HomePriceMap tracks 55 counties in West Virginia. The typical (median) county in the state has a home value of $157,014, which is -33.7% below the U.S. national county median of $236,981. Below are the most expensive and most affordable counties in West Virginia by current median home value.
This ranks each county by its median home value divided by its median household income — how many years of a typical local income it would take to buy a typical local home. Housing researchers generally treat about 3× income as manageable and 5× or more as severely stretched. Coverage is 55 of 55 tracked counties in West Virginia; income figures come from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey and home values from Zillow.
Violent crime rates below are a population-weighted average of each county's reporting cities from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, covering 15 of 55 tracked counties in West Virginia. Counties with no FBI-reporting city aren't shown.
Jefferson County has the highest median home value in West Virginia at $403,969. This is often searched as the "richest" or "wealthiest" county in West Virginia — though it's worth being precise about what's being measured here: median home value reflects property prices, not household income or net worth. The two usually correlate, but a county can have expensive homes without having the highest-earning residents, particularly in areas with a lot of vacation or second homes.
Jefferson County has the highest median household income in West Virginia at $98,806. If what you're really after is the "richest" or "wealthiest" county in West Virginia, this is the closer answer — income measures what households actually earn each year, while home values measure what property costs. Neither is quite the same as wealth, which would also account for savings, investments and property people already own outright.
McDowell County has the lowest median home value of the 55 West Virginia counties tracked here, at $43,645. Keep in mind that low home prices often reflect limited local job markets, distance from major metro areas, or shrinking population — affordability alone doesn't tell you whether somewhere is a good fit.
The typical (median) county in West Virginia has a home value of $157,014, against $236,981 for the median U.S. county — roughly 33.7% lower. Figures come from Zillow's Home Value Index and are refreshed daily on this site.