Charleston, West Virginia
Area Profile
47,421 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Charleston, in Kanawha County.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 16 sourcesUnemployment is 3.9% and median household income $65,812, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured.
In the public schools here, 45% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.7 students for every teacher.
Residential permitting has slowed: 4 units authorized over the past twelve months, against 18 the year before.
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
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment of 3.9%, lower than in 65% of the 4,226 measured US cities.
Employment fell 1.1% over the past year, to 21,497 employed residents.
45% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 85% of measured US cities.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsKanawha County, WV’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $47,771 | 5th percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftKanawha County, WV’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $61,881 | 27th percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$4,3112024 ACS 5-Year | $65,812 | Bottom 48%of 29,223 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$2,7112024 ACS 5-Year | $49,097 | Top 18%of 31,420 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 15.5% | Bottom 33%of 31,773 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±0.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 18.3 min | Top 12%of 31,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 45.2% | Top 15%of 31,919 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 72.0% | 33rd percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentJuly 2026 | 21,497 | Bottom 25%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)July 2026 | −5.9% | Bottom 2%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)July 2026 | −1.1% | Bottom 44%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceJuly 2026 | 22,360 | 25th percentileof 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 74.5% | Bottom 38%of 31,513 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Mean annual wageCharleston, WV Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $58,170 | Bottom 10%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Median annual wageCharleston, WV Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $45,830 | Bottom 9%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Public transit to work ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.0% | 84th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026 | −0.1% | Bottom 49%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateJuly 2026 | 3.9% | Top 35%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 13.0% | 71st percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Unemployment rate
Median household income, successive ACS releases
Largest occupations — Charleston, WV
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Registered Nurses | 4,320 | $80,230 |
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 3,200 | $28,680 |
| Retail Salespersons | 2,650 | $29,050 |
| Cooks, Fast Food | 2,230 | $23,180 |
| Cashiers | 2,170 | $26,280 |
| General and Operations Managers | 2,160 | $83,190 |
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.
45% of students met the state standard in mathematics, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 15.7 students for every full-time teacher across 17 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Washington High School | Kanawha County Schools | 1,145 | 22.5 | 48% | — |
| Capital High School | Kanawha County Schools | 1,051 | 17.5 | 24% | — |
| John Adams Middle School | Kanawha County Schools | 740 | 18.0 | 62% | — |
| Elk Elementary Center | Kanawha County Schools | 475 | 14.0 | 53% | — |
| Mary C. Snow West Side Elementary | Kanawha County Schools | 453 | 13.3 | 27% | — |
| Edgewood Elementary | Kanawha County Schools | 413 | 11.8 | 27% | — |
| Horace Mann Middle School | Kanawha County Schools | 385 | 14.8 | 46% | — |
| Overbrook Elementary School | Kanawha County Schools | 375 | 17.0 | 72% | — |
| West Side Middle School | Kanawha County Schools | 374 | 12.5 | 16% | — |
| Holz Elementary School | Kanawha County Schools | 304 | 16.9 | 77% | — |
| Piedmont Year-Round Education | Kanawha County Schools | 279 | 10.7 | 32% | — |
| Ruffner Elementary School | Kanawha County Schools | 271 | 14.3 | 47% | — |
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.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →Prices for everything a household buys run about 11% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 89.1, 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 Charleston, WV Metro Area is up 40% over five years, and up 11% 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 $1,447 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.71% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,036, some 14% above the $908 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,036 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $41,400 a year, about 63% of the median household income here of $65,812.
The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $908 a month.
A median home at $203,300 costs 2.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $90,619, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.
Prices here run about 11% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.
Published for the Charleston, 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.
