Population
1,236 residents
Census ACS 2023 - West Virginia
City profile · West Virginia · Census ACS 2023
Coal, WV
Population, income, housing, safety, climate and schools for Coal - drawn straight from Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA, NCES, HUD and FEMA, refreshed on the 2024–2025 release cycle.
- 1,236
- Residents
- $23,750
- Median income
- $944
- Median rent (state)
Coal - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Coal lands in the 1st percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
- 1st
- percentile, household income
- 10th
- 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: Coal, WV
Coal is a small town in West Virginia, home to 1,236 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $23,750 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 0.0%. The median resident age is 57.2 years. 0.0% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 18.3% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Living costs in West Virginia run below the national norm: the state registers 89.5 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Well Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $944 monthly. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts West Virginia's average monthly utility costs around $220 (state average). Commute times here average 32.3 minutes, with 100.0% driving alone and 0.0% working from home, per Census ACS commuting data. Natural-hazard exposure scores 65.5 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Moderate).
Median Household Income
$23,750 /yr
Poverty 0.0%
Cost of Living Index (state)
89.5 (US=100)
Well Below Average - BEA RPP 2024, West Virginia average
How does Coal compare to other US cities?
Coal measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income 1% higher than other cities
Median rent 10% 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 Coal 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
Poverty Rate places Coal near the bottom of West Virginia's cities
Among the 389 West Virginia cities PlainCities tracks with reported poverty rate data, Coal ranks #312 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Coal only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#318 of 330
4th percentile in West Virginia
Median Gross Rent
#157 of 390
55th percentile in West Virginia
Poverty Rate
#312 of 389
0th percentile in West Virginia
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#347 of 390
0th percentile in West Virginia
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.
1st percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Income distribution context
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+) 0.0%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL) 0.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+) 18.3%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
1,236
Median Income
$23,750
Median Home Value
N/A
Median Age
57.2
Poverty Rate
0.0%
Labor force participation
18.3%
Bachelor's Degree+
0.0%
Commute Patterns
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
32.3 minutes
Drive Alone
100.0%
Carpool
0.0%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
0.0%
Based on 192 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
State-average estimates for West Virginia - EIA 2023 residential energy data
Electricity
$110
avg/month
Natural Gas
$72
avg/month
Water & Sewer
$38
avg/month
Total Utilities
$220
estimated/month
Estimates reflect West Virginia state averages. Actual costs vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Cost of living is a West Virginia state average from BEA; rent and hazard risk are county-level figures from HUD and FEMA for the county Coal sits in
Cost of Living Index
89.5
Well Below Average
US average = 100 · BEA RPP 2024
Typical 2-BR Rent
$944/mo
HUD Fair Market Rent
County-level FMR estimate
Natural Hazard Risk
65.5 / 100
Moderate
FEMA NRI composite score (county)
Similar Cities in West Virginia
Cities of a Similar Size Nationwide
Population-matched peers from other states, closest to Coal's 1,236 residents (Census ACS 5-Year 2023).
Cities with a Similar Household Income Nationwide
Median-household-income-matched peers from other states, closest to Coal's $23,750 (Census ACS 5-Year 2023, table B19013).
Race & Ethnicity Composition
City-level race and ethnicity, Census ACS 5-year 2023 (tables B02001, B03001), OMB Directive 15 categories.
How Coal compares to nearby West Virginia cities
Population + median household income, sourced from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 (population) and B19013 (median household income).
Census ACS 5-year FIPS WV OMB Bulletin 23-01
What do people ask about Coal, WV?
What is the population of Coal, WV? +
Coal, WV counts 1,236 residents according to U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates.
What is the median household income in Coal, WV? +
Median annual household income in Coal runs $23,750, based on Census ACS 2023 data.
What is the cost of living in Coal? +
BEA does not publish a city-level cost-of-living figure for Coal; the closest available measure is the West Virginia state average, a cost of living index of 89.5 (U.S. average = 100), rated "Well Below Average" based on BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 data. Costs within West Virginia vary by metro area.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, 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.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Primary sources: Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES.
Citation & verification links
Data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCitiesEvery figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Census ACS source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.