Living in Parsons, West Virginia: homes, schools and costs

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 2.4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Parsons itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Tucker County High School, about 6 miles away.
A hospital close byDavis Medical Center in Elkins, about 15 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityPittsburgh is about 94 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 Parsons 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: $96,300U.S.: $332,700
Typical rent, with utilities: $650 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $40,547U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 68%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $469 a yearWest Virginia: $865
Homes built before 1940: 23%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 4%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 8%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. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of West Virginia outside metro areas, not Parsons 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: 1,2822020: 1,325
Median age: 43.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 24%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 20%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 11%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 (27%); manufacturing (10%)
Work from home: 10%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: Davis Medical Center, Elkins, WV, about 15 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

1 public school in Parsons, run by Tucker County Schools. The nearest public high school is Tucker County High School, about 6 miles away.

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: 81%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: 83°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 5 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 132 a year
Rain and melted snow: 55 inches a year
Snow: 55 inches a year
Elevation: 1,647 feet

Weather station: Parsons 3 SE (3 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

Davis Medical CenterEmergency room15

Harrisonburg, VACity of 51,00063

Pittsburgh, PAMetro of 2.4 million94

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: Davis Medical Center, Harrisonburg, Pittsburgh.

Tucker County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 9, 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.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Friendship Hill National Historic Site48 miles
Fort Necessity National Battlefield49 miles

Read about Parsons's history on Wikipedia.

Know Parsons?

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

Belington, WV1,800 people, 15 miles
Elkins, WV6,600 people, 15 miles
Philippi, WV2,800 people, 20 miles
Grafton, WV4,500 people, 25 miles
Terra Alta, WV1,400 people, 25 miles
Kingwood, WV2,900 people, 26 miles

Smaller places

Hambleton, WV229 people, 2 miles
Hendricks, WV205 people, 3 miles
St. George, WV (unincorporated)142 people, 5 miles
Montrose, WV133 people, 8 miles
Thomas, WV587 people, 11 miles
Davis, WV579 people, 12 miles

Sources

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.