The figures above are measured against Charleston’s median household income of $65,812, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of living indexthe Charleston, WV Metro Area’s figure2023 | 89.1 | Top 4%of 3,700 | 2023 |
| Home price change (1 year)the Charleston, WV Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +10.5% | 99th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the Charleston, WV Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +40.1% | 42nd percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the Charleston, WV Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +54.9% | 5th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year | 2.2 | Top 42%of 26,815 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 63.3% | 25th percentileof 31,717 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±6192024 ACS 5-Year | 25,544 | 98th percentileof 32,177 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $829 | Top 10%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $1,325 | Top 9%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $1,036 | Top 9%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$442024 ACS 5-Year | $908 | Top 43%of 23,120 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$16,2512024 ACS 5-Year | $203,300 | 54th percentileof 29,111 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$942024 ACS 5-Year | $1,447 | 40th percentileof 26,440 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$9,9512024 ACS 5-Year | $90,619 | Top 36%of 27,548 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.07%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.71% | 30th percentileof 20,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 28.2% | Top 49%of 22,950 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±742024 ACS 5-Year | 120 | 91st percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.5% | 56th percentileof 31,895 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 16.9% | 83rd percentileof 31,769 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±5092024 ACS 5-Year | 4,428 | 99th percentileof 32,330 | 2024 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.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
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.
Population has fallen 4% since 2020, to 46,482 in 2024.
Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 9 units authorized in 2025, 71% below the prior year.
New construction is predominantly single-family: of 4 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.
Federal tax returns show Kanawha County, which contains Charleston, lost about 0.3% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $47,771, below the $61,881 of households that moved out.
At 0.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.
Population, annual estimates
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- Putnam County, WV 885 people · 17% of arrivals
- Cabell County, WV 262 people · 5.0% of arrivals
- Boone County, WV 172 people · 3.3% of arrivals
- Fayette County, WV 162 people · 3.1% of arrivals
- Jackson County, WV 161 people · 3.0% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- Putnam County, WV 975 people · 17% of departures
- Cabell County, WV 333 people · 5.8% of departures
- Boone County, WV 167 people · 2.9% of departures
- Jackson County, WV 161 people · 2.8% of departures
- Lincoln County, WV 132 people · 2.3% 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 Kanawha County, WV. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.
Housing units permitted per year
Weather & climate
7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 86°F and January a low of 26°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 46.2 inches, including 31.5 inches of snow.
Air quality measures a median index of 40, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| 90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year | 57 | 2024 calendar year |
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 46.2" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals | 31.5" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 26°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 86°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 7 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year | 0 | 2024 calendar year |
| Median air quality index2024 calendar year | 40 | 2024 calendar year |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 41°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Air quality
A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, heat wave and strong wind, with inland flooding alone responsible for 93% of it. Heat wave is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.
Low or minimal exposure: landslide, heat wave, lightning, hail, ice storm, earthquake, avalanche, hurricane, wildfire, tornado, cold wave, drought, volcanic activity, tsunami, coastal flooding.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.
Charleston's police department reported 596 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 3,803.
Kanawha County has a modeled homicide rate of about 3.9 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.
Firearm deaths of all intents run at 19.5 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.
Drug overdose deaths run at 45.8 per 100,000 residents in Kanawha County.
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.
Offenses are reported to the FBI by Charleston’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. 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 Charleston (Kanawha County) rather than Charleston itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and 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.
- 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 123 miles away.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year | 90.7% | Top 46%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 123 mi | Bottom 1%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 0 | Bottom 1%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 6.5% | Top 45%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rickenbacker Intl | LCK | 123 mi | 11,902 ft |
| John Glenn Columbus Intl | CMH | 132 mi | 10,114 ft |
| Tri-Cities | TRI | 136 mi | 8,000 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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Other cities in Charleston, WV
Same metropolitan area, measured the same way| City | County | Population | Area Score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Charleston | Kanawha County | 13,457 | 44 | South Charleston vs Charleston |
| St. Albans | Kanawha County | 10,522 | 42 | St. Albans vs Charleston |
Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.
Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyCompare
Put Charleston side by side with a similar place.
Moving to Charleston from somewhere else?
You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.
Data & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Safety | Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency | 2025 calendar year |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Housing | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional price parities and county personal income | 2023 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | 2025 OEWS |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Safety | U.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 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Climate | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System Daily Air Quality Index by county | 2024 calendar year |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA 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.
ZIP codes in Charleston
6 ZIP areasEvery ZIP area in Charleston with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Charleston closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.