Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Bellaire gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $91K, 1.6 years of the Wheeling metro’s $57K median household income. It grades C overall, 851st among Ohio's 987 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. On CDC health estimates it is near the bottom nationally, and the median household income is $38K, and 32% of residents live below the poverty line. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 93% of U.S. towns, with 4 places on the National Register. 32% of residents live below the poverty line in Bellaire, against 9.1% in Ohio’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Only 23 of Ohio’s 1,718 towns score lower on hazard risk. Its National Register listings include B & O Railroad Viaduct and Imperial Glass Company.
Where Bellaire beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
B & O Railroad Viaduct| Widest gap | Bellaire | OH |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing food insecurity | 25.2% | 14.1% |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Bellaire is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,466 in 1860, a peak of 15,061 in 1920, 3,870 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1870 and 5 maps from 1956 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bellaire, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Bellaire.
Bellaire sends many workers across the state line to Moundsville and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Ohio (mostly inland flooding).
31% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Bellaire. Only 1 of the 993 Ohio towns we compare have a higher share of adults who report frequent physical distress than Bellaire. 22% of adults report frequent mental distress in Bellaire.
| Bellaire | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 20% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 16% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 13% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Bellaire | OH |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing food insecurity | 25.2% | 14.1% |
| More adults with COPD | 14.1% | 8% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 14.6% | 8.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 1.6 years of the Wheeling metro’s $57K median household income, the typical home (about $91K) costs less against local pay than in 99% of Ohio towns; that ratio is one input to its A− for cost of living. At about $91K, home values are up 7% in five years, against a rise of 30% across Ohio.
53% of Bellaire households own their home. The typical Bellaire home is worth about $91,000, down 1.9% in a year, 63% below the Ohio typical home. Bellaire’s median rent is $759 a month.
| Bellaire | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 53% | 77% | 73% |
| Median rent | $759 a month | $944 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 98% of Ohio towns, with expected losses of about $417 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
The FEMA risk score in Bellaire is 80 of 100. Since 1978, 50 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bellaire.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Bellaire has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 22° and about 15 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
43% of working residents cross a state line to work, Moundsville among the top destinations. Bellaire has about as many jobs (1,636) as working residents, but only 151 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Bellaire for work: only 10% work in town. Jobs based in Bellaire grew to 1,636 in 2023, 502 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Wheeling (19%), Richland Township (6%) and St.
| Bellaire | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $38,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 10% | 6.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes fell from 50 to 26 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
| Bellaire | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.3% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Union Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bellaire. Close and well known come first.
23 mi MuseumMeadowcroft Rockshelter
7 mi Ancient siteGrave Creek Mound
4 mi Stadium & arenaWesBanco Arena
8 mi GardenOglebay Park
4 mi MuseumWest Virginia Independence Hall
25 mi MuseumFort SteubenMeadowcroft Rockshelter: Lee Paxton, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Grave Creek Mound: Shonebrooks, CC0 · WesBanco Arena: Jgera5 at English Wikipedia, CC0 · Oglebay Park: Morganismysheltie (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · West Virginia Independence Hall: Nyttend, Public domain · Fort Steuben: Judy Bratten, Public domain
5 within 15 miles of the center of Bellaire
About 2 of every 100 Bellaire residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Ohio.
4 places in Bellaire on the National Register of Historic Places.
24 notable people were born in Bellaire.
Village in Ohio, United States
Bellaire is a village in Belmont County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 3,870 at the 2020 census, having peaked in 1920. It is part of the Wheeling metropolitan area. The Bellaire Bridge (now abandoned and closed) was filmed in the 1991 motion picture The Silence of the Lambs. The curved railroad viaduct and bridge over the Ohio, the B & O Railroad Viaduct, were featured in the 2010 film Unstoppable and is a registered historic structure.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Bellaire.
| Town | OH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellaire | #851 | C | A− | B− | B+ | D− |
| Pultney Township | #837 | C | A | — | B+ | D− |
Pultney Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Bellaire with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Bellaire grades C overall, better than 25% of U.S. towns and #851 of 987 in Ohio. It grades D− for health, B− for safety and B+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
24 notable people were born here, including Ted Levine and Lester Carney.
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