Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It is a town of 9,671 residents in West Virginia.
Some subjects shine; others lag. Its best grade is for cost of living (A−): a typical home costs about $154K, 2.6 years of the Charleston metro’s $60K median household income. Health is its weak spot: residents are less healthy than just over two thirds of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. It also trails on hazard risk: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 72% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Overall, that makes a B−, better than 51% of U.S. towns. In the ranking it comes 15th of 61 in West Virginia. On history, just 6 of West Virginia’s 141 towns do worse. On the outdoors, just 8 of West Virginia’s 141 towns do worse.
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · health, CDC PLACES · FEMA National Risk Index · National Register of Historic Places · USGS PAD-US.
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.
5.1% of Cross Lanes residents live below the poverty line. Only 4% of working residents stay in Cross Lanes for work; the rest commute out. Cross Lanes’ average trip to work is 26 minutes, above the West Virginia town median (21 minutes) and near the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). Half the trips to work are shorter than 10 miles.
| Cross Lanes | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 5.1% | 17% | 9.6% |
| 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
Three of its 4 schools are shown below, with the reason for each. Public schools: the Kanawha County Schools. 3 public schools serve Cross Lanes, with 1,222 students in all.
| 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
FEMA puts 85% of Cross Lanes’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding. 5 flood insurance claims have been paid in the town since 2009. Federal aid has come to Cross Lanes households in 10 declared disasters; the latest was in 2024.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · 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.
Among adults in Cross Lanes, 82% had a checkup this year, where West Virginia’s towns sit at 81% and U.S. towns at 79%. The share of adults in Cross Lanes who have been diagnosed with depression: 30%. Also worth knowing: 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. A fifth of adults in Cross Lanes report frequent mental distress; 42% have high blood pressure.
| 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’ peak summer temperature stands at 87°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Among residents in Cross Lanes, 23% are 65 or older. By age, Cross Lanes looks like West Virginia: each broad group is within 4 points. Cross Lanes’ midpoint age comes in at 44.3 years. Here, 32% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree, against 24% in West Virginia as a whole.
| 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
On the market in Cross Lanes: a median 16 days to sell. Bidding over the asking price: 33% of homes sold in the town. In Cross Lanes, the typical rent is $949 a month.
| Cross Lanes | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 74% | 68% | 73% |
| Median rent | $949 a month | $874 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · 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−.