Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 9,427, settled in 1771. A regional job hub with 13,004 jobs.
Bridgeport is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades A− overall, 6th of 61 graded towns in West Virginia, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $100K. It also does better than most on schools: its schools rank ahead of 79% of West Virginia towns. A typical home there costs about $301K, 5 years of the Clarksburg area’s $60K median household income. Only 4 of West Virginia’s 141 towns score higher on health. Bridgeport's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 96% of U.S. towns. On cost of living, just 5 of West Virginia’s 141 towns do worse.
Where Bridgeport beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Johnson Elementary School | PK–5 | 742 |
| Simpson Elementary School | PK–5 | 522 |
| Bridgeport Middle School | 6–8 | 590 |
Its founding year, 1771, comes before those of 98% of the West Virginia towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 395 in 1880, 9,336 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1968 and 4 maps from 1902 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within West Virginia), ordered by how far Bridgeport is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bridgeport, 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 Bridgeport.
Bridgeport is among the three healthiest towns in West Virginia, fares better on crime within West Virginia than nationally and draws workers from Clarksburg and beyond.
The median property tax bill is $1,759, against $865 across West Virginia, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Bridgeport home is worth about $301,000, up 3.1% in a year, 70% above the West Virginia typical home.
| Bridgeport | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 76% | 68% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,105 a month | $874 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Harrison County Schools. Three of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Bridgeport High School, with 817 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johnson Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 742 | A+ |
| Bridgeport High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 817 | A+ |
| Bridgeport Middle SchoolTop results in townGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 590 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WV on state tests and graduation
13,004 jobs are based in Bridgeport, 3.4 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 18.9 minutes, against 26.6 across West Virginia.
3.9% of Bridgeport residents live below the poverty line, where West Virginia’s towns sit at 17% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Among 61 West Virginia towns, just 2 have a higher median household income than Bridgeport. 28% of Bridgeport working residents work locally.
| Bridgeport | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 28% | 13% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 3.9% | 17% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $100,000 | $59,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 21 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
It ranks #2 of the 61 West Virginia towns we grade on the CDC estimates behind the Health Grade. Its widest gap with West Virginia is tooth loss: 10% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 19.5% statewide.
30% of Bridgeport adults feel lonely, below both West Virginia’s towns (34%) and U.S. towns (33%). 13% of adults report frequent physical distress in Bridgeport. Only 1 of the 61 West Virginia towns we compare have a lower share of adults who report frequent mental distress than Bridgeport.
| Bridgeport | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 34% | 33% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 18% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 17% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 32% | 25% |
| What stands out | Bridgeport | WV |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 10% | 19.5% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.6% | 16.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Bridgeport has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 23° and about 24 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
2.9 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Bridgeport | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.2% | 2.5% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bridgeport City Park | — | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 55% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 22 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bridgeport.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 18.6 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 75% of West Virginia’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 7 reported in 2025, 0.7 per 1,000 residents.
The violent crime rate in Bridgeport is 0.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Bridgeport | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.7 per 1,000 residents | 1.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 14 per 1,000 residents | 16.9 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
2 within 15 miles of the center of Bridgeport
About 5 of every 100 Bridgeport residents are enrolled in college, about the same as West Virginia.
8,149 counted in 2010 and 9,336 in 2020; an estimated 9,427 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
City in West Virginia, US
Bridgeport is a city in eastern Harrison County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 9,336 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Clarksburg micropolitan area in North Central West Virginia.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Bridgeport.
| Town | WV rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bridgeport | #6 | A− | C+ | B− | A− | B+ |
| Clarksburg | #30 | C | A− | C− | A− | D− |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Bridgeport grades A− overall, better than 78% of U.S. towns and #6 of 61 in West Virginia. It grades B+ for health, B− for safety and A− for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
2 notable people were born here, including Waldo P. Johnson and Tim Lindsey.