Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 9,671.
Cross Lanes gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $154K, 2.6 years of the Charleston metro’s $60K median household income. It grades B− overall, 15th among West Virginia's 61 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 72% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. On history, just 6 of West Virginia’s 141 towns do worse. 5.1% of residents live below the poverty line in Cross Lanes, below both West Virginia’s towns (17%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). On the outdoors, just 8 of West Virginia’s 141 towns do worse.
Where Cross Lanes’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within West Virginia), ordered by how far Cross Lanes is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 2017 and 4 maps from 1909 on.
Explore the history →Cross Lanes is unincorporated, so Kanawha County and regional agencies provide most services.
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 Cross Lanes.
Most working residents leave Cross Lanes for work: only 4% work in town. Cross Lanes’ average trip to work is 26 minutes. The top destinations are Charleston (32%), South Charleston (10%) and Nitro (3%).
| Cross Lanes | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 4.2% | 14% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 21 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $64,000 | $59,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Kanawha County Schools. Three of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Jackson Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 488 | B− |
| Cross Lanes Christian School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades K–12 | Grades K–12 | 279 | – |
| Cross Lanes Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 294 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WV on state tests and graduation
Since 2009, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Cross Lanes.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Within West Virginia it is healthier than 85% of the 61 graded towns: much of West Virginia scores lower on these measures. Its widest gap with West Virginia is tooth loss: 12.1% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 19.5% statewide.
Cross Lanes beats the West Virginia average on 17 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 30% of Cross Lanes adults have been diagnosed with depression. Only 4 of the 61 West Virginia towns we compare have a lower share of adults who say their health is fair or poor than Cross Lanes.
| Cross Lanes | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 31% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 21% | 17% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 44% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 12% |
| What stands out | Cross Lanes | WV |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 12.1% | 19.5% |
| Fewer adults with COPD | 7.5% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Cross Lanes has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 25° and about 11 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the West Virginia average. 18% of residents are under 18 in Cross Lanes. 32% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 24% across West Virginia.
| Cross Lanes | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 18% | 20% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 21% | 18% |
| Median age | 44.3 years | 42 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 32% | 29% | 29% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.1 points. Across West Virginia, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Cross Lanes | WV | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.7% | 10.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.2% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7% | 8.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.6% | 12% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.5% | 12% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.5% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.4% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 15.4% | 12.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.6% | 8.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.8% | 10.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 40.2% | 39.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.9% | 17.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 5.7% | 8.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.3% | 14.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.1% | 9.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The median sale price was $187,000 in May 2026.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
3 within 15 miles of the center of Cross Lanes
About 5 of every 100 Cross Lanes residents are enrolled in college, about the same as West Virginia.
Census-designated place in West Virginia, United States
Cross Lanes is a census-designated place (CDP) and suburb of Charleston in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 9,727 (down from 9,995 at the 2010 census). An EF2 tornado struck and heavily damaged the north side of town on April 2, 2024.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Cross Lanes.
| Town | WV rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cross Lanes | #15 | B− | A− | — | C+ | C |
| Nitro | #53 | D | B+ | D | C+ | D |
Cross Lanes reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Cross Lanes with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Cross Lanes grades B− overall, better than 51% of U.S. towns and #15 of 61 in West Virginia. It grades C for health and C+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $154,000, 13% below the West Virginia typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.