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Towns / West Virginia

Richwood, West Virginia

Richwood is a small town of about 1,600 people in Nicholas County, West Virginia. It has lost about 4% 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 156 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,598
down 3.9% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$70,000
Nicholas County prices up 21% since 2022
Household income
$30,833
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural West Virginia
87
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
17 miles
Summersville, WV
To Pittsburgh
156 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 Richwood 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 Richwood High School, about 11 miles away.
  • A hospital close bySummersville Regional Medical Center in Summersville, about 17 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityPittsburgh is about 156 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 Richwood 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
$70,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 21%Nicholas County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$682 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$30,833U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
83%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$384 a yearWest Virginia: $865
Homes built before 1940
41%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
4%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 21% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of West Virginia outside metro areas, not Richwood 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
1,5982020: 1,663
Median age
46.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
26%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
17%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
17%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
Arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (15%)
Work from home
5%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: Summersville Regional Medical Center, Summersville, WV, about 17 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: Camc Greenbrier Valley Medical Center, INC, Ronceverte, WV, about 31 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 Richwood, run by Nicholas County Schools. The nearest public high school is Richwood High School, about 11 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
68%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
87%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
20°F
July average high
78°F
Days 90°F or hotter
0 a year
Nights at or below freezing
122 a year
Rain and melted snow
55.8 inches a year
Snow
100 inches a year
Elevation
2,186 feet

Weather station: Richwood 1SSE (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: Summersville Regional Medical Center, Roanoke, Pittsburgh.

Nicholas County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 8, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Downtown Richwood Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Gauley River National Recreation Area19 miles
  • New River Gorge National Park and Preserve27 miles
  • Bluestone National Scenic River48 miles
  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail54 miles

Read about Richwood's history on Wikipedia.

Know Richwood?

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

  • Nettie, WV (unincorporated)183 people, 9 miles
  • Craigsville, WV (unincorporated)2,190 people, 9 miles
  • Camden-on-Gauley, WV114 people, 11 miles
  • Cowen, WV465 people, 13 miles
  • Quinwood, WV204 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.