Shady SpringWV
A town of 3,381, settled in 1849.
Is Shady Spring a good place to live?
Shady Spring gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $199K, 3.8 years of the Beckley metro’s $53K median household income. It grades C overall, 37th among West Virginia's 61 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. Residents are less healthy than 83% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates, and the median household income is $67K, and 14% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, natural-hazard risk is low. Only 6 of West Virginia’s 141 towns score lower on the outdoors. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 84% of U.S. towns. Among 61 West Virginia towns, just 5 have a lower January low than Shady Spring.
What makes Shady Spring stand out
Where Shady Spring beats most towns.
98% of working residents leave Shady Spring for work
Where Shady Spring’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Shady Spring grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within West Virginia), ordered by how far Shady Spring is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
New River Gorge National Park and Preserve and 7 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Shady Spring. Close and well known come first.
6 mi National PreserveNew River Gorge National Park and Preserve2.0M visitors a year
38 mi LakeMountain Lake
15 mi Park & preserveThe Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve
19 mi MuseumThurmond
9 mi National park siteBluestone National Scenic River12K visitors a year
9 mi MuseumPhillips-Sprague MinePhoto credits
New River Gorge National Park and Preserve: NKS22, Public domain · Mountain Lake: Rolfmueller, CC BY-SA 3.0 · 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 · Bluestone National Scenic River: Dave Bieri, Public domain · Phillips-Sprague Mine: Coal town guy, CC BY-SA 3.0
Moving to Shady Spring: who provides what
Shady Spring 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 Shady Spring.
Shady Spring carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of West Virginia (mostly inland flooding) and looks healthier within West Virginia than nationally, but it has lost a quarter or more of its jobs in ten years.
Shady Spring has a very low natural-hazard risk, chiefly from inland flooding
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 95% of West Virginia towns, with expected losses of about $200 per resident a year; that rating is what its A for hazard risk is built on.
The natural-hazard score from FEMA for Shady Spring comes to 7 of 100. Expected losses in Shady Spring break down as 70% from inland flooding and 7% from cold waves. Paid flood insurance claims locally since 1989: 3.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Shady Spring’s public schools outperform 62% of West Virginia districts
Its public schools are run by the Raleigh County Schools. The largest public high school is Shady Spring High, with 754 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shady Spring HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 754 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WV on state tests and graduation
For health, Shady Spring earns a C−
Within West Virginia it is healthier than 65% of the 61 graded towns: much of West Virginia scores lower on these measures.
Among adults in Shady Spring, 20% report frequent mental distress. Shady Spring: 15% of adults have diabetes, against 16% in West Virginia’s towns and 12% across U.S. towns.
| Shady Spring | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 31% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 40% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 21% | 17% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 44% | 35% |
| What stands out | Shady Spring | WV |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 14.3% | 19.5% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 12.6% | 16.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Shady Spring has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Jobs based here fell from 654 in 2013 to 371.
The median commute is under 9 miles. Shady Spring: 2.4% of working residents work locally, below both West Virginia’s towns (14%) and U.S. towns (8%). It had 371 jobs in 2023, down 283 from 2013. In Shady Spring, the typical journey to work is 27 minutes.
| Shady Spring | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 2.4% | 14% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 21 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $67,000 | $59,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Shady Spring stands out in West Virginia and nationally, with a typical July afternoon cooler than most
Winters in Shady Spring are chilly, snowy and summers pleasant. July afternoons reach 79°, January nights drop to 22° and about 38 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
More middle-aged adults than West Virginia overall
Adults 35 to 64 are 45% of residents (38% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 14% of residents (21% statewide). Shady Spring’s median age comes in at 45.8 years. Among adults 25 and older, 25% have a four-year degree or more, against 24% across West Virginia.
| Shady Spring | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 45.8 years | 42 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 25% | 29% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 20% | 21% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 20% | 20% | 22% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
56% women, 44% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±7.3 points. Across West Virginia, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Shady Spring | WV | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.3% | 10.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.9% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 2.3% | 8.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.9% | 12% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.2% | 12% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.2% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 18.9% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14% | 12.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.3% | 8.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9.5% | 10.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 35.7% | 39.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 12.6% | 17.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 17.4% | 8.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17.8% | 14.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 6.9% | 9.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,400, single groups can be off by several points
A larger share of households are owner-occupiers in Shady Spring than in most of West Virginia or the rest of the country
Homes in Shady Spring are typically worth about $199,000, up 1.8% in a year, 13% above the West Virginia typical home. A home in Shady Spring typically sold within 163 days of listing. The town’s going rate for rent stands at $844 a month.
| Shady Spring | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 91% | 68% | 73% |
| Median rent | $844 a month | $882 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Shady Spring
Colleges nearby
3 within 15 miles of the center of Shady Spring
About 4 of every 100 Shady Spring residents are enrolled in college, about the same as West Virginia.
About Shady Spring
Census-designated place in West Virginia, United States
Shady Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 3,169 at the 2020 census. It is a residential community, with a low crime rate. Shady Spring is close to the Resort at Glade Springs, Flat Top Lake, Winterplace Ski Resort, and the city of Beckley.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 6.1 sq mi
- Elevation
- 2,697 ft
- ZIP code
- 25918
Shady Spring’s neighbors
One town shares a border with Shady Spring.
| Town | WV rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shady Spring | #37 | C | B | — | B | C− |
| Daniels | — | — | A− | — | B | D− |
Daniels has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Shady Spring and Daniels report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Shady Spring with a neighbor →
Questions about Shady Spring
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Shady Spring, WV a good place to live?
Shady Spring grades C overall, better than 26% of U.S. towns and #37 of 61 in West Virginia. It grades C− for health and B for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
Is Shady Spring, WV expensive?
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.