Photo: MarkMcCain · CC BY-SA 4.0How is Bluefield run?
Bluefield’s city government spent $21.5 million on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, about $2,286 per resident. These are Census Bureau estimates: Bluefield didn’t report its figures, so this page shows them without comparisons.
What stands out about how Bluefield is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $2,286 per resident a year, or $6.26 a day
Day-to-day services only (a Census Bureau estimate). The biggest line: sewer & trash, at 31%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
Bluefield didn’t report all of its 2024 figures to the Census Bureau, so most of these numbers are the Bureau’s estimates.
No comparison or trend for Bluefield yet
Every year of Bluefield’s figures is a Census Bureau estimate: the city reported none of its dollars for 2022–2024. Estimates are shown above, labeled, but never ranked against places that reported or drawn as a trend.
How Town Hall compares budgets →full-time in March 2025, up from 163 in 2022.
The typical homeowner pays $632 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.60% of the home’s value, vs 0.53% across West Virginia.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Bluefield’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate.
Tax bills are one input to Bluefield’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Bluefield →
Who’s in charge in Bluefield
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Bluefield’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The city posts agendas and minutes on cityofbluefield.com ↗.
One full-time city employee for every 57 residents
On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (9,408).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2025
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Mercer County School District
Bluefield’s K–12 school district, shared with Athens, Bramwell, Oakvale, Princeton. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $14,226 per pupil, $8,258 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
West Virginia districts overall: 36% local, 46% state, 18% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Bluefield’s votes are counted by county
West Virginia reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Bluefield alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Mercer County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican77.9%18,372 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat20.6%4,851 votesOthers: 1.5% (361 votes).
Most votes in Mercer County: Donald J Trump
West Virginia: Trump 70.0%, Harris 28.1%
100% of Bluefield lies in Mercer County. Every 2024 race in Mercer County is on the county’s page.
Mercer County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Bluefield.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: cityofbluefield.com ↗
- 2West Virginia House of DelegatesState representatives
- 3West Virginia SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of West Virginia
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Bluefield’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Bluefield’s government
How much does Bluefield spend per resident?
About $2,286 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, a Census Bureau estimate (Bluefield didn’t report its figures). With building projects and interest, the whole budget was about $24.2 million.
What is the property tax rate in Bluefield?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $632 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.60% of the typical home’s value, vs 0.53% across West Virginia. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see cityofbluefield.com.
Who runs Bluefield’s government?
See cityofbluefield.com for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Bluefield yet.
How did Bluefield vote in 2024?
West Virginia counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Bluefield alone. Mercer County, where 100% of Bluefield lies, voted Trump 77.9%, Harris 20.6% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Bluefield?
165 full-time and 42 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $745,945 (about $9.0M a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Bluefield in the state legislature?
State Senate District 6 (Craig Hart and Mark Maynard) and House of Delegates District 37 (Marty Gearheart). The House of Delegates district also covers 1 neighboring town. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Bluefield’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (for Bluefield, the Bureau’s estimates); day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →