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Place dossier plate
SheetWV-WEIRTON-WV · Weirton, WV 18,785 pop · income 30th pct · 8 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 Weirton
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Weirton on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Beckley · lowest
39,939
Beckley · lowest
39,939 median HH income
30.5% of the leader · rank #1
Dayton · near
56,692
Dayton · near
56,692 median HH income
43.2% of the leader · rank #2
Wellman · near
56,696
Wellman · near
56,696 median HH income
43.3% of the leader · rank #3
Dendron · near
56,696
Dendron · near
56,696 median HH income
43.3% of the leader · rank #4
Weirton · this city
56,699
Weirton · this city
56,699 median HH income
43.3% of the leader · rank #5
Pine Air · near
56,705
Pine Air · near
56,705 median HH income
43.3% of the leader · rank #6
Clive · highest
131,082
Clive · highest
131,082 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 Weirton 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: 18,785.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Weirton - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Weirton places in the 30th percentile for household income and the 87th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
30th
percentile, household income
18th
percentile, home value
5th
percentile, median rent
87th
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: Weirton, WV
18,785 people live in Weirton, West Virginia - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $56,699 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 9.5%. Typical homes in Weirton are valued around $122,800, and the median resident age is 45.4 years. Educational attainment runs 22.8% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 55.1% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 10 residential building permits were authorized in Weirton (Building Boom), up 100% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Weirton reports a comparatively low crime rate: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 468.3 total incidents per 100,000 residents here, below the national average (agency reporting is voluntary, so this measures reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
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 $945 monthly. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in West Virginia run around $220, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 49.2 out of 100 (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Weirton'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 within-city variation to housing and income to reported crime to work and mobility to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Weirton, city-specific coverage includes within-city Census tract profiles, commute-mode shares, local building permits, annual population history, matched public-school count, FBI reported-crime rates.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
1. Population change
Is Weirton 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 -990 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -5.2% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 10 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 Weirton?
Within West Virginia, the closest population matches are Martinsburg (18,805 residents, $54,590 income); Fairmont (18,303 residents, $60,791 income); Beckley (16,977 residents, $39,939 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Clive, IA (18,776 residents); St. Marys, GA (18,805 residents); Brownwood, TX (18,805 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.
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.
How far does income reach against housing in Weirton?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.2 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 9.5%, 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. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
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.
Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Weirton?
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 468.3 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 79% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
330.6
Violent rate
137.7
Total reported rate
468.3
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
What does the journey to work look like in Weirton?
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 79.0%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Public transit
0.9%
Work from home
9.7%
Drive alone
79.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 8,547 workers age 16+.
The NCES join finds 3 public schools within the city match. 22.8% 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.
Matched public schools
3
Bachelor's degree+
22.8%
Poverty estimate
9.5%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Below median income · poverty 9.5% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
89.5 (US=100)
Affordable · BEA RPP 2024, West Virginia average
C-
City profile score · Weirton, WV
52/100
5 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.
Violent crime C+
138 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Poverty rate D
9.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share D
22.8%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$56,699
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Weirton profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 87/100 (A) · 89.5 index
Violent crime: 61/100 (C+) · 138 /100k
Poverty rate: 42/100 (D) · 9.5%
Bachelor's+ share: 42/100 (D) · 22.8%
Household income: 30/100 (F) · $56,699
Where Weirton sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Weirton'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 - Weirton highlighted among 10 peers.Read the chart values
Weirton, WV (this city): home $122,800, crime 468/100k
Clive, IA : home $379,000, crime 1,375/100k
St. Marys, GA : home $259,300, crime 1,428/100k
Brownwood, TX : home $123,700, crime 2,609/100k
Winthrop, MA : home $606,900, crime 681/100k
Wisconsin Rapids, WI : home $116,600, crime 2,425/100k
Fairmont, WV : home $159,100, crime 1,843/100k
Beckley, WV : home $148,800, crime 8,517/100k
Clarksburg, WV : home $114,600, crime 2,592/100k
South Charleston, WV : home $144,800, crime 6,009/100k
How does Weirton compare to other US cities?
Where Weirton sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income30% higher than other cities
Home value18% pricier than other cities
Median rent5% pricier than other cities
Safety87% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just West Virginia and the picture shifts: Weirton ranks #5 of 45 West Virginia cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Weirton 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 Weirton near the bottom of West Virginia's cities
Among the 390 West Virginia cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Weirton ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Weirton only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#126 of 330
62nd percentile in West Virginia
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 390
0th percentile in West Virginia
Median Home Value
#127 of 337
62nd percentile in West Virginia
Poverty Rate
#213 of 389
45th percentile in West Virginia
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#110 of 390
72nd 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
30th percentile nationally for median household income · 87th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Weirton's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Weirton'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 Weirton's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$122,800Among the most affordablemore affordable than 82% 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
Weirton's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.2×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#2,301 of 15,516
More affordable than 85% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#124 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 2.2×, Weirton sits in the affordable band:
national rank #2,301 of 15,516 and #124 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
$56,699Weirton, WV median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Weirton, 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 Weirton, WV.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)22.8%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)9.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)55.1%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
18,785
Median Income
$56,699
Median Home Value
$122,800
Median Age
45.4
Poverty Rate
9.5%
Labor force participation
55.1%
Bachelor's Degree+
22.8%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
468.3
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
137.7
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
330.6
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.
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
Weirton's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
19,123 residents
2021
18,805 residents
2022
18,541 residents
2023
18,423 residents
2024
18,293 residents
2025
18,133 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
10
housing units authorized
Single-Family
10
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.5
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
5
5
0
$1.6M
2020
4
4
0
$0.8M
2021
5
5
0
$1.0M
2022
11
11
0
$1.6M
2023
5
5
0
$1.7M
2024
10
10
0
$2.5M
Permit volume increased 100% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
79.0%
Carpool
8.3%
Public Transit
0.9%
Walk
1.0%
Work from Home
9.7%
Other
1.1%
Based on 8,547 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 Weirton. 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 Weirton 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 Weirton sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Weirton 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, 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.