Safest Places to Live in West Virginia of September 2026
West Virginia is located in the Appalachian region of the Southern United States. You might wonder why this is considered as the south, and you are right. Geographically speaking, it is not the south of the US. Rather, this division was made because the states in the Southern US were members of the Confederacy during the Civil War.
West Virginia borders its older sister Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. With over 1.8 million residents, it is the 38th most populous state in the US. The capital and the largest city is Charleston, which has approximately 50,000 residents.
West Virginia is a unique state because it was separated from Virginia during the Civil War. It became a state in 1861 and was a key border state during the Civil War. West Virginia is known for its mountains and rolling hills, logging, coal mining industries, political and labor history, caving, scientific research, skiing, whitewater rafting, fishing, hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, and hunting.
Ranking Criteria
ElitePersonalFinance extracted the latest data from the FBI crime statistics in the United States. We took violent crime as the main criteria. To get our score, we used this formula:
Crime Score = ( Total Number of Violent Crimes / Population ) * 1,000
This way, safer cities got the lowest score, and those more vulnerable to crimes got higher scores.
The cities that did not report crimes to the FBI and those under 3,000 residents were not included in the list.
20 Safest Places in West Virginia of September 2026
| Rank: | City: | Population: | Total Number of Crimes: | Crime Score: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank:1 | City:Weirton | Population:18542 | Total Number of Crimes:9 | Crime Score:0,49 |
| Rank:2 | City:Barboursville | Population:4 256 | Total Number of Crimes:3 | Crime Score:0,70 |
| Rank:3 | City:Buckhannon | Population:5 516 | Total Number of Crimes:4 | Crime Score:0,73 |
| Rank:4 | City:Lewisburg | Population:3 917 | Total Number of Crimes:3 | Crime Score:0,77 |
| Rank:5 | City:Point Pleasant | Population:4 126 | Total Number of Crimes:4 | Crime Score:0,97 |
| Rank:6 | City:Bridgeport | Population:8708 | Total Number of Crimes:9 | Crime Score:1,03 |
| Rank:7 | City:Summersville | Population:3 332 | Total Number of Crimes:4 | Crime Score:1,20 |
| Rank:8 | City:Oak Hill | Population:8264 | Total Number of Crimes:13 | Crime Score:1,57 |
| Rank:9 | City:Charles Town | Population:6 060 | Total Number of Crimes:10 | Crime Score:1,65 |
| Rank:10 | City:St. Albans | Population:10161 | Total Number of Crimes:19 | Crime Score:1,87 |
| Rank:11 | City:Moundsville | Population:8417 | Total Number of Crimes:17 | Crime Score:2,02 |
| Rank:12 | City:Vienna | Population:10306 | Total Number of Crimes:23 | Crime Score:2,23 |
| Rank:13 | City:Morgantown | Population:30855 | Total Number of Crimes:82 | Crime Score:2,66 |
| Rank:14 | City:Weston | Population:3 953 | Total Number of Crimes:11 | Crime Score:2,78 |
| Rank:15 | City:Ranson | Population:5 292 | Total Number of Crimes:15 | Crime Score:2,83 |
| Rank:16 | City:Martinsburg | Population:17428 | Total Number of Crimes:55 | Crime Score:3,16 |
| Rank:17 | City:Fairmont | Population:18430 | Total Number of Crimes:63 | Crime Score:3,42 |
| Rank:18 | City:South Charleston | Population:12357 | Total Number of Crimes:47 | Crime Score:3,80 |
| Rank:19 | City:Nitro | Population:6 509 | Total Number of Crimes:25 | Crime Score:3,84 |
| Rank:20 | City:Ravenswood | Population:3 720 | Total Number of Crimes:16 | Crime Score:4,30 |
Crime Score in All Cities in West Virginia of September 2026
If your city didn’t make our list, you could see our full list of West Virginia cities.
We can’t compare crime rates in small and large cities. That’s why ElitePersonalFinance made a detailed analysis and narrowed the results according to population segments:
- Under 3,000 Residents
- 3,000 – 10,000 Residents
- Over 10,000 Residents
(Other sites don’t include places with under 3,000 residents, but we included them.)
