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Place dossier plate
SheetWV-BOLIVAR-WV · Bolivar, WV 1,317 pop · income 63rd pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Bolivar
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Bolivar on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
MacArthur · lowest
26,824
MacArthur · lowest
26,824 median HH income
19.0% of the leader · rank #1
Summit Station · near
81,635
Summit Station · near
81,635 median HH income
57.8% of the leader · rank #2
Bolivar · this city
81,641
Bolivar · this city
81,641 median HH income
57.8% of the leader · rank #3
North St. Paul · near
81,641
North St. Paul · near
81,641 median HH income
57.8% of the leader · rank #4
Canton · near
81,642
Canton · near
81,642 median HH income
57.8% of the leader · rank #5
Perry · near
81,648
Perry · near
81,648 median HH income
57.8% of the leader · rank #6
Buckeystown · highest
141,250
Buckeystown · highest
141,250 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Bolivar on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 1,317.
Bolivar ranks in the 63rd percentile for household income nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS.
63rd
percentile, household income
56th
percentile, home value
5th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Bolivar, WV
West Virginia's Bolivar is a small town, with 1,317 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Bolivar households earn a median of $81,641 annually, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 2.5%. Bolivar's housing stock carries a median value of $253,700, and the median resident age is 39.5 years. About 40.6% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 72.1% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 0 residential building permits were authorized in Bolivar (No Permits), per Census BPS data.
Living costs in West Virginia run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts West Virginia at 89.5 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Well Below Average). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $945 per month. Monthly utility costs average around $220 across West Virginia, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 49.2 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Bolivar's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from comparison shortlist to housing and income to population change to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Bolivar, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, annual population history, local building permits.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Comparison shortlist
Which cities make useful reference points for Bolivar?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
Within West Virginia, the closest population matches are Stanaford (1,327 residents, $46,944 income); Rainelle (1,334 residents, $36,875 income); Shenandoah Junction (1,339 residents, $109,048 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Bear Creek, AL (1,317 residents); Lawtey, FL (1,317 residents); Punta Rassa, FL (1,317 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
How far does income reach against housing in Bolivar?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.1 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 2.5%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -54 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -5.2% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 0 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
What does the journey to work look like in Bolivar?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 74.4%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living A
89.5 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Poverty rate A-
2.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share B+
40.6%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income C+
$81,641
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Bolivar profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 87/100 (A) · 89.5 index
Poverty rate: 82/100 (A-) · 2.5%
Bachelor's+ share: 76/100 (B+) · 40.6%
Household income: 61/100 (C+) · $81,641
How does Bolivar compare to other US cities?
Where Bolivar sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income63% higher than other cities
Home value56% pricier than other cities
Median rent5% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Bolivar against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to West Virginia only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
West Virginia-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Bolivar near the bottom of West Virginia's cities
Among the 390 West Virginia cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Bolivar ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Bolivar only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#40 of 330
88th percentile in West Virginia
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 390
0th percentile in West Virginia
Median Home Value
#21 of 337
94th percentile in West Virginia
Poverty Rate
#294 of 389
24th percentile in West Virginia
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#31 of 390
92nd percentile in West Virginia
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within West Virginia only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
63rd percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Bolivar's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$253,70044th percentilemore affordable than 44% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Bolivar's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.1×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#7,220 of 15,516
More affordable than 53% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#6,019 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.1×, Bolivar sits in the moderate band:
national rank #7,220 of 15,516 and #6,019 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$81,641Bolivar, WV median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Bolivar, WV median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Bolivar, WV.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)40.6%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)2.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)72.1%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
1,317
Median Income
$81,641
Median Home Value
$253,700
Median Age
39.5
Poverty Rate
2.5%
Labor force participation
72.1%
Bachelor's Degree+
40.6%
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Bolivar's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
1,037 residents
2021
1,038 residents
2022
1,013 residents
2023
1,005 residents
2024
991 residents
2025
983 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
Total Permits (2024)
0
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
0
0
0
-
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
74.4%
Carpool
5.4%
Public Transit
1.2%
Walk
2.7%
Work from Home
16.3%
Based on 778 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
West Virginia statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $220
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across West Virginia at $220 (electricity about $110 , water and sewer about $38 ).
These are West Virginia statewide averages, not a meter reading for Bolivar. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
West Virginia's BEA cost-of-living index is 89.5 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Bolivar is $945/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to West Virginia statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 49.2 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a West Virginia statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Bolivar sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Bolivar compares to similar-size West Virginia cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.