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Towns / West Virginia

Rainelle, West Virginia

Rainelle is a small town of about 1,200 people in Greenbrier County, West Virginia. It has lost about 5% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.3 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 176 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,180
down 4.6% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$80,800
Greenbrier County prices up 21% since 2022
Household income
$35,625
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural West Virginia
87
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
20 miles
Oak Hill, WV
To Pittsburgh
176 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 2.3 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 Rainelle 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 Greenbrier West High School, about 3 miles away.
  • A hospital close byCamc Plateau Medical Center, INC in Oak Hill, about 20 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityPittsburgh is about 176 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 Rainelle 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
$80,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 21%Greenbrier County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$663 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$35,625U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
67%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$458 a yearWest Virginia: $865
Homes built before 1940
27%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
10%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%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 21% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of West Virginia outside metro areas, not Rainelle 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
1,1802020: 1,237
Median age
48.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
17%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
13%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
7%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

Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Work from home
4%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
30%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Camc Plateau Medical Center, INC, Oak Hill, WV, about 20 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Camc Greenbrier Valley Medical Center, INC, Ronceverte, WV, about 21 miles away. 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 Rainelle, run by Greenbrier County Schools. The nearest public high school is Greenbrier West High School, about 3 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 any internet subscription
90%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
77°F
Days 90°F or hotter
0 a year
Nights at or below freezing
136 a year
Rain and melted snow
55.4 inches a year
Snow
68 inches a year
Elevation
2,402 feet

Weather stations: Rupert 4 N (6 miles away) and Mt Nebo 1 S (16 miles away, rain and snow). 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: Camc Plateau Medical Center, Roanoke, Pittsburgh.

Greenbrier County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 6, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • New River Gorge National Park and Preserve9 miles
  • Gauley River National Recreation Area14 miles
  • Bluestone National Scenic River27 miles
  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail37 miles

Read about Rainelle's history on Wikipedia.

Know Rainelle?

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

  • Rupert, WV822 people, 5 miles
  • Quinwood, WV204 people, 7 miles
  • Meadow Bridge, WV307 people, 9 miles
  • Cunard, WV (unincorporated)165 people, 15 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.