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Towns / West Virginia

Huntington, West Virginia

Huntington is a small city of about 45,000 people in Cabell County, West Virginia. It's the county seat. It has lost about 4% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.8 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, Columbus, is about 113 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
44,815
down 4.3% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$127,200
Cabell County prices up 18% since 2022
Household income
$45,100
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Huntington area
88.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Cabell Huntington Hospital, INC
To Columbus
113 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 11.6% below the U.S. average in the Huntington-Ashland metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood298 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 6.7 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 33.5 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town15 public schools: 10 elementary, 3 middle and 2 high schools.
  • A hospital close byCabell Huntington Hospital, INC is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityColumbus is about 113 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 Huntington 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
$127,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 18%Cabell County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$912 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$45,100U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
53%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$909 a yearWest Virginia: $865
Homes built before 1940
30%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
88.4U.S. average = 100 (the Huntington-Ashland 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 18% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Huntington-Ashland metro area, not Huntington 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
44,8152020: 46,808
Median age
34.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
18%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
18%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
35%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
11%U.S.: 6%
College students
14%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 (33%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (15%); retail (12%)
Unemployment rate
7%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
19 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
9%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
26%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Cabell Huntington Hospital, INC, Huntington, 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

15 public schools in Huntington, run by Cabell County Schools and Wayne County Schools.

Colleges in or next to town: Marshall University (10,000 to 19,999 students); Mountwest Community and Technical College (1,000 to 4,999 students); Huntington Junior College (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
70%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
85%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
25°F
July average high
87°F
Days 90°F or hotter
32 a year
Nights at or below freezing
98 a year
Rain and melted snow
45.3 inches a year
Snow
10 inches a year
Elevation
566 feet

Weather station: Huntington Swg Pl (5 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: Columbus.

Cabell County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

38 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the 14th Street West Historic District, the Downtown Huntington Historic District, Downtown Huntington Historic District (Boundary Increase) and the Hawthorne Historic District.

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

Read about Huntington's history on Wikipedia.

Know Huntington?

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

  • Chesapeake, OH719 people, 2 miles
  • Proctorville, OH494 people, 3 miles
  • Lavalette, WV (unincorporated)1,005 people, 6 miles
  • Athalia, OH263 people, 10 miles
  • Lesage, WV (unincorporated)1,329 people, 10 miles
  • Miller, OH (unincorporated)467 people, 11 miles
  • Salt Rock, WV (unincorporated)274 people, 13 miles
  • Cannonsburg, KY (unincorporated)1,129 people, 14 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.