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Towns / West Virginia

Beckley, West Virginia

Beckley is a small town of about 16,400 people in Raleigh County, West Virginia. It's the county seat. It has lost about 5% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.4 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Charlotte, is about 178 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
16,373
down 4.9% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$158,000
Raleigh County prices up 22% since 2022
Household income
$45,826
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Beckley area
88.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Beckley Arh Hospital
To Charlotte
178 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 11.6% below the U.S. average in the Beckley metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood117 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 7.2 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 70.8 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town11 public schools: 8 elementary, 2 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byBeckley Arh Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityCharlotte is about 178 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Beckley meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$158,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 22%Raleigh County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$869 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$45,826U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
55%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$777 a yearWest Virginia: $865
Homes built before 1940
16%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
88.4U.S. average = 100 (the Beckley metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 22% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Beckley metro area, not Beckley alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
16,3732020: 17,216
Median age
42.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
21%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
29%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
9%U.S.: 6%
College students
6%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (37%); retail (15%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (12%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
17 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
7%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
29%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Beckley Arh Hospital, Beckley, WV, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

11 public schools in Beckley, run by Raleigh County Schools.

Colleges in or next to town: West Virginia University Institute of Technology (1,000 to 4,999 students); New River Community and Technical College (1,000 to 4,999 students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on West Virginia's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
71%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
83%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
19°F
July average high
79°F
Days 90°F or hotter
0 a year
Nights at or below freezing
140 a year
Rain and melted snow
43.4 inches a year
Snow
38 inches a year
Elevation
2,395 feet

Weather station: Beckley Va Hospital (2 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Roanoke, Charlotte.

Raleigh County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Beckley Courthouse Square Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • New River Gorge National Park and Preserve5 miles
  • Bluestone National Scenic River16 miles
  • Gauley River National Recreation Area28 miles
  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail35 miles

Campus life. Check West Virginia University Institute of Technology's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Beckley's history on Wikipedia.

Know Beckley?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Raleigh, WV (unincorporated)325 people, 1 mile
  • Sprague, WV (unincorporated)952 people, 2 miles
  • Beaver, WV (unincorporated)695 people, 3 miles
  • Stanaford, WV (unincorporated)1,449 people, 3 miles
  • MacArthur, WV (unincorporated)1,493 people, 3 miles
  • Daniels, WV (unincorporated)1,489 people, 4 miles
  • Crab Orchard, WV (unincorporated)1,139 people, 4 miles
  • Prosperity, WV (unincorporated)1,389 people, 5 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.