The Town Files

The 25 Best Small Towns to Retire in West Virginia

Ranked on The Town Files lifestyle rankings among 49 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in West Virginia. #1 is Pinch, WV.

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Numbers match the ranking.
The 25 Best Small Towns to Retire in West Virginia1. Pinch97th pct2. Ripley96th pct3. Williamstown96th pct4. Lewisburg95th pct5. Keyser92nd pct6. Cheat Lake90th pct7. Kingwood88th pct8. Summersville87th pct9. Point Pleasant86th pct10. Bethlehem86th pct11. Bridgeport83rd pct12. Charles Town83rd pct13. New Martinsville81st pct14. Pleasant Valley78th pct15. Philippi78th pct16. Hooverson Heights75th pct17. Shady Spring74th pct18. Blennerhassett72nd pct19. Hurricane71st pct20. Brookhaven69th pct21. Williamson68th pct22. Follansbee67th pct23. Culloden66th pct24. Cross Lanes63rd pct25. Dunbar60th pct
  1. 25Dunbar, West Virginia

    Better for retirees than 60% of West Virginia towns

    7,480 people · Kanawha County · median home $119,600 · income $58,379 · Jan low 23°F · 32 in snow

  2. 24Cross Lanes, West Virginia

    Better for retirees than 63% of West Virginia towns

    9,727 people · Kanawha County · median home $153,800 · income $63,537 · Jan low 20°F · 20 in snow

  3. 23Culloden, West Virginia

    Better for retirees than 66% of West Virginia towns

    3,016 people · Cabell County · median home $197,800 · income $73,318 · Jan low 23°F · 15 in snow

  4. 22Follansbee, West Virginia

    Better for retirees than 67% of West Virginia towns

    2,848 people · Brooke County · median home $133,900 · income $58,371 · Jan low 19°F · 25 in snow

  5. 21Williamson, West Virginia

    Better for retirees than 68% of West Virginia towns

    3,083 people · Mingo County · median home $89,600 · income $21,875 · Jan low 26°F · 13 in snow

  6. 20Brookhaven, West Virginia

    Better for retirees than 69% of West Virginia towns

    5,707 people · Monongalia County · median home $261,000 · income $88,438 · Jan low 24°F · 14 in snow

  7. 19Hurricane, West Virginia

    Better for retirees than 71% of West Virginia towns

    6,961 people · Putnam County · median home $210,500 · income $71,167 · Jan low 24°F · 11 in snow

  8. 18Blennerhassett, West Virginia

    Better for retirees than 72% of West Virginia towns

    3,118 people · Wood County · median home $179,800 · income $88,487 · Jan low 24°F · 11 in snow

  9. 17Shady Spring, West Virginia

    Better for retirees than 74% of West Virginia towns

    3,169 people · Raleigh County · median home $188,900 · income $67,407 · Jan low 24°F · 56 in snow

  10. 16Hooverson Heights, West Virginia

    Better for retirees than 75% of West Virginia towns

    2,582 people · Brooke County · median home $154,600 · income $60,781 · Jan low 19°F · 25 in snow

  11. 15Philippi, West Virginia

    Better for retirees than 78% of West Virginia towns

    2,929 people · Barbour County · median home $114,500 · income $45,879 · Jan low 20°F · 47 in snow

  12. 14Pleasant Valley, West Virginia

    Better for retirees than 78% of West Virginia towns

    3,498 people · Marion County · median home $213,600 · income $67,635 · Jan low 24°F · 27 in snow

  13. 13New Martinsville, West Virginia

    Better for retirees than 81% of West Virginia towns

    5,204 people · Wetzel County · median home $128,300 · income $60,946 · Jan low 20°F · 24 in snow

  14. 12Charles Town, West Virginia

    Better for retirees than 83% of West Virginia towns

    6,534 people · Jefferson County · median home $377,700 · income $89,263 · Jan low 24°F · 23 in snow

  15. 11Bridgeport, West Virginia

    Better for retirees than 83% of West Virginia towns

    9,336 people · Harrison County · median home $291,600 · income $100,022 · Jan low 25°F · 24 in snow

  16. 10Bethlehem, West Virginia

    Better for retirees than 86% of West Virginia towns

    2,605 people · Ohio County · median home $200,000 · income $83,409 · Jan low 22°F · 15 in snow

  17. 9Point Pleasant, West Virginia

    Better for retirees than 86% of West Virginia towns

    4,070 people · Mason County · median home $118,000 · income $37,563 · Jan low 23°F · 15 in snow

  18. 8Summersville, West Virginia

    Better for retirees than 87% of West Virginia towns

    3,431 people · Nicholas County · median home $230,000 · income $56,571 · Jan low 21°F · 68 in snow

  19. 7Kingwood, West Virginia

    Better for retirees than 88% of West Virginia towns

    2,980 people · Preston County · median home $162,000 · income $71,154 · Jan low 18°F · 171 in snow

  20. 6Cheat Lake, West Virginia

    Better for retirees than 90% of West Virginia towns

    9,930 people · Monongalia County · median home $367,600 · income $117,014 · Jan low 24°F · 14 in snow

  21. 5Keyser, West Virginia

    Better for retirees than 92% of West Virginia towns

    4,864 people · Mineral County · median home $143,000 · income $46,955 · Jan low 21°F · 34 in snow

  22. 4Lewisburg, West Virginia

    Better for retirees than 95% of West Virginia towns

    3,922 people · Greenbrier County · median home $334,900 · income $49,560 · Jan low 20°F · 30 in snow

  23. 3Williamstown, West Virginia

    Better for retirees than 96% of West Virginia towns

    2,997 people · Wood County · median home $182,500 · income $89,013 · Jan low 23°F · 22 in snow

  24. 2Ripley, West Virginia

    Better for retirees than 96% of West Virginia towns

    3,079 people · Jackson County · median home $121,800 · income $41,518 · Jan low 22°F · 12 in snow

  25. 1Pinch, West Virginia

    Better for retirees than 97% of West Virginia towns

    2,914 people · Kanawha County · median home $221,500 · income $76,741 · Jan low 26°F · 32 in snow

Price vs ranking

Median home value vs ranking, West Virginia towns0255075100$57K$135K$212K$290K$368KMedian home valuePercentile
Orange squares are the 25 towns on this list; green dots are other towns on The Town Files in West Virginia.

More West Virginia rankings

Same ranking, other places

Methodology. We ranked 49 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in West Virginia (2020 Census population; towns with 2,500+ people have pages so far). Lifestyle measures are The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025), shown as percentiles. Only towns better than 60% of their peers on this measure qualify, so lists can be shorter than 25. Sources: