Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,038, chartered in 1832. A regional job hub with 2,963 jobs.
Ripley gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $210K, 3.6 years of the county’s $59K median household income. It grades B− overall, 13th among West Virginia's 61 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 97% of the country, and the median household income is $42K, and 27% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, its schools rank ahead of 77% of West Virginia towns. 27% of residents live below the poverty line in Ripley, against 16% in West Virginia’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Ripley is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 85% of U.S. towns. Ripley has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Staats Mill Covered Bridge and Armstrong House.
Where Ripley beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Ripley’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 Ripley is from typical.
Its grades run from A for cost of living (better than 86% of comparable towns) to D− for health (better than 3%), so the B− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 226 in 1870, 3,079 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1848 and 4 maps from 1907 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ripley, 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 Ripley.
Ripley pairs an A− for schools with modest home prices, trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and draws workers from Ravenswood and beyond.
Within West Virginia it is less healthy than 73% of the 61 graded towns: much of West Virginia scores lower on these measures.
18% of Ripley adults have diabetes. Ripley beats the West Virginia average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 19% of Ripley adults report frequent physical distress.
| Ripley | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 48% | 44% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 40% | 36% |
| What stands out | Ripley | WV |
|---|---|---|
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.8% | 9.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A− for schools comes with an A for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $210K.
Its public schools are run by the Jackson County Schools. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Ripley High School, with 768 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ripley Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 586 | B |
| Ripley High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 768 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WV on state tests and graduation
2,963 jobs are based in Ripley, 2.4 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 5 of Ripley’s working residents works in town. Only 5 of the 61 West Virginia towns we compare have a lower median household income than Ripley. The top destinations are Charleston (14%), Parkersburg (4%) and South Charleston (3%).
| Ripley | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 22% | 13% | 8% |
| Median household income | $42,000 | $59,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 21 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 69% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 68 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Ripley.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Ripley has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 24° and about 12 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Homes are within reach (about $210K for the typical one, A for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 29 miles.
The median rent in Ripley is $613 a month. Typical home values rose 5.3% in the year to September 2026. 61% of households own their home in Ripley.
| Ripley | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $613 a month | $882 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 61% | 68% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Ripley's reported crime rate is below West Virginia's. Ripley’s property crime rate is 8.2 per 1,000 residents. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts.
| Ripley | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 8.2 per 1,000 residents | 14.8 | 11.5 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 1 per 1,000 residents | 2.2 | 1.7 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the West Virginia average. 24% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 24% across West Virginia.
| Ripley | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 44 years | 42 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 24% | 29% | 29% |
46% women, 54% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±7.1 points. Across West Virginia, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Ripley | WV | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.4% | 10.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 3.6% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.5% | 8.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 19.1% | 12% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.7% | 12% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.7% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.8% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.2% | 12.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 11% | 8.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 13.7% | 10.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 28.1% | 39.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 26.3% | 17.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.5% | 8.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 13.4% | 14.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.1% | 9.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,000, single groups can be off by several points
None within 15 miles of Ripley; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 Ripley residents are enrolled in college, about the same as West Virginia.
3 places in Ripley on the National Register of Historic Places.
7 notable people were born in Ripley.
City in West Virginia, US
Ripley is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 3,074 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Ripley grades B− overall, better than 54% of U.S. towns and #13 of 61 in West Virginia. It grades D− for health and A− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
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 A.
Ripley was chartered in 1832 and has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places. 7 notable people were born here, including Kane Davis and Bill Karr.
