Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.
Place dossier plate
SheetWV-ELIZABETH-WV · Elizabeth, WV 610 pop · income 2nd pct · 2 tracts
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 Elizabeth
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Elizabeth on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Robinette · lowest
25,110
Robinette · lowest
25,110 median HH income
37.0% of the leader · rank #1
Jasper · near
28,359
Jasper · near
28,359 median HH income
41.8% of the leader · rank #2
Elizabeth · this city
28,375
Elizabeth · this city
28,375 median HH income
41.8% of the leader · rank #3
Sanford · near
28,393
Sanford · near
28,393 median HH income
41.8% of the leader · rank #4
Clarkson · near
28,393
Clarkson · near
28,393 median HH income
41.8% of the leader · rank #5
New Hampton · near
28,393
New Hampton · near
28,393 median HH income
41.8% of the leader · rank #6
Irvington · highest
67,917
Irvington · highest
67,917 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 Elizabeth 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: 610.
Elizabeth ranks in the 2nd percentile for household income nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS.
2nd
percentile, household income
6th
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: Elizabeth, WV
610 people live in Elizabeth, West Virginia - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Elizabeth report a median income of $28,375 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 40.7%. Elizabeth's housing stock carries a median value of $87,900, and the median resident age is 40.1 years. About 12.8% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 44.5% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The city is served by 3 public schools according to NCES Common Core of Data.
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. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $945 per month. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts West Virginia's average monthly utility costs around $220 (state average). 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 Elizabeth'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 schools and households to population change to comparison shortlist to work and mobility to housing and income to within-city variation; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Elizabeth, city-specific coverage includes within-city Census tract profiles, annual population history, matched public-school count, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
What does the education layer cover for Elizabeth?
The NCES join finds 3 public schools within the city match. 12.8% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
Is Elizabeth growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
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.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -42 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -5.8% change. No comparable local building-permit series is available here, so population change should not be read as a housing-supply measure. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Which cities make useful reference points for Elizabeth?
Within West Virginia, the closest population matches are Thomas (614 residents, $55,500 income); Beaver (619 residents, $30,568 income); Bruno (619 residents). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Gustavus, AK (610 residents); Cisne, IL (610 residents); Fairmount, IL (610 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.
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.
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Elizabeth?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 80.4%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Public transit
0.0%
Work from home
0.0%
Drive alone
80.4%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 230 workers age 16+.
How far does income reach against housing in Elizabeth?
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 40.7%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
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.
Household income
$28,375
Home value
$87,900
Value / income
3.1×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Lowest-decile income · poverty 40.7% (Highest-decile poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
89.5 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, West Virginia average
F
City profile score · Elizabeth, WV
24/100
4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
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.
Bachelor's+ share F
12.8%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$28,375
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
40.7%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Elizabeth profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 87/100 (A) · 89.5 index
Bachelor's+ share: 14/100 (F) · 12.8%
Household income: 0/100 (F) · $28,375
Poverty rate: 0/100 (F) · 40.7%
How does Elizabeth compare to other US cities?
Where Elizabeth sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income2% higher than other cities
Home value6% 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 Elizabeth 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 Elizabeth near the bottom of West Virginia's cities
Among the 390 West Virginia cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Elizabeth ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Elizabeth only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#304 of 330
8th percentile in West Virginia
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 390
0th percentile in West Virginia
Median Home Value
#237 of 337
30th percentile in West Virginia
Poverty Rate
#26 of 389
93rd percentile in West Virginia
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#222 of 390
42nd 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
2nd percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Elizabeth's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$87,900Among the most affordablemore affordable than 94% 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
Elizabeth'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
#7,183 of 15,516
More affordable than 54% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#5,994 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.1×, Elizabeth sits in the moderate band:
national rank #7,183 of 15,516 and #5,994 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
$28,375Elizabeth, WV median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Elizabeth, 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 Elizabeth, WV.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)12.8%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)40.7%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)44.5%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
610
Median Income
$28,375
Median Home Value
$87,900
Median Age
40.1
Poverty Rate
40.7%
Labor force participation
44.5%
Bachelor's Degree+
12.8%
Schools
Total Schools
3
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Elizabeth's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
718 residents
2021
702 residents
2022
706 residents
2023
688 residents
2024
680 residents
2025
676 residents
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
80.4%
Carpool
13.0%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
6.5%
Work from Home
0.0%
Based on 230 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 Elizabeth. 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 Elizabeth 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 Elizabeth sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Elizabeth 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, NCES CCD, 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.