25801 — Beckley, West Virginia

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 25801. Its median household income runs 24% above Beckley as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

44out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 7% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
Opportunity2,708th of 3,116 ZIP areas measured35
SchoolsTop 35% of 3,047 ZIP areas measured62
Growth3,124th of 3,124 ZIP areas measured1
Housing affordabilityTop 45% of 3,112 ZIP areas measured70
Climate1,976th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured66
Physical resilience1,584th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured58
Access3,118th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured4
Economic stability3,018th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured17
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable ZIP areas measured: unemployment is 4.1% and the Opportunity signal places 25801 in the bottom 13%. The unemployment rate is published for Beckley, WV, which contains 25801, rather than for 25801 alone.

In the public schools here, 36% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 12.5 students for every teacher.

No residential units were authorized over the past twelve months, against a nonzero total the year before. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Beckley, WV, which contains 25801, rather than for 25801 alone.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
31,128
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$56,836
Bottom 24% nationally
Density
314/sq mi
99 sq mi of land
Median age
42.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Beckley
West Virginia
Metro area
Nearest major airport
TRI
113 mi · Tri-Cities
Median home value
$158,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Beckley, WV, which contains 25801, is 4.1%, lower than in 61% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Beckley, WV, which contains 25801, fell 2.5% over the past year, to 28,568 employed residents.

Median household income of $56,836 is lower than in 76% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsRaleigh County, WV’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$46,7855th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftRaleigh County, WV’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$49,9889th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,1242024 ACS 5-Year$56,836Bottom 24%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,1822024 ACS 5-Year$29,849Bottom 26%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year22.8%Bottom 13%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year20.9 minTop 16%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year25.5%Top 44%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year80.6%68th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentBeckley, WV’s figureJuly 202628,568Bottom 31%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Beckley, WV’s figureJuly 2026−4.8%Bottom 5%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Beckley, WV’s figureJuly 2026−2.5%Bottom 12%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceBeckley, WV’s figureJuly 202629,79931st percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year68.3%Bottom 20%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageBeckley, WV Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$52,300Bottom 4%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Median annual wageBeckley, WV Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$41,850Bottom 4%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%65th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Beckley, WV’s figureJuly 20260.0%Bottom 44%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateBeckley, WV’s figureJuly 20264.1%Top 39%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year8.7%45th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202457k43k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $56,836 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Beckley, WV

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides1,550$26,910
Retail Salespersons1,410$27,630
Registered Nurses1,320$78,680
Cashiers1,230$24,650
Cooks, Fast Food1,170$22,370
General and Operations Managers900$79,770

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Beckley, WV, the city containing this ZIP code.

36% of students met the state standard in mathematics, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 12.5 students for every full-time teacher across 10 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
11
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
12.5
across 10 of them
Math proficiency
36.1%
Top 50% in West Virginia
Reading proficiency
—
2018-19 school year
All 11 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Woodrow Wilson High SchoolRaleigh County Schools1,28416.926%—
Beckley-Stratton Middle SchoolRaleigh County Schools5908.931%—
Park Middle SchoolRaleigh County Schools39112.252%—
Stratton ElementaryRaleigh County Schools31213.012%—
Crescent ElementaryRaleigh County Schools30415.272%—
Cranberry-Prosperity ElementaryRaleigh County Schools27211.337%—
Beckley ElementaryRaleigh County Schools26010.822%—
Hollywood ElementaryRaleigh County Schools24012.662%—
Maxwell Hill ElementaryRaleigh County Schools20311.952%—
Stanaford Elementary SchoolRaleigh County Schools1998.737%—
Academy of Careers and TechnologyRaleigh County Schools0———

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against West Virginia’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 10% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 89.5, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Beckley, WV Metro Area is up 53% over five years, and up 10% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $765 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.48% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $944, close to the $882 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $944 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $37,800 a year, about 67% of the median household income here of $56,836.

