Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Harpers Ferry’s average commute is 41 minutes, where West Virginia’s towns sit at 21 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. No town among the 62 in West Virginia we compare has a higher age of the median resident than Harpers Ferry. 47% of the land in Harpers Ferry is conserved, where West Virginia’s towns sit at 2.5% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. Its National Register listings include Harpers Ferry National Historical Park and St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church. Harpers Ferry has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
Where Harpers Ferry beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,747 in 1850, 269 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1833 and 3 maps from 1953 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Harpers Ferry. Close and well known come first.
Big draw33 mi LandmarkRaven Rock Mountain Complex
Big draw20 mi LandmarkMount Weather Emergency Operations Center
33 mi MuseumSteven F. Udvar-Hazy Center1.6M visitors a year
38 mi National ParkShenandoah National Park1.7M visitors a year
in town National Historical ParkHarpers Ferry National Historical Park538K visitors a year
8 mi National BattlefieldAntietam National Battlefield161K visitors a yearRaven Rock Mountain Complex: US Government, Public domain · Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center: Unknown, Public domain · Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: Unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Shenandoah National Park: Image copyright 2005 by user G. Edward Johnson (user Lorax) and released under t, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Harpers Ferry National Historical Park: Mark Fickett, CC BY 3.0 · Antietam National Battlefield: Acroterion, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Harpers Ferry, 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 Harpers Ferry.
Harpers Ferry: 80% of households own their home. Values rose 6.2% in the 12 months to September 2026.
| Harpers Ferry | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,859 a month | $878 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 80% | 68% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Across 2 parks and preserves: 6.4 miles of trail. The biggest park or preserve is Woodpecker Woods Wildlife Santuary, at 21 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Woodpecker Woods Wildlife Santuary | 0.8 mi | 21 |
| 2. Armory Grounds | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 24° and about 23 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The share of residents in Harpers Ferry who live below the poverty line: 2.3%. Only 2% of working residents stay in Harpers Ferry for work; the rest commute out. Also worth knowing: the town’s middle household income stands at $117,000. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs locally rose by 23, to 154.
| Harpers Ferry | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 2.3% | 16% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $117,000 | $59,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.2% | 14% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
20% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Harpers Ferry. The town does better than the West Virginia average on 14 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 1. Of the 62 West Virginia towns we compare, none has a lower share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than Harpers Ferry. Two figures for adults locally: 12% binge drink, 16% report frequent mental distress.
| Harpers Ferry | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 34% | 33% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 14% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 21% | 17% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 84% | 81% | 79% |
| What stands out | Harpers Ferry | WV |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.8% | 16.2% |
| Fewer adults without reliable transportation | 5.6% | 8.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.6% | 9.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Since 1996, 10 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Harpers Ferry. Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in 55% of U.S. communities. Of the losses FEMA expects in the town, 75% come from inland flooding and 6% from strong winds.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Harpers Ferry
About 1 of every 100 Harpers Ferry residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across West Virginia.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
4 places in Harpers Ferry on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Harpers Ferry.
Town in West Virginia, United States
Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 269 at the 2020 United States census. Situated at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers in the lower Shenandoah Valley, where Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia meet, it is the easternmost town in West Virginia as well as its lowest point above sea level. Originally named Harper's Ferry after an 18th-century ferry owner, the town lost its apostrophe in 1891 in an update by the United States Board on Geographic Names. It gained fame in 1859 when abolitionist John Brown led a raid on the Harpers Ferry Armory in a doomed effort to start a slave rebellion in Virginia and acros…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Harpers Ferry has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
5 notable people were born here, including Emanuel Willis Wilson and Joseph Howard Hodges.
