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Towns / West Virginia

Williamstown, West Virginia

Williamstown is a small town of about 2,900 people in Wood County, West Virginia. It has lost about 2% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.1 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 91 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
2,922
down 2.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$182,500
Wood County prices up 15% since 2022
Household income
$89,013
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Parkersburg area
87.1
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
2 miles
Marietta, OH
To Columbus
91 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 12.9% below the U.S. average in the Parkersburg-Vienna metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.1 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 1 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byMarietta Memorial Hospital in Marietta, about 2 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityColumbus is about 91 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 Williamstown 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
$182,500U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 15%Wood County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$839 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$89,013U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
89%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,162 a yearWest Virginia: $865
Homes built before 1940
30%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
7%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
87.1U.S. average = 100 (the Parkersburg-Vienna 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 15% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Parkersburg-Vienna metro area, not Williamstown 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
2,9222020: 2,988
Median age
52.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
27%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
17%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
44%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
1%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%); construction (17%); retail (16%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
19 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
10%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
5%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Marietta Memorial Hospital, Marietta, OH, about 2 miles away. 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

2 public schools in Williamstown, run by Wood County Schools.

Colleges in or next to town: Marietta College (1,000 to 4,999 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
78%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
89%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
23°F
July average high
85°F
Days 90°F or hotter
19 a year
Nights at or below freezing
112 a year
Rain and melted snow
44.3 inches a year
Snow
22 inches a year
Elevation
633 feet

Weather stations: Marietta Wwtp (1 mile away) and Marietta Lock 1 (1 mile 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: Marietta Memorial Hospital, Newark, Columbus.

Wood County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, 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, including the Henderson Hall Historic District.

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

Read about Williamstown's history on Wikipedia.

Know Williamstown?

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

  • Boaz, WV (unincorporated)1,400 people, 3 miles
  • Reno, OH (unincorporated)1,040 people, 4 miles
  • Waverly, WV (unincorporated)361 people, 6 miles
  • North Hills, WV805 people, 6 miles
  • Lowell, OH552 people, 9 miles
  • Belmont, WV820 people, 10 miles
  • Vincent, OH (unincorporated)139 people, 12 miles
  • Newport, OH (unincorporated)1,180 people, 12 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.