Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Some 3,593 people live in this town, in West Virginia.
The weak point is health (D−): CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 98% of the country. It lags on incomes as well (C): the median household income is $67K, and 23% of residents live below the poverty line. Where it does best is cost of living (A−): a typical home costs about $172K, 2.9 years of the Charleston metro’s $60K median household income. Walkability is another plus: it is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns. Overall, that makes a C−, good for 42nd of 61 in West Virginia. That leaves it better than 24% of U.S. towns. Hazard risk is weaker too — FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 93% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Only 3 of the 61 West Virginia towns we compare have a higher share of children under 18 than Sissonville.
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · health, CDC PLACES · FEMA National Risk Index.
Where Sissonville beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| Widest gap | Sissonville | WV |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 24.2% | 19.5% |
Where Sissonville’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 Sissonville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 4,399 in 2000, 4,084 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 1921 and 3 maps from 1906 on.
Explore the history →Sissonville is unincorporated, so Kanawha 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Sissonville.
Sissonville has little public open land, but it has many renters stretched by housing costs.
The share of adults in Sissonville who have obesity is 42%, close to West Virginia’s towns (41%) and above U.S. towns (35%). 32% of Sissonville adults have been diagnosed with depression. Also worth knowing: only 5 of the 61 West Virginia towns we compare have a higher share of adults who smoke cigarettes than Sissonville.
| Sissonville | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 50% | 44% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 18% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 12% |
| What stands out | Sissonville | WV |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 24.2% | 19.5% |
| More smokers | 23.5% | 19.3% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 19.7% | 16.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
One of its 2 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. Public schools: the Kanawha County Schools. 2 public schools serve Sissonville, with 646 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flinn Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 430 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WV on state tests and graduation
Only 6 of the 61 West Virginia towns we compare have a higher natural-hazard score from FEMA than Sissonville. FEMA puts 92% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding. Households locally have drawn federal disaster aid in 9 declared disasters, most recently in 2024.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Half of commuters travel less than 11 miles. The share of working residents in Sissonville who work locally is 3.7%, below both the West Virginia town median (14%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). The top destinations are Charleston (37%), South Charleston (8%) and St. Albans (2%). Since 2013, Sissonville has lost 95 jobs, to 908 in 2023.
| Sissonville | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 23% | 16% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.7% | 14% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 21 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $67,000 | $59,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expect July afternoons of 87° and January nights of 25°, with about 32 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Among residents in Sissonville, 24% are 65 or older. Children under 18 are 27% of residents (20% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 32% of residents (38% statewide). The town’s age of the median resident stands at 40.2 years.
| Sissonville | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 27% | 20% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 15% | 29% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 24% | 21% | 18% |
| Median age | 40.2 years | 42.3 years | 40.5 years |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±6.6 points. Across West Virginia, 50.1% of residents are women. Among residents 55 to 64, 81% are men (WV 49%).
| Sissonville | WV | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 17.9% | 10.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.8% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.9% | 8.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.9% | 12% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14% | 12% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.6% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 5% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.8% | 12.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9% | 8.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.6% | 10.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 41.6% | 39.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 16.4% | 17.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 19.5% | 8.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 11.1% | 14.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 3.9% | 9.7% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,600, single groups can be off by several points
72.6% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 48.9% across West Virginia.
The typical Sissonville home is worth about $172,000, up 1.7% in a year, close to the West Virginia typical home. In Sissonville, 79% of households own their home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Just 0 of its 8,175 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Sissonville itself; its outdoors grade is D−.
1.3 miles of trail. Sissonville’s concentration of trails comes in at 0.1 miles per square mile.
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
3 within 15 miles of the center of Sissonville
About 4 of every 100 Sissonville residents are enrolled in college, about the same as West Virginia.
Census-designated place in Kanawha county West Virginia, United States
Sissonville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States, along the Pocatalico River. The population was 4,084 at the 2020 census (slightly up from 4,028 at the 2010 census). Sissonville is located within 14 miles of Charleston, the state capital.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Sissonville grades C− overall, better than 24% of U.S. towns and #42 of 61 in West Virginia. It grades D− for health and C+ 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−.