The typical renter household here spends 32% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $882 a month.

A median home at $158,900 costs 2.4 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $66,728, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
89.5

Prices here run about 10% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Beckley, WV Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
31.6%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.4×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$944
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$882
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$158,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 25801’s median household income of $56,836, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Beckley, WV Metro Area’s figure202389.5Top 9%of 2,7372023
Home price change (1 year)the Beckley, WV Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+10.0%99th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Beckley, WV Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+52.8%83rd percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Beckley, WV Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+67.7%11th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.4Top 37%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year66.9%24th percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±5792024 ACS 5-Year14,95392nd percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$719Top 3%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,313Top 10%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$944Top 5%of 3,031FY2026
Median gross rent ±$682024 ACS 5-Year$882Top 35%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$9,8132024 ACS 5-Year$158,90030th percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$592024 ACS 5-Year$76512th percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$7,1412024 ACS 5-Year$66,728Bottom 26%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year0.48%11th percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year31.6%Bottom 32%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1392024 ACS 5-Year24188th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.6%56th percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year15.0%83rd percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3952024 ACS 5-Year2,47998th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

1/ 100
Ranks 3,124 of 3,124 published ZIP profiles

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 0 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Beckley, WV, which contains 25801, rather than for 25801 alone.

At 0.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Beckley, WV, which contains 25801, rather than for 25801 alone.

Units permitted
0
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.0
Bottom 1% nationally
Year over year
−100%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
0.0%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
47%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$46,785
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$49,988
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Fayette County, WV 418 people · 20% of arrivals
  2. Mercer County, WV 105 people · 5.0% of arrivals
  3. Wyoming County, WV 103 people · 4.9% of arrivals
  4. Kanawha County, WV 89 people · 4.2% of arrivals
  5. Summers County, WV 70 people · 3.3% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Fayette County, WV 336 people · 16% of departures
  2. Kanawha County, WV 133 people · 6.3% of departures
  3. Mercer County, WV 99 people · 4.7% of departures
  4. Wyoming County, WV 97 people · 4.6% of departures
  5. Summers County, WV 81 people · 3.8% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Raleigh County, WV. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Beckley, WV, the city containing this ZIP code.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 81°F and January a low of 24°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 43.5 inches, including 55.9 inches of snow.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station BECKLEY RALEIGH CO AP, 9.0 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.0"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals43.5"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals55.9"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals24°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals81°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals39°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

58 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and earthquake, with inland flooding alone responsible for 82% of it.

Inland floodingModerate
EarthquakeModerate
Strong windModerate
Cold waveElevated

Low or minimal exposure: landslide, winter weather, lightning, avalanche, wildfire, ice storm, hurricane, hail, drought, tornado, heat wave, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Homicide
4.1
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
14.6
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
58.0
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
17.1
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around 25801 (Raleigh County) rather than 25801 itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Beckley carries the figure where its department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

No airport meeting the AreaProfile major-airport definition lies within 100 miles; the nearest is 113 miles away.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year82.0%Bottom 22%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle113 miBottom 1%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle0Bottom 1%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year10.8%Bottom 35%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Tri-CitiesTRI113 mi8,000 ft
Piedmont Triad IntlGSO141 mi10,001 ft
Rickenbacker IntlLCK163 mi11,902 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
44
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—

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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

25801 vs Beckley

How this ZIP area compares with Beckley as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.

25801
Beckley
Median household income: 25801 is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$56,836
vs
$45,826
Per capita income: Beckley is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$29,849
vs
$31,431
Population density
314/sq mi
vs
1,771/sq mi
Median home value
$158,900
vs
$158,000
Median gross rent: Beckley is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$882
vs
$869
Homeownership rate
66.9%
vs
55.4%
Bachelor's degree or higher: Beckley is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
25.5%
vs
29.2%
Poverty rate: 25801 is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
22.8%
vs
28.5%
Median age
42.6
vs
42.3

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.