ProsperityWV
A town of 1,389, settled in 1878.
Is Prosperity a good place to live?
The best of Prosperity’s subject grades is an A for cost of living; the weakest is a D− for health. Prosperity has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Prosperity stand out
Where Prosperity beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Jobs vs. working residents
Typical home value
| Widest gap | Prosperity | WV |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 28.1% | 19.5% |
1,389 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
How Prosperity grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within West Virginia), ordered by how far Prosperity is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
New River Gorge National Park and Preserve and 5 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Prosperity. Close and well known come first.
4 mi National PreserveNew River Gorge National Park and Preserve2.0M visitors a year
7 mi Park & preserveThe Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve
10 mi MuseumThurmond
4 mi MuseumPhillips-Sprague Mine
20 mi National park siteBluestone National Scenic River12K visitors a year
25 mi National Recreation AreaGauley River National Recreation Area214K visitors a yearPhoto credits
New River Gorge National Park and Preserve: NKS22, Public domain · The Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve: Lisa Strader, CC BY 2.0 · Thurmond: Brian M. Powell (user Bitmapped on en.wikipedia), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Phillips-Sprague Mine: Coal town guy, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bluestone National Scenic River: Dave Bieri, Public domain · Gauley River National Recreation Area: Wwkayaker22 at English Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0
Moving to Prosperity: who provides what
Prosperity is unincorporated, so Raleigh 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Prosperity.
A larger share of adults report frequent physical distress in Prosperity than in most of West Virginia or the rest of the country
Only 4 of the 62 West Virginia towns we compare have a higher share of adults who have high blood pressure than Prosperity. For adults in the town, the share who say their health is fair or poor is 32%. Prosperity: 37% of adults feel lonely, against 34% in West Virginia’s towns and 33% across U.S. towns.
| Prosperity | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 17% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 24% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 12% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 21% | 17% |
| What stands out | Prosperity | WV |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 28.1% | 19.5% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 21.8% | 16.2% |
| More adults with COPD | 13.9% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Prosperity’s schools rank ahead of 62% of West Virginia districts
Its two schools are below. 305 students attend Prosperity’s public school.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bradley Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 305 | B |
| Greater Beckley Christian School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 150 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WV on state tests and graduation
A job hub: Prosperity has 3.2 jobs for every working resident and draws in 1,351 commuters
Jobs in Prosperity grew by 678 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 1,376. Commuting out is the norm in the town: 6% of working residents work locally. Prosperity: just over one in ten residents live below the poverty line, where West Virginia’s towns sit at 16% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. The typical journey to work locally is 19 minutes.
| Prosperity | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 21 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 5.8% | 14% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 16% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
More middle-aged adults than West Virginia overall
Adults 35 to 64 are 56% of residents (38% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 7% of residents (21% statewide). Prosperity’s median age stands at 46.7 years. A bachelor’s degree or higher: 27% of adults 25 and older, vs 24% across West Virginia.
| Prosperity | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 46.7 years | 42.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 27% | 29% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
44% women, 56% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±9.3 points. Across West Virginia, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Prosperity | WV | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.6% | 10.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.2% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.8% | 8.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 3.3% | 12% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 19.5% | 12% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 15.2% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 21.7% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.3% | 12.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.3% | 8.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.2% | 10.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 69% | 39.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 1.9% | 17.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 0% | 8.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.2% | 14.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.7% | 9.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,400, single groups can be off by several points
Top of a low hazard risk in Prosperity: inland flooding
Federal aid has come to Prosperity households in 5 declared disasters; the latest was in 2010. Compared with 80% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in the town is lower.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In Prosperity, a typical July afternoon runs cooler than in the typical West Virginia or U.S. town
Summers in Prosperity are pleasant, and winters chilly, snowy, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 80°, January nights drop to 23° and about 56 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Homes in Prosperity are worth about $156K, by Zillow’s estimate
Among 62 West Virginia towns, just one has a higher owner-occupancy rate than Prosperity.
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Prosperity
Colleges nearby
3 within 15 miles of the center of Prosperity
About 2 of every 100 Prosperity residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across West Virginia.
Every workday, about 1,351 people come to Prosperity for work
Where Prosperity’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Questions about Prosperity
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Prosperity, WV expensive?
Not for the area. That is 3 years of the area's median household income ($52,620 across the Beckley, WV metro 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.