Monongalia County, WV

County Profile

107,163 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Monongalia County, WV.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

65out of 100
Area Score
Top 31% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
OpportunityTop 19% of 1,463 counties measured71
SchoolsTop 14% of 1,377 counties measured78
Growth762nd of 1,453 counties measured49
Housing affordability1,078th of 1,462 counties measured67
ClimateTop 46% of 1,463 counties measured70
Physical resilience868th of 1,463 counties measured52
Access1,140th of 1,463 counties measured65
Economic stabilityTop 48% of 1,463 counties measured62
The quick read

Monongalia County ranks in the top 19% of counties measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.2% and median household income of $65,346.

Public schools test above most of the state: 50% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 14% of published profiles for schools.

Rent takes 33% of renter income here, above the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 2.7 times what its owners earn.

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
107,163
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$65,346
Top 50% nationally
Density
298/sq mi
360.1 sq mi of land
Median age
32.7
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Monongalia County
West Virginia
Metro area
Nearest major airport
LBE
56 mi · Arnold Palmer Rgnl
Median home value
$267,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.2%, lower than in 84% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment grew 0.6% over the past year, to 54,929 employed residents.

49% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 96% of measured US counties.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$56,29044th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$72,03880th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$2,5242024 ACS 5-Year$65,346Top 50%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,2702024 ACS 5-Year$42,045Top 20%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$58,800Top 41%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year11.9%Top 42%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.7 min2024 ACS 5-Year22.6 minTop 29%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year48.9%Top 4%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year71.3%18th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202654,929Top 37%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−0.2%Bottom 47%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+0.6%Top 27%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202656,74763rd percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year81.0%Top 22%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year1.1%87th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.2%Bottom 49%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.2%Top 16%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year13.4%82nd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/074.12.7
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.2% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202465k56k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $65,346 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 — Morgantown, WV

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Registered Nurses4,510$80,130
Retail Salespersons2,090$28,570
Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary1,400$60,300
Cashiers1,370$27,370
Nursing Assistants1,310$35,880
General and Operations Managers1,280$89,440

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.

50% of students met the state standard in mathematics, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 14.9 students for every full-time teacher across 17 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
19
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
14.9
across 17 of them
Math proficiency
49.8%
Top 8% in West Virginia
Reading proficiency
—
2018-19 school year
The 12 largest of 19 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Morgantown High SchoolMonongalia County Schools1,75418.143%—
University High SchoolMonongalia County Schools1,37115.944%—
South Middle SchoolMonongalia County Schools78413.144%—
Cheat Lake Elementary SchoolMonongalia County Schools75416.468%—
Mountainview Elementary SchoolMonongalia County Schools64513.750%—
Eastwood Elementary SchoolMonongalia County Schools64215.758%—
Mountaineer Middle SchoolMonongalia County Schools64015.253%—
North Elementary SchoolMonongalia County Schools58614.767%—
Suncrest Elementary SchoolMonongalia County Schools56814.266%—
Brookhaven Elementary SchoolMonongalia County Schools55015.355%—
Ridgedale Elementary SchoolMonongalia County Schools53617.352%—
Suncrest Middle SchoolMonongalia County Schools49916.149%—

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 8% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 92.2, 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 Morgantown, WV Metro Area is up 34% over five years, and up 6.2% 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 $1,248 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.47% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,099, some 11% above the $987 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,099 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $44,000 a year, about 67% of the median household income here of $65,346.

The typical renter household here spends 33% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $987 a month.

A median home at $267,700 costs 2.7 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $100,604, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
92.2

Prices here run about 8% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Morgantown, 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
32.9%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.7×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,099
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$987
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$267,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Monongalia County’s median household income of $65,346, 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 Morgantown, WV Metro Area’s figure202392.2Top 35%of 8872023
Home price change (1 year)the Morgantown, WV Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+6.2%90th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Morgantown, WV Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+33.9%14th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Morgantown, WV Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+58.3%5th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.7Bottom 42%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year57.9%5th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±942024 ACS 5-Year49,93283rd percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$877Top 38%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,318Top 28%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,099Top 41%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$252024 ACS 5-Year$987Bottom 32%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$8,0912024 ACS 5-Year$267,70075th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$372024 ACS 5-Year$1,24835th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$6,6132024 ACS 5-Year$100,604Top 13%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.02%2024 ACS 5-Year0.47%13th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year32.9%Bottom 10%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1722024 ACS 5-Year47157th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.9%24th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year9.7%54th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±5732024 ACS 5-Year5,30381st percentileof 3,2222024 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

49/ 100
Ranks 762 of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 grown 3% since 2020, reaching 108,697 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 18 units authorized in 2025, 22% below the prior year.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 20 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Monongalia County 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 $56,290, below the $72,038 of households that moved out.

At 0.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
20
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.2
Bottom 4% nationally
Year over year
+33%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024109k106k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.3%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
61%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$56,290
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$72,038
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Marion County, WV 347 people · 7.4% of arrivals
  2. Preston County, WV 269 people · 5.8% of arrivals
  3. Fayette County, PA 138 people · 2.9% of arrivals
  4. Harrison County, WV 136 people · 2.9% of arrivals
  5. Allegheny County, PA 130 people · 2.8% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Marion County, WV 419 people · 8.6% of departures
  2. Preston County, WV 296 people · 6.1% of departures
  3. Allegheny County, PA 185 people · 3.8% of departures
  4. Harrison County, WV 160 people · 3.3% of departures
  5. Fayette County, PA 158 people · 3.2% 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. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2022202320242025238.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+125%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 84°F and January a low of 24°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 43.2 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 43, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station MORGANTOWN HART FLD, 7.6 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year562024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals43.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals24°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals84°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year432024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals42°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
43
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
56
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

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

52 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and strong wind, with inland flooding alone responsible for 86% of it. Tornado and strong wind are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Inland floodingElevated
LightningModerate

Low or minimal exposure: landslide, hail, hurricane, strong wind, ice storm, avalanche, tornado, winter weather, earthquake, heat wave, wildfire, 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). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. 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.

Monongalia County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.0 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 12.1 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 20.4 per 100,000 residents in Monongalia County.

Homicide
2.0
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
12.1
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
20.4
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
16.7
per 100,000 residents

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 Monongalia County as a whole. 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. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their 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.
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

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Arnold Palmer Rgnl at 56 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year90.2%Top 25%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle56 miBottom 25%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 15%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year5.3%Top 12%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Arnold Palmer RgnlLBE56 mi8,222 ft
Pittsburgh IntlPIT60 mi11,500 ft
Akron-Canton RgnlCAK115 mi8,204 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
65
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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
Housing, IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
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
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
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.

ZIP areas

Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.