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Towns / West Virginia

Bluefield, West Virginia

Bluefield is a small town of about 9,200 people in Mercer County, West Virginia. It has lost about 5% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.1 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 143 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
9,158
down 4.8% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$105,400
Mercer County prices up 13% since 2022
Household income
$49,375
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural West Virginia
87
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
9 miles
Princeton, WV
To Charlotte
143 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 13% below the U.S. average in the parts of West Virginia outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.1 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood33 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 3.6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 7.5 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town7 public schools: 5 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byPrinceton Community Hospital Assn INC in Princeton, about 9 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityCharlotte is about 143 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 Bluefield 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
$105,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 13%Mercer County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$804 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$49,375U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
65%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$632 a yearWest Virginia: $865
Homes built before 1940
30%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
2%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
87U.S. average = 100 (the parts of West Virginia outside metro areas)

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 13% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of West Virginia outside metro areas, not Bluefield 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
9,1582020: 9,616
Median age
45 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
22%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
20%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
31%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
6%U.S.: 6%

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 (31%); retail (16%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (9%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
24 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
11%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
19%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Princeton Community Hospital Assn INC, Princeton, WV, about 9 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 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

7 public schools in Bluefield, run by Mercer County Schools.

Colleges in or next to town: Bluefield State University (1,000 to 4,999 students); Bluefield University (under 1,000 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
78%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
89%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
22°F
July average high
81°F
Days 90°F or hotter
3 a year
Nights at or below freezing
128 a year
Rain and melted snow
45.4 inches a year
Snow
40 inches a year
Elevation
2,613 feet

Weather station: Bluefield (1 mile 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: Princeton Community Hospital Assn INC, Roanoke, Charlotte.

Mercer County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

11 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Bluefield Downtown Commercial Historic District, the Bluefield Green Book Historic District, the Country Club Hill Historic District and the Jefferson Street Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail9 miles
  • Bluestone National Scenic River20 miles
  • New River Gorge National Park and Preserve33 miles
  • Blue Ridge Parkway50 miles

Campus life. Check Bluefield State University's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Bluefield's history on Wikipedia.

Know Bluefield?

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

  • Brush Fork, WV (unincorporated)1,096 people, 2 miles
  • Bluewell, WV (unincorporated)1,992 people, 4 miles
  • Montcalm, WV (unincorporated)484 people, 7 miles
  • Bramwell, WV259 people, 7 miles
  • Pocahontas, VA259 people, 8 miles
  • Bastian, VA (unincorporated)374 people, 8 miles
  • Boissevain, VA (unincorporated)830 people, 10 miles
  • Lashmeet, WV (unincorporated)655 people, 11 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.