Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Bluefield earns a D, 55th among West Virginia's 61 graded towns, mostly because of health and incomes. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 98% of the country. The median household income is $49K, and 18% of residents live below the poverty line. One bright spot: a typical home costs about $113K, 2.2 years of the Bluefield area’s $51K median household income. Only 13 of West Virginia’s 141 towns score higher on hazard risk. Its National Register listings include Bluefield Downtown Commercial Historic District and Hancock House. Only 2 of the 61 West Virginia towns we compare have a lower July high than Bluefield.
Where Bluefield beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 1,775 in 1890, a peak of 21,506 in 1950, 9,658 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1892 and 4 maps from 1916 on.
11 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within West Virginia), ordered by how far Bluefield is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bluefield, 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 Bluefield.
Bluefield carries less natural-hazard risk than most of West Virginia (mostly inland flooding), sends many workers across the state line to Bluefield and fares better on crime within West Virginia than nationally.
19% of adults have diabetes in Bluefield, above both the West Virginia town median (16%) and the median of U.S. towns (12%). 45% of Bluefield adults sleep under 7 hours. Bluefield beats the West Virginia average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 10.
| Bluefield | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 12% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 40% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 48% | 44% | 35% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 24% | 19% |
| What stands out | Bluefield | WV |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 81.9% | 79.5% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 15.5% | 11% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Mercer County Schools. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Bluefield High School, with 618 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bluefield Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 428 | C |
| Bluefield High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 618 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WV on state tests and graduation
At 35.4 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 64% of West Virginia’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 149 to 101 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Bluefield’s violent crime rate is 3.6 per 1,000 residents, above both West Virginia’s towns (1.6) and U.S. towns (1.6). Bluefield’s property crime rate is 7.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Bluefield | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.6 per 1,000 residents | 1.6 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7.5 per 1,000 residents | 16.9 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
At 2.2 years of the Bluefield area’s $51K median household income, the typical home (about $113K) costs less against local pay than in 85% of West Virginia towns; that ratio is one input to its A− for cost of living. Values fell 2.6% in the past year while the West Virginia typical home rose 2.6%.
The typical Bluefield home is worth about $113,000, 36% below the West Virginia typical home. The median rent in Bluefield is $804 a month.
| Bluefield | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $804 a month | $882 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 65% | 68% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
5.3 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. Lotito City Park, at 208 acres with 4.9 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Bluefield | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.1% | 2.5% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lotito City Park | 4.9 mi | 208 |
| 2. Montvale Park | — | 2 |
| 3. The Tailyard | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 87% of West Virginia towns, with expected losses of about $274 per resident a year; that rating is what its A− for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1979, 19 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bluefield.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Bluefield has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 81°, January nights drop to 23° and about 40 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
25% of working residents cross a state line to work, Bluefield among the top destinations. Bluefield has about as many jobs (3,114) as working residents, but only 524 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Bluefield for work: only 16% work in town. 19% of residents live below the poverty line in Bluefield. Jobs based in Bluefield fell to 3,114 in 2023, 2,131 fewer than in 2013.
| Bluefield | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 19% | 16% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $49,000 | $59,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 13% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 21 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the West Virginia average. Bluefield has lost 5% of its people since 2020, down to 9,158 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 31% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 24% across West Virginia.
| Bluefield | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 45 years | 42 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 22% | 21% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 20% | 20% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 31% | 29% | 29% |
55% women, 45% men
About 83 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3.4 points). Across West Virginia, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Bluefield | WV | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.3% | 10.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.2% | 8.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.4% | 12% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.2% | 12% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 17.4% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.7% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.7% | 12.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.3% | 8.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9.9% | 10.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 28.2% | 39.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.4% | 17.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.7% | 8.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.5% | 14.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.4% | 9.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
2 within 15 miles of the center of Bluefield
About 5 of every 100 Bluefield residents are enrolled in college, about the same as West Virginia.
11 places in Bluefield on the National Register of Historic Places.
28 notable people were born in Bluefield.
City in West Virginia, United States
Bluefield is a city in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. Its population was 9,658 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Bluefield micropolitan area extending into Virginia, which had a population of 106,363 in 2020. The city is home to Bluefield State University, a public, historically black university serving nearly 1,300 students.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Bluefield.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Bluefield grades D overall, better than 11% of U.S. towns and #55 of 61 in West Virginia. It grades D− for health, C− for safety and C− 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−.
28 notable people were born here, including John Forbes Nash and Norman I. Platnick.
