Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 7,367, settled in 1880. Public schools that outperform most of West Virginia.
Trash & recyclingHurricane gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $279K for a typical one, or 4.6 years of the Huntington metro’s $60K median household income. It grades A− overall, ranked 5th of 61 in West Virginia. On the plus side, its schools rank ahead of 98% of West Virginia towns. Only 14 of West Virginia’s 141 towns score higher on health. Asbury House is on the National Register of Historic Places. 8.5% of residents live below the poverty line in Hurricane, below West Virginia’s towns (17%) and close to U.S. towns (9.6%).
Where Hurricane beats most towns.
6,284 counted in 2010 and 6,961 in 2020; an estimated 7,367 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 6% since 2020, after 10.8% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within West Virginia), ordered by how far Hurricane is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 67 in 1880, 6,961 in 2020. The archive holds 7 old photos and papers going back to 1984 and 5 maps from 1902 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Hurricane, 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 Hurricane.
Hurricane pairs an A+ for schools with modest home prices, carries less natural-hazard risk than most of West Virginia (mostly inland flooding) and looks healthier within West Virginia than nationally.
Its A+ for schools comes with a B+ for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $279K. Its A+ ranks #1 of the 61 West Virginia towns we grade for schools.
Its public schools are run by the Putnam County Schools. Three of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Hurricane High School, with 1,141 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 821 | A |
| Hurricane High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,141 | A |
| Hurricane Town Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 269 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WV on state tests and graduation
The median property tax bill is $1,486, against $865 across West Virginia, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Typical home values rose 5.5% in the year to September 2026.
| Hurricane | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $878 a month | $877 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 67% | 68% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
3.2 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The trail density in Hurricane is 0.9 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Valley Park, 59 acres with 2.9 miles of trail.
| Hurricane | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.1% | 2.5% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Valley Park | 2.9 mi | 59 |
| 2. Hurricane City Park | 0.2 mi | 36 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Hurricane has chilly winters and warm summers. Hurricane’s July high is 87°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 80% of West Virginia towns, with expected losses of about $147 per resident a year; that rating is what its C+ for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1979, 16 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Hurricane.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most working residents leave Hurricane for work: only 6% work in town. Since 2013, Hurricane has added 249 jobs, to 2,339 in 2023. The top destinations are Charleston (19%), Huntington (9%) and Teays Valley (8%).
| Hurricane | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 6.2% | 14% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 21 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $71,000 | $59,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Within West Virginia it is healthier than 90% of the 61 graded towns: much of West Virginia scores lower on these measures.
Hurricane beats the West Virginia average on 18 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 31% of Hurricane adults have been diagnosed with depression. Only 2 of the 61 West Virginia towns we compare have a lower share of adults who have diabetes than Hurricane.
| Hurricane | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 31% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 40% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 21% | 17% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 44% | 35% |
| What stands out | Hurricane | WV |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 13.7% | 19.5% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.4% | 16.2% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 76.5% | 79.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Hurricane's reported crime rate is close to West Virginia's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 4 violent crimes were reported in 2024.
| Hurricane | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 0.6 per 1,000 residents | 2.2 | 1.7 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 13 per 1,000 residents | 14.8 | 11.5 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
1 within 15 miles of the center of Hurricane
About 6 of every 100 Hurricane residents are enrolled in college, about the same as West Virginia.
4 notable people were born in Hurricane.
City in West Virginia, US
Hurricane ( HUR-uh-kin) is a city in Putnam County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 6,977 at the 2020 census. Located roughly equidistant from Charleston and Huntington, it is part of the Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Hurricane.
| Town | WV rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hurricane | #5 | A− | B+ | — | A+ | C+ |
| Teays Valley | #4 | A | C+ | — | A+ | B |
| Culloden | #22 | C+ | B+ | — | B− | C− |
Hurricane, Teays Valley and Culloden report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Hurricane with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Hurricane grades A− overall, better than 78% of U.S. towns and #5 of 61 in West Virginia. It grades C+ for health and A+ for schools.
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 B+.
4 notable people were born here, including Hubert Summers Ellis and Doc Holliday.
