State rental market analysis · WV
West Virginia rental markets
5 tracked cities over 20,000 population, 5 ranked and summarized by their median Overall. Every number traces to Census, Zillow and BLS. All states ranked →
Browse every West Virginia ZIP Code area → · the full server-rendered index for this state.
Part of the South Atlantic Census division (South region).
The honest read
West Virginia ranks #30 of 51 states for rental investing, with a median Overall of 45.4/100 across its ranked cities, below the national median. 5 ranked cities roll up into this grade.
A state grade is the median of its ranked cities, a screen for where to look, not underwriting. Open any city below for its full shown-math breakdown, or run a specific deal through the cap rate and cash-flow calculators.
Where it ranks, factor by factor
Every value is the median across the 5 ranked cities in this state. The national rank compares all 51 states on that one factor; the engine already flips inverted factors (affordability, low unemployment) so a better rank always means a better market. Each factor sits in one of the model’s three categories (Cash Flow, Growth, or Stability); this is a representative summary, and the full thirteen-factor breakdown is on each city’s page. Full methodology.
| Factor | Category | State value | National rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross rent yield | Cash Flow | 8.2% | not measured |
| Rent growth | Growth | 4.7% | not measured |
| Home value growth | Growth | 3.8% | not measured |
| Population growth | Growth | -0.6% | not measured |
| Job growth | Growth | -0.0% | not measured |
| Price-to-income | Cash Flow | 3.7× | not measured |
| Unemployment | Stability | 3.7% | not measured |
| Rental demand | Stability | 43% renters · 901.5% vacancy | not measured |
| Income growth | Growth | 6.2% | not measured |
Every city in West Virginia, ranked
Led by Huntington at 55/100. Click any column to re-sort; every city links to its full shown-math breakdown.
| WV rank | City | Grade | Cash Flow | Growth | Stability | Typical home value | Gross yield | National rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington | 55 | A | D | C | $143,970 | 9.0% | #522 |
| 2 | Charleston | 47 | A | D | D | $166,520 | 10.0% | #934 |
| 3 | Morgantown | 45 | C | C | C | $286,555 | 6.2% | #1014 |
| 4 | Parkersburg | 36 | A | F | D | $150,256 | 7.0% | #1471 |
| 5 | Wheeling | 33 | A | F | D | $154,161 | 6.9% | #1569 |
Data as of: Zillow ZHVI/ZORI through the latest monthly release · Census ACS 5-yr 2019–2023 · Census PEP July 2024 · BLS LAUS county 2023 annual. Generated 2026-09-01. Methodology & limitations · underwrite any specific deal with the free calculators.
ZIP markets in West Virginia
738 Census ZIP Codes (ZCTAs) in West Virginia · 181 data-eligible for subscores. These are sub-city government areas ranked separately from the West Virginia city table. The overall Rental Investor ZIP Score leaderboard leads; the two component subscores (affordability, rental-market context) follow as independent percentiles. ZIP ranks are shown within the ZIP universe only, never mixed with, and not directly comparable to, city ranks. Vintage: the Key metric column is Census ACS 2020–2024 (5-year), a newer release than the ACS 2019–2023 figures the city table above uses; the same measure can legitimately disagree between the two.
Best overall ZIP Codes in West Virginia
Ranked by the overall Rental Investor ZIP Score. The # is each ZIP Code's canonical WV state rank; the smaller figure is its national rank. Separate from the West Virginia city table and not directly comparable to it.
| WV rank | ZIP Code | Overallgrade · national | Key metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | 25404Martinsburg | A 79#4 nat | 6.3%Survey yield |
| #2 | 25419Falling Waters | A 74#135 nat | 5.4%Survey yield |
| #3 | 25414Charles Town | A 72#271 nat | 3.3%Survey yield |
| #3 | 25428Inwood | A 72#271 nat | 6.7%Survey yield |
| #5 | 25405Martinsburg | A 72#330 nat | 7.5%Survey yield |
| #6 | 25438Ranson corporation | A 71#397 nat | 5.1%Survey yield |
| #7 | 25401Martinsburg | A 69#705 nat | 5.8%Survey yield |
| #8 | 25427Hedgesville | A 69#749 nat | 4.9%Survey yield |
| #9 | 25413Inwood | A 68#930 nat | 5.8%Survey yield |
| #10 | 25425Shannondale | A 65#1,618 nat | 4.1%Survey yield |
| #11 | 25430Ranson corporation | B 62#2,540 nat | 5.2%Survey yield |
| #12 | 25411Bath (Berkeley Springs) | B 61#3,109 nat | 4.0%Survey yield |
Top affordability ZIP Codes in West Virginia
State-scoped leaders on the affordability subscore only (national rank shown is within that subscore’s data-eligible universe). Substantially an inverse housing-cost signal: a component of the overall score, not a predicted return.
| # | ZIP Code | Affordability | Key metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24892War | 100#1 nat | 19.7%Survey yield |
| 2 | 25621Gilbert | 97#68 nat | 10.9%Survey yield |
| 3 | 26288Addison (Webster Springs) | 96#71 nat | 10.6%Survey yield |
| 4 | 26812 | 95#108 nat | 9.2%Survey yield |
| 5 | 26610Birch River | 95#122 nat | 11.7%Survey yield |
| 6 | 25951Hinton | 94#147 nat | 8.8%Survey yield |
| 7 | 25506West Hamlin | 94#168 nat | 10.0%Survey yield |
| 8 | 25674Kermit | 93#187 nat | 9.8%Survey yield |
| 9 | 26031Benwood | 93#195 nat | 12.4%Survey yield |
| 10 | 26250Belington | 92#242 nat | 8.9%Survey yield |
| 11 | 26206Cowen | 92#256 nat | 10.7%Survey yield |
| 12 | 26351Glenville | 92#265 nat | 10.0%Survey yield |
Deepest rental-market ZIP Codes in West Virginia
State-scoped leaders on the rental-market-context subscore only (national rank shown is within that subscore’s data-eligible universe). Rental depth/tightness: a separate component, never combined here with affordability.
| # | ZIP Code | Rental market | Key metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24892War | 81#187 nat | 19.7%Survey yield |
| 2 | 25401Martinsburg | 80#244 nat | 5.8%Survey yield |
| 3 | 25285 | 80#260 nat | 4.1%Survey yield |
| 4 | 26716 | 77#662 nat | 7.7%Survey yield |
| 5 | 25064Dunbar | 73#1,221 nat | 9.2%Survey yield |
| 6 | 24740Princeton | 73#1,242 nat | 7.2%Survey yield |
| 7 | 26134Belmont | 73#1,308 nat | 4.6%Survey yield |
| 8 | 26447 | 73#1,308 nat | 4.1%Survey yield |
| 9 | 25880Bradley | 72#1,468 nat | 9.8%Survey yield |
| 10 | 25404Martinsburg | 71#1,627 nat | 6.3%Survey yield |
| 11 | 25506West Hamlin | 71#1,854 nat | 10.0%Survey yield |
| 12 | 25705Huntington | 69#2,178 nat | 7.1%Survey yield |