According to Saturday Night Science, the two poorest places in West Virginia for 2024 are Huntington and Morgantown. Just like any other state, West Virginia also has certain places that are currently facing difficult circumstances. These places in West Virginia have a higher percentage of people living in poverty, unemployed, or not earning enough money.
While the economy is getting better, it’s important to examine the areas in each state that are having difficulty meeting their financial needs. So we decided to focus on finding the poorest areas in West Virginia. We analyzed the newest Census data from the American Community Survey for the 25 cities in West Virginia with more than 5,000 people using Saturday Night Science.
Which city in West Virginia has the lowest income? Based on the information, Huntington is considered the least wealthy location in West Virginia for the year 2024.
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This statement is not a criticism of the residents or the lively culture and traditions of these locations. Instead, we are simply examining the facts.
Poorest Cities In West Virginia For 2024
Huntington
Population: 46,637
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $39,066 (lowest)
Poverty Rate: 28.8% (2nd highest)
People In Poverty: 13,436
Morgantown
Population: 30,220
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Income: $41,103 (3rd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 34.4% (highest)
People In Poverty: 10,386
Beckley
Population: 17,132
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 1)
Median Income: $41,277 (4th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 22.4% (5th highest)
People In Poverty: 3,842
Parkersburg
Population: 29,685
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 1)
Median Income: $41,921 (6th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 22.9% (4th highest)
People In Poverty: 6,809
Princeton
Population: 5,833
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 1)
Median Income: $41,782 (5th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 18.9% (10th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,100
Elkins
Population: 6,935
Rank Last Year: 8 (No Change)
Median Income: $39,875 (2nd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 17.1% (17th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,187
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Martinsburg
Population: 18,678
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 1)
Median Income: $55,240 (17th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 24.7% (3rd highest)
People In Poverty: 4,607
Moundsville
Population: 8,056
Rank Last Year: 9 (Down 1)
Median Income: $46,070 (9th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 18.2% (12th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,470
Method to Find The Poorest Places In West Virginia
When people think about identifying the poorest places, the first thing that usually comes to mind is looking at the poverty rate. This means the number of people who have an income below a specific level set by the government for a household of a particular size.
However, we believe that one statistic alone does not fully represent what it means to be one of the “poorest places”. We used Saturday Night Science to examine a set of criteria from the recently published 2018-2022 American Community Survey.
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
We gathered data for all 25 locations in West Virginia that have more than 5,000 people. We then ranked each place from 1 to 25 based on different criteria, with 1 being the lowest ranking.
We calculated the average rankings for each place and assigned a “Poor Score” to determine the place with the lowest overall score. Huntington, which had the lowest Poor Score, was named the “Poorest Place In West Virginia For 2024”. This report has been updated for 2024. It is the tenth time we have ranked the poorest places in West Virginia.
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