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Towns / West Virginia

Clarksburg, West Virginia

Clarksburg is a small town of about 15,600 people in Harrison County, West Virginia. It's the county seat. It has lost about 4% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.7 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, Pittsburgh, is about 83 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
15,562
down 4.5% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$129,900
Harrison County prices up 14% since 2022
Household income
$47,386
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural West Virginia
87
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
8 miles
Bridgeport, WV
To Pittsburgh
83 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 2.7 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood42 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 2.8 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 21.8 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town8 public schools: 4 elementary, 2 middle and 2 high schools.
  • A hospital close byUnited Hospital Center, INC in Bridgeport, about 8 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityPittsburgh is about 83 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 Clarksburg 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
$129,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 14%Harrison County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$790 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$47,386U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
61%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$783 a yearWest Virginia: $865
Homes built before 1940
40%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%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 14% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of West Virginia outside metro areas, not Clarksburg 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
15,5622020: 16,294
Median age
40.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
21%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
26%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
3%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 (25%); government (14%); retail (13%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
21 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
8%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
24%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: United Hospital Center, INC, Bridgeport, WV, about 8 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 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

8 public schools in Clarksburg, run by Harrison County Schools.

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
75%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
86%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
85°F
Days 90°F or hotter
16 a year
Nights at or below freezing
122 a year
Rain and melted snow
48.2 inches a year
Snow
24 inches a year
Elevation
990 feet

Weather station: Clarksburg 1 (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: United Hospital Center, Pittsburgh.

Harrison County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 5, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

9 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Clarksburg Downtown Historic District, the Glen Elk Historic District and the Quality Hill Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Friendship Hill National Historic Site41 miles
  • Fort Necessity National Battlefield55 miles

Read about Clarksburg's history on Wikipedia.

Know Clarksburg?

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

  • Despard, WV (unincorporated)972 people, 3 miles
  • East View, WV (unincorporated)604 people, 3 miles
  • Anmoore, WV482 people, 4 miles
  • Hepzibah, WV (unincorporated)134 people, 4 miles
  • Reynoldsville, WV (unincorporated)111 people, 4 miles
  • West Milford, WV443 people, 5 miles
  • Wolf Summit, WV (unincorporated)213 people, 5 miles
  • Gypsy, WV (unincorporated)119 people, 7 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.