Sand ForkWV
A town of 168, settled in 1869.
Is Sand Fork a good place to live?
Sand Fork’s average trip to work is 60 minutes, against 21 minutes in West Virginia’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Among 62 West Virginia towns, just 3 have a lower median household income than Sand Fork. Sand Fork has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
168 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Moving to Sand Fork: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sand Fork, 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Sand Fork.
Sand Fork has a very high natural-hazard risk, chiefly from inland flooding
Federal disaster aid has reached households in Sand Fork after 2 declared disasters, most recently in 2008. Sand Fork’s risk rating from FEMA comes in at 87 of 100. 91% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding. It has had 27 paid flood insurance claims since 1978.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most of Sand Fork’s workers commute out: the town has 0.1 jobs for each of them
Half of commuters travel less than 17 miles. Among residents in Sand Fork, 29% live below the poverty line, where West Virginia’s towns sit at 16% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. The top destinations are Glenville (35%), Buckhannon (5%) and Philippi (4%).
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
A younger population than West Virginia as a whole
15% of Sand Fork adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more. People 65 and older are 9% of residents (21% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 46% of residents (38% statewide). The town has lost 6.1% of its people since 2020, down to 168 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
| Sand Fork | WV | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.5% | 10.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.5% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.2% | 8.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 16.7% | 12% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.4% | 12% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 7.3% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 29.2% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 5.2% | 12.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.2% | 8.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 18.8% | 10.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 42% | 39.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 15.9% | 17.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.7% | 8.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 14.5% | 14.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 0% | 9.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 200, single groups can be off by several points
The climate in Sand Fork brings four seasons and pleasant summers
Expect July afternoons of 86° and January nights of 23°, with about 22 inches of snow a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
How healthy Sand Fork is
For adults in Sand Fork, the share who sleep under 7 hours is 40%. This West Virginia town tracks West Virginia closely on all 32 CDC measures. In Sand Fork, 23% of adults report frequent mental distress, and 18% report frequent physical distress.
| Sand Fork | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 31% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 21% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 18% | 14% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Everything we know about Sand Fork
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Sand Fork
About 0 of every 100 Sand Fork residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across West Virginia.
100% of working residents leave Sand Fork for work
Where Sand Fork’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Sand Fork
Town in West Virginia, United States
Sand Fork is a town in Gilmer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 182 at the 2020 census. It is located along the Little Kanawha River, at the mouth of the Sand Fork. Sand Fork was incorporated in 1903 as Layopolis, named for William R. Lay, an employee of the Eureka Pipe Line Company, which operated in oil fields in the area. Prior to 1983, the town was known as Layopolis, while its post office was known as Sand Fork. The town's name was changed to Sand Fork by the results of an election in 1983.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 0.3 sq mi
- Elevation
- 735 ft
- ZIP code
- 26430
- Area code
- 304
Questions about Sand Fork
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Sand Fork, WV a good place to live?
Sand Fork has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.