These are the results that we got:
Under 3,000 Residents
| Rank: | City: | Population: | Total Number of Crimes: | Crime Score: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank:1 | City:Mason | Population:941 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:2 | City:Mount Hope | Population:1297 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:3 | City:Madison | Population:2764 | Total Number of Crimes:0 | Crime Score:0,00 |
| Rank:4 | City:Wellsburg | Population:2560 | Total Number of Crimes:1 | Crime Score:0,39 |
| Rank:5 | City:Hinton | Population:2417 | Total Number of Crimes:1 | Crime Score:0,41 |
| Rank:6 | City:Ceredo | Population:1339 | Total Number of Crimes:1 | Crime Score:0,75 |
| Rank:7 | City:Shepherdstown | Population:1757 | Total Number of Crimes:2 | Crime Score:1,14 |
| Rank:8 | City:Marmet | Population:1397 | Total Number of Crimes:2 | Crime Score:1,43 |
| Rank:9 | City:Kenova | Population:2979 | Total Number of Crimes:6 | Crime Score:2,01 |
| Rank:10 | City:Alderson | Population:1151 | Total Number of Crimes:3 | Crime Score:2,61 |
| Rank:11 | City:Glen Dale | Population:1398 | Total Number of Crimes:6 | Crime Score:4,29 |
| Rank:12 | City:Williamson | Population:2745 | Total Number of Crimes:16 | Crime Score:5,83 |
| Rank:13 | City:Moorefield | Population:2417 | Total Number of Crimes:20 | Crime Score:8,27 |
3,000 – 10,000 Residents
| Rank: | City: | Population: | Total Number of Crimes: | Crime Score: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank:1 | City:Barboursville | Population:4256 | Total Number of Crimes:3 | Crime Score:0,70 |
| Rank:2 | City:Buckhannon | Population:5516 | Total Number of Crimes:4 | Crime Score:0,73 |
| Rank:3 | City:Lewisburg | Population:3917 | Total Number of Crimes:3 | Crime Score:0,77 |
| Rank:4 | City:Point Pleasant | Population:4126 | Total Number of Crimes:4 | Crime Score:0,97 |
| Rank:5 | City:Bridgeport | Population:8708 | Total Number of Crimes:9 | Crime Score:1,03 |
| Rank:6 | City:Summersville | Population:3332 | Total Number of Crimes:4 | Crime Score:1,20 |
| Rank:7 | City:Oak Hill | Population:8264 | Total Number of Crimes:13 | Crime Score:1,57 |
| Rank:8 | City:Charles Town | Population:6060 | Total Number of Crimes:10 | Crime Score:1,65 |
| Rank:9 | City:Moundsville | Population:8417 | Total Number of Crimes:17 | Crime Score:2,02 |
| Rank:10 | City:Weston | Population:3953 | Total Number of Crimes:11 | Crime Score:2,78 |
| Rank:11 | City:Ranson | Population:5292 | Total Number of Crimes:15 | Crime Score:2,83 |
| Rank:12 | City:Nitro | Population:6509 | Total Number of Crimes:25 | Crime Score:3,84 |
| Rank:13 | City:Ravenswood | Population:3720 | Total Number of Crimes:16 | Crime Score:4,30 |
| Rank:14 | City:Dunbar | Population:7262 | Total Number of Crimes:44 | Crime Score:6,06 |
| Rank:15 | City:Bluefield | Population:9789 | Total Number of Crimes:92 | Crime Score:9,40 |
Over 10,000 Residents
| Rank: | City: | Population: | Total Number of Crimes: | Crime Score: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank:1 | City:Weirton | Population:18 542 | Total Number of Crimes:9 | Crime Score:0,49 |
| Rank:2 | City:St. Albans | Population:10 161 | Total Number of Crimes:19 | Crime Score:1,87 |
| Rank:3 | City:Vienna | Population:10 306 | Total Number of Crimes:23 | Crime Score:2,23 |
| Rank:4 | City:Morgantown | Population:30 855 | Total Number of Crimes:82 | Crime Score:2,66 |
| Rank:5 | City:Martinsburg | Population:17 428 | Total Number of Crimes:55 | Crime Score:3,16 |
| Rank:6 | City:Fairmont | Population:18 430 | Total Number of Crimes:63 | Crime Score:3,42 |
| Rank:7 | City:South Charleston | Population:12 357 | Total Number of Crimes:47 | Crime Score:3,80 |
| Rank:8 | City:Charleston | Population:47 470 | Total Number of Crimes:331 | Crime Score:6,97 |
| Rank:9 | City:Wheeling | Population:26 855 | Total Number of Crimes:229 | Crime Score:8,53 |
| Rank:10 | City:Beckley | Population:16 234 | Total Number of Crimes:147 | Crime Score:9,06 |
How safe do you feel?
Is your city safe enough? Are you worried because of the crime rate in your town? Do you have any thoughts on safety levels in the country?
If you want to share anything, feel free to leave a comment. That way, you can help us understand your perspective better.
Thank you!
Archives
- Safest Places to Live in West Virginia 2020
- Safest Places to Live in West Virginia 2019
- Safest Places to Live in West Virginia 2018
- Safest Places to Live in West Virginia 2017
- Safest Places to Live in West Virginia 2016
Sources:
