Home Value
1 Pennsboro 1,073 23.1% $53,300
2 Mount Gay-Shamrock 1,178 36.8% $74,200
3 Marlinton 1,152 8.7% $63,100
4 Brush Fork 1,499 12.1% $69,800
5 Oceana 1,192 10.4% $51,900
6 Newell 1,349 17.3% $38,300
7 Williamson 2,883 24.6% $82,100
8 Glenville 1,692 16.2% $83,700
9 Wayne 1,492 14.1% $84,000
10 Bluewell 2,277 1.9% $74,200
11 Montgomery 1,738 8.5% $76,800
12 Mount Hope 1,185 6.6% $70,000
13 Ansted 1,437 13.5% $75,600
14 Richwood 2,031 7.8% $37,500
15 Spencer 1,997 11.9% $75,000
16 Gassaway 1,019 12.4% $80,400
17 Terra Alta 1,781 9.5% $65,900
18 Sophia 1,220 6.2% $59,900
19 Salem 1,664 6.3% $62,400
20 Gilbert Creek 1,030 7.8% $55,400
21 Rainelle 1,245 7.9% $59,400
22 Belington 1,925 7.0% $77,600
23 Welch 3,287 7.1% $58,300
24 Philippi 3,409 9.8% $98,300
25 Daniels 1,929 9.5% $66,700
26 Logan 1,790 11.7% $114,100
27 Rand 1,618 13.9% $55,800
28 New Cumberland 1,252 13.4% $80,800
29 Granville 2,567 12.7% $76,700
30 Weston 3,993 10.5% $82,100
31 Hinton 2,768 15.1% $74,500
32 Sistersville 1,311 8.5% $75,800
33 White Sulphur Springs 2,745 5.1% $110,500
34 Sutton 1,358 18.4% $68,700
35 Marmet 1,440 13.4% $94,400
36 Benwood 1,440 6.0% $57,100
37 Chapmanville 1,171 12.3% $111,000
38 Point Pleasant 4,194 8.5% $78,400
39 Man 1,009 10.4% $108,200
40 Alderson 1,178 1.8% $90,500
41 Chesapeake 1,899 7.1% $63,900
42 New Haven 1,520 10.2% $76,800
43 Hamlin 1,533 9.3% $85,300
44 Mallory 1,049 2.0% $131,100
45 Buffalo 1,261 16.9% $85,700
46 Elkview 1,609 7.8% $85,100
47 Craigsville 2,213 0.3% $68,500
48 Harrisville 2,256 7.3% $86,100
49 Parsons 1,523 4.2% $71,200
50 Mannington 1,623 8.1% $78,900
51 Monongah 1,089 6.6% $68,600
52 Romney 2,176 8.4% $99,400
53 Bradley 1,888 4.2% $116,700
54 Coal Fork 1,335 2.0% $82,100
55 Smithers 1,058 4.4% $92,000
56 Ripley 3,198 6.1% $112,400
57 Ronceverte 1,970 6.9% $96,700
58 Clendenin 1,064 1.5% $71,000
59 Milton 2,612 11.3% $132,300
60 Moorefield 3,201 0.2% $98,800
61 Prosperity 1,597 1.6% $107,600
62 Mabscott 1,466 7.2% $104,200
63 Belmont 1,040 15.5% $98,400
64 Kenova 3,095 0.0% $75,700
65 Chester 2,314 9.3% $88,600
66 Ravenswood 3,740 3.0% $95,300
67 Petersburg 2,520 4.0% $128,300
68 Mcmechen 1,915 4.2% $73,000
69 Mullens 1,564 1.2% $67,900
70 Piney View 1,267 3.6% $106,300
71 Wellsburg 2,624 1.2% $85,900
72 Lesage 1,022 2.8% $121,200
73 Sissonville 4,951 1.7% $106,600
74 Rivesville 1,113 8.6% $111,600
75 Madison 2,860 8.1% $112,500
76 Paden City 3,132 3.9% $86,500
77 Nutter Fort 1,431 8.4% $95,900
78 Kingwood 2,943 9.1% $126,900
79 Ceredo 1,245 5.0% $97,400
80 Westover 4,205 10.6% $147,800
81 Fayetteville 2,838 3.1% $121,300
82 Follansbee 2,806 5.7% $89,400
83 West Liberty 1,728 11.4% $112,500
84 St. Marys 1,994 9.7% $107,000
85 Shannondale 3,404 7.2% $179,400
86 Shinnston 2,601 5.4% $103,900
87 Stonewood 1,777 4.5% $94,900
88 Blennerhassett 3,319 2.8% $142,800
89 Lewisburg 3,904 3.7% $210,400
90 Shepherd 1,605 11.6% $334,400
91 Athens 1,043 9.9% $119,700
92 Star City 2,196 4.7% $160,800
93 Barboursville 4,185 3.9% $137,800
94 Hooverson Heights 2,561 2.6% $78,600
95 Inwood 3,364 6.5% $166,400
96 Lubeck 1,258 1.4% $113,000
97 Poca 1,045 2.3% $143,200
98 Culloden 3,457 4.0% $130,400
99 Pleasant Valley 3,172 4.7% $149,700
100 Fort Ashby 1,461 2.2% $133,500
Download The Entire West Virginia Ranking Data

How Is The Area In ?

 Worst