Photo: Tim Kiser (w:User:Malepheasant) · CC BY-SA 2.5How is Ripley run?
Ripley’s city government spent $4.5 million on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, about $1,469 per resident. Water and other utilities ($1.4 million) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Ripley is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $1,469 per resident a year, or $4.02 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: sewer & trash, at 33%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
No comparison or trend for Ripley yet
The fair comparison uses 2022, the last year the Census Bureau counted every government (later years are a sample), and Ripley’s 2022 figures are a Census estimate (it reported none of its 2022 dollars). It reported 2024 only (2022 and 2023 are estimates), so there is no trend yet either. The next full count is 2027.
How Town Hall compares budgets →The typical homeowner pays $800 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.66% of the home’s value, vs 0.53% across West Virginia.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Ripley’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate.
Tax bills are one input to Ripley’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Ripley →
Who’s in charge in Ripley
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
One full-time city employee for every 79 residents
On the payroll in March 2022, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (3,063).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2022
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Jackson County School District
Ripley’s K–12 school district, shared with Ravenswood. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $15,967 per pupil, $8,282 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
West Virginia districts overall: 36% local, 46% state, 18% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Ripley’s votes are counted by county
West Virginia reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Ripley alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Jackson County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican77.3%9,907 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat21.0%2,699 votesOthers: 1.7% (216 votes).
Most votes in Jackson County: Donald J Trump
West Virginia: Trump 70.0%, Harris 28.1%
100% of Ripley lies in Jackson County. Every 2024 race in Jackson County is on the county’s page.
Jackson County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Ripley.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilLocal officials aren’t on record yet.
- 2West Virginia House of DelegatesState representatives
- 3West Virginia SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of West Virginia
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Ripley’s government
Neighbors add phone numbers and hours to the Handbook.
Questions about Ripley’s government
How much does Ripley spend per resident?
About $1,469 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2024, as reported to the Census Bureau.
What is the property tax rate in Ripley?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $800 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.66% of the typical home’s value, vs 0.53% across West Virginia. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see the city’s assessor.
Who runs Ripley’s government?
We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Ripley yet.
How did Ripley vote in 2024?
West Virginia counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Ripley alone. Jackson County, where 100% of Ripley lies, voted Trump 77.3%, Harris 21.0% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Ripley?
39 full-time and 2 part-time employees in March 2022, with a March payroll of $147,733 (about $1.8M a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Ripley in the state legislature?
State Senate District 4 (Amy Grady and Eric Tarr) and House of Delegates District 16 (Joe Parsons). Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Ripley’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll; day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →