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Place dossier plate
SheetWV-PARKERSBURG-WV · Parkersburg, WV 29,461 pop · income 12th pct · 28 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 Parkersburg
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Parkersburg on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Beckley · lowest
39,939
Beckley · lowest
39,939 median HH income
29.2% of the leader · rank #1
Bowdon · near
44,674
Bowdon · near
44,674 median HH income
32.6% of the leader · rank #2
Parkersburg · this city
44,675
Parkersburg · this city
44,675 median HH income
32.6% of the leader · rank #3
Mango · near
44,675
Mango · near
44,675 median HH income
32.6% of the leader · rank #4
New Port Rich… · near
44,676
New Port Rich… · near
44,676 median HH income
32.6% of the leader · rank #5
Agra · near
44,688
Agra · near
44,688 median HH income
32.7% of the leader · rank #6
Eastern Golet… · highest
136,839
Eastern Golet… · highest
136,839 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, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Parkersburg on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. 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: 29,461.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Parkersburg - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Parkersburg lands in the 12th percentile for household income and the 11th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
12th
percentile, household income
15th
percentile, home value
5th
percentile, median rent
11th
percentile, safety
📝 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: Parkersburg, WV
Parkersburg is a small city in West Virginia, home to 29,461 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Parkersburg households earn a median of $44,675 annually, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 19.0%. Parkersburg's housing stock carries a median value of $113,900, and the median resident age is 41.9 years. 18.5% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 49.1% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 5 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Construction Slowdown), down 79% from five years earlier. Parkersburg's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 3477.4 total incidents per 100,000 residents here, above the national average (agency reporting is voluntary, so this measures reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA climate normals record an annual average temperature of 54.9°F with 44.2 inches of precipitation per year and 11.3 inches of snowfall.
Living costs in West Virginia run below the national norm: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, West Virginia scores 89.5 (Well Below Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $945 per month statewide. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in West Virginia run around $220, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. Commute times here average 15.7 minutes, with 71.4% driving alone and 9.7% working from home, per Census ACS commuting data. Natural-hazard exposure scores 49.2 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Parkersburg'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 schools and households to reported crime to population change to housing and income to work and mobility to climate and hazard context to within-city variation; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Parkersburg, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, annual population history, matched public-school count, FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares, within-city Census tract profiles.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
Question 1
Which cities make useful reference points for Parkersburg?
Within West Virginia, the closest population matches are Morgantown (30,273 residents, $42,245 income); Wheeling (26,670 residents, $48,498 income); Martinsburg (18,805 residents, $54,590 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are San Lorenzo, CA (29,453 residents); Casselberry, FL (29,473 residents); Melrose, MA (29,488 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. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
What does the education layer cover for Parkersburg?
The NCES join finds 16 public schools within the city match. 18.5% 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.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Parkersburg?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 3477.4 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 52% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
What can 28 Census tracts reveal inside Parkersburg?
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.
PlainCities matches 28 Census tracts to this city.
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.
Population change
Is Parkersburg 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 -1,035 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -3.5% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 5 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Period change
-3.5%
2025 estimate
28,593
2020 estimate
29,628
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
How far does income reach against housing in Parkersburg?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 2.5 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 19.0%, 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
$44,675
Home value
$113,900
Value / income
2.5×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
What does the journey to work look like in Parkersburg?
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 71.4%. The reported mean trip to work is 15.7 minutes.
Public transit
1.8%
Work from home
9.7%
Drive alone
71.4%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 11,849 workers age 16+.
What physical conditions frame life in Parkersburg?
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 54.9°F, with 44.2 inches of precipitation and 11.3 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for West Virginia is 49.2 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
Mean temperature
54.9°F
Annual precipitation
44.2 in
FEMA risk index (state avg)
49.2
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
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.
Violent crime F
260 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
18.5%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
19.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$44,675
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Parkersburg profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 87/100 (A) · 89.5 index
Violent crime: 39/100 (F) · 260 /100k
Bachelor's+ share: 30/100 (F) · 18.5%
Poverty rate: 15/100 (F) · 19.0%
Household income: 13/100 (F) · $44,675
Where Parkersburg sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Parkersburg's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Parkersburg highlighted among 9 peers.Read the chart values
Parkersburg, WV (this city): home $113,900, crime 3,477/100k
Casselberry, FL : home $272,600, crime 2,872/100k
Melrose, MA : home $796,100, crime 531/100k
Bixby, OK : home $298,200, crime 857/100k
Morgantown, WV : home $238,200, crime 2,170/100k
Wheeling, WV : home $142,500, crime 2,975/100k
Weirton, WV : home $122,800, crime 468/100k
Fairmont, WV : home $159,100, crime 1,843/100k
Beckley, WV : home $148,800, crime 8,517/100k
How does Parkersburg compare to other US cities?
Parkersburg measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income12% higher than other cities
Home value15% pricier than other cities
Median rent5% pricier than other cities
Safety11% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to West Virginia alone, Parkersburg ranks #38 of 45 West Virginia cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Parkersburg 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 Parkersburg near the bottom of West Virginia's cities
Among the 390 West Virginia cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Parkersburg ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Parkersburg only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#217 of 330
34th percentile in West Virginia
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 390
0th percentile in West Virginia
Median Home Value
#156 of 337
53rd percentile in West Virginia
Poverty Rate
#114 of 389
71st percentile in West Virginia
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#145 of 390
63rd 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
12th percentile nationally for median household income · 11th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Parkersburg's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Parkersburg's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Parkersburg's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$113,900Among the most affordablemore affordable than 85% 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
Parkersburg's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.5×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#4,259 of 15,516
More affordable than 73% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#398 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 2.5×, Parkersburg sits in the affordable band:
national rank #4,259 of 15,516 and #398 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
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
$44,675Parkersburg, WV median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Parkersburg, 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 Parkersburg, WV.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)18.5%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)19.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)49.1%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
29,461
Median Income
$44,675
Median Home Value
$113,900
Median Age
41.9
Poverty Rate
19.0%
Labor force participation
49.1%
Bachelor's Degree+
18.5%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
3477.4
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
260.3
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
3217.1
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Climate
Avg Temperature
54.9°F
Annual Precipitation
44.2"
Annual Snowfall
11.3"
Schools
Total Schools
16
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Parkersburg's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
29,628 residents
2021
29,440 residents
2022
29,181 residents
2023
29,000 residents
2024
28,795 residents
2025
28,593 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
5
housing units authorized
Single-Family
5
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.2
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
24
8
16
$2.2M
2020
2
2
0
$0.6M
2021
3
3
0
$0.7M
2022
3
3
0
$0.6M
2023
5
5
0
$1.0M
2024
5
5
0
$0.5M
Permit volume decreased 79% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
15.7 minutes
Drive Alone
71.4%
Carpool
11.2%
Public Transit
1.8%
Walk
4.3%
Work from Home
9.7%
Other
1.6%
Based on 11,849 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 Parkersburg. 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 Parkersburg 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 Parkersburg sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Parkersburg 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, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, 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.