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Place dossier plate
SheetWV-PRINCETON-WV ยท Princeton, WV 5,780 pop ยท income 12th 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 Princeton
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Princeton on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Odin ยท lowest
44,415
Odin ยท lowest
44,415 median HH income
21.7% of the leader ยท rank #1
Horatio ยท near
44,417
Horatio ยท near
44,417 median HH income
21.7% of the leader ยท rank #2
Cumberland ยท near
44,427
Cumberland ยท near
44,427 median HH income
21.7% of the leader ยท rank #3
Princeton ยท this city
44,428
Princeton ยท this city
44,428 median HH income
21.7% of the leader ยท rank #4
Valier ยท near
44,432
Valier ยท near
44,432 median HH income
21.7% of the leader ยท rank #5
Riceville ยท near
44,440
Riceville ยท near
44,440 median HH income
21.7% of the leader ยท rank #6
Villa Park ยท highest
204,750
Villa Park ยท highest
204,750 median HH income
100.0% of the leader ยท 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 Princeton 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: 5,780.
Nationally, Princeton sits in the 12th percentile for household income among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS.
12th
percentile, household income
16th
percentile, home value
5th
percentile, median rent
๐ 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: Princeton, WV
West Virginia's Princeton is a small town, with 5,780 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Median household income here is $44,428 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 16.7%. Princeton's housing stock carries a median value of $115,800, and the median resident age is 43.4 years. 19.2% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 51.9% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 5 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Low Activity).
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. 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 Princeton'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 population change to comparison shortlist to work and mobility to schools and households to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Princeton, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, matched public-school count, commute-mode shares, local building permits.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Population change
Is Princeton 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 -274 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -4.7% 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Princeton?
Within West Virginia, the closest population matches are Ranson corporation (5,588 residents, $86,378 income); New Martinsville (5,175 residents, $51,226 income); Buckhannon (5,144 residents, $48,720 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Du Quoin, IL (5,780 residents); Stafford Courthouse, VA (5,780 residents); Sherwood Manor, CT (5,781 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.
What does the journey to work look like in Princeton?
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 77.9%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
What does the education layer cover for Princeton?
The NCES join finds 11 public schools within the city match. 19.2% 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.
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.
Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Princeton?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 2.6 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 16.7%, 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
$44,428
Home value
$115,800
Value / income
2.6ร
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
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 โ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Bachelor's+ share F
19.2%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
16.7%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income F
$44,428
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop โฅ1,000); ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Princeton profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 87/100 (A) ยท 89.5 index
Bachelor's+ share: 32/100 (F) ยท 19.2%
Poverty rate: 19/100 (F) ยท 16.7%
Household income: 13/100 (F) ยท $44,428
How does Princeton compare to other US cities?
Where Princeton sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income12% higher than other cities
Home value16% 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 Princeton 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 Princeton near the bottom of West Virginia's cities
Among the 390 West Virginia cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Princeton ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Princeton only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#219 of 330
34th percentile in West Virginia
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 390
0th percentile in West Virginia
Median Home Value
#146 of 337
56th percentile in West Virginia
Poverty Rate
#131 of 389
66th percentile in West Virginia
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#138 of 390
64th 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. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Princeton's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$115,800Among the most affordablemore affordable than 84% 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 ยท 2023
Princeton's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.6ร
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0ร
National rank
#4,539 of 15,516
More affordable than 71% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#4,038 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.6ร, Princeton sits in the affordable band:
national rank #4,539 of 15,516 and #4,038 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
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 รท median household income for cities with both fields and population โฅ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0โ5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$44,428Princeton, WV median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Princeton, 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 Princeton, WV.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)19.2%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)16.7%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)51.9%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
5,780
Median Income
$44,428
Median Home Value
$115,800
Median Age
43.4
Poverty Rate
16.7%
Labor force participation
51.9%
Bachelor's Degree+
19.2%
Schools
Total Schools
11
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020โ2025
Princeton's Census PEP population estimates, 2020โ2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
5,852 residents
2021
5,802 residents
2022
5,718 residents
2023
5,649 residents
2024
5,592 residents
2025
5,578 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
๐๏ธ Low Activity
Total Permits (2024)
5
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
5
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.9
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019โ2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
1
1
0
$0.2M
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
6
1
5
$0.3M
2024
5
0
5
$0.4M
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
77.9%
Carpool
9.1%
Public Transit
0.5%
Walk
3.8%
Work from Home
8.7%
Based on 2,447 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 Princeton. 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 Princeton 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 Princeton sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Princeton 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 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.