Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Clarksburg gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $117K for a typical one, or 2 years of the Clarksburg area’s $60K median household income. It grades C overall, 30th of 61 graded towns in West Virginia. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 97% of the country, and FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 78% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. On the plus side, its schools rank ahead of 79% of West Virginia towns. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 96% of U.S. towns, with 8 places on the National Register. On walkability, just 3 of West Virginia’s 141 towns do better. Its National Register listings include Stealey-Goff-Vance House and Waldomore. Clarksburg's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 92% of U.S. towns.
Where Clarksburg beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 895 in 1860, a peak of 32,014 in 1950, 16,061 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1861 and 6 maps from 1902 on.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within West Virginia), ordered by how far Clarksburg is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Clarksburg, 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 Clarksburg.
Clarksburg pairs an A− for schools with modest home prices, fares better on crime within West Virginia than nationally and has homes that are cheap against local pay.
22% of Clarksburg adults smoke cigarettes, against 18% in West Virginia’s towns and 14% across U.S. towns. 17% of adults have diabetes in Clarksburg. Clarksburg beats the West Virginia average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8.
| Clarksburg | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 18% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 21% | 17% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 16% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 24% | 19% |
| What stands out | Clarksburg | WV |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 25.3% | 19.5% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 20.4% | 16.2% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 13.7% | 11% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A− for schools comes with an A− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $117K.
Its public schools are run by the Harrison County Schools. Two of its 12 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Irving Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 533 | C |
| Robert C Byrd High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 689 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WV on state tests and graduation
At 38.4 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 68% of West Virginia’s graded towns. Property crime runs at 21.8 per 1,000 residents, about twice the West Virginia rate, most of it theft.
At 21.8 per 1,000 residents, Clarksburg’s property crime rate is above both West Virginia’s towns (16.5) and U.S. towns (9.9). Clarksburg’s violent crime rate is 2.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Clarksburg | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 21.8 per 1,000 residents | 16.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.8 per 1,000 residents | 1.6 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
7.0 miles of trail in 12 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Veterans Park, at 60 acres. The trail density in Clarksburg is 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Clarksburg | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.9% | 2.5% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Veterans Park | 0.9 mi | 60 |
| 2. Hite Field | 0.3 mi | 18 |
| 3. Lowndes Park | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 2 years of the Clarksburg area’s $60K median household income, the typical home (about $117K) costs less against local pay than in 92% of West Virginia towns; that ratio is one input to its A− for cost of living. Values fell 2.4% in the past year while the West Virginia typical home rose 2.6%.
The typical Clarksburg home is worth about $117,000, 34% below the West Virginia typical home. 61% of Clarksburg households own their home.
| Clarksburg | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 61% | 68% | 73% |
| Median rent | $790 a month | $882 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
305 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 43 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1978, 305 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Clarksburg.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Clarksburg has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 23° and about 24 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based here fell from 18,069 in 2013 to 8,753.
About one in 5 of Clarksburg’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Clarksburg has lost 9,316 jobs, to 8,753 in 2023. The top destinations are Bridgeport (18%), Fairmont (4%) and Morgantown (3%).
| Clarksburg | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 24% | 16% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 22% | 13% | 8% |
| Median household income | $47,000 | $59,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 8.2% | 10% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the West Virginia average. Clarksburg has lost 4.7% of its people since 2020, down to 15,562 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 26% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 24% across West Virginia.
| Clarksburg | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 17% | 21% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 26% | 29% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 21% | 20% | 22% |
| Median age | 40.4 years | 42.3 years | 40.5 years |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.1 points. Across West Virginia, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Clarksburg | WV | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.6% | 10.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.9% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10.7% | 8.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12% | 12% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.3% | 12% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.9% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.3% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.3% | 12.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.9% | 8.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 12.5% | 10.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 37.6% | 39.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.9% | 17.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.3% | 8.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 14.3% | 14.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.5% | 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 Clarksburg
About 4 of every 100 Clarksburg residents are enrolled in college, about the same as West Virginia.
8 places in Clarksburg on the National Register of Historic Places.
45 notable people were born in Clarksburg.
City in West Virginia, United States
Clarksburg is a city in Harrison County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. The population was 16,061 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth-most populous city in West Virginia. It is the principal city of the Clarksburg micropolitan area in North Central West Virginia, which had a population of 90,434 in 2020.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Clarksburg.
| Town | WV rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clarksburg | #30 | C | A− | C− | A− | D− |
| Bridgeport | #6 | A− | C+ | B− | A− | B+ |
| Nutter Fort | — | — | A− | — | A− | D |
| Despard | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Anmoore | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| East View | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Nutter Fort has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Nutter Fort reports no FBI crime data of its own. Despard, Anmoore and East View aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Clarksburg with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Clarksburg grades C overall, better than 33% of U.S. towns and #30 of 61 in West Virginia. It grades D− for health, C− for safety and A− 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−.
45 notable people were born here, including Stonewall Jackson and Cyrus Vance.
