Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
St. It grades C− overall, ranked 45th of 61 in West Virginia. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 97% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top, and residents are less healthy than 92% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. On the plus side, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 87% of U.S. towns. St. Albans’ trail density is 1.1 miles per square mile, against 0.3 in West Virginia’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. St. Albans has 12 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Chilton House and St. Mark's Episcopal Church.
Where St. Albans beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 816 in 1900, a peak of 15,103 in 1960, 10,861 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1902 and 4 maps from 1909 on.
12 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within West Virginia), ordered by how far St. Albans is from typical.
Its grades run from A for walkability (better than 87% of comparable towns) to D− for hazard risk (better than 2%), so the C− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in St. Albans, 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 St. Albans.
St. Albans looks healthier within West Virginia than nationally, but it reports property crime at about twice the West Virginia rate.
3.9 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Saint Albans City Park, 89 acres with 3 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Saint Albans City Park | 3 mi | 89 |
| 2. St. Albans Roadside Park | 0.1 mi | 5 |
| 3. Billy Dunn Field | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Kanawha County Schools. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alban Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 376 | B− |
| Saint Albans High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 882 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WV on state tests and graduation
Within West Virginia it is less healthy than 57% of the 61 graded towns: much of West Virginia scores lower on these measures.
47% of adults have high blood pressure in St. Albans, above both West Virginia’s towns (44%) and U.S. towns (35%). 19% of St. Albans adults smoke cigarettes. Albans beats the West Virginia average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0.
| St. Albans | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 47% | 44% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 16% | 12% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 31% | 23% |
| What stands out | St. Albans | WV |
|---|---|---|
| More adults seeing a dentist | 62.3% | 55.5% |
| More adults screened for colon cancer | 71.2% | 66.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The FEMA risk score in St. Albans is 97 of 100. Since 1978, 31 flood insurance claims have been paid out in St. Albans.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Property crime runs at 23.3 per 1,000 residents, about twice the West Virginia rate, most of it theft. Reported crimes fell from 276 to 249 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
St. Albans’ property crime rate is 23.3 per 1,000 residents. Within West Virginia, it does better than 54% of towns.
| St. Albans | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 23.3 per 1,000 residents | 16.5 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.2 per 1,000 residents | 1.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Most working residents leave St. Since 2013, St. Albans has lost 357 jobs, to 3,363 in 2023. 14% of residents live below the poverty line in St. Albans.
| St. Albans | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $54,000 | $59,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 17% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 21 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 13% | 9.8% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Albans has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 25° and about 11 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical St. Albans home is worth about $152,000, down 1.6% in a year, 14% below the West Virginia typical home.
| St. Albans | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $931 a month | $874 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 72% | 68% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
People 65 and older are 25% of residents (21% statewide). St. Albans has lost 6% of its people since 2020, down to 10,210 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 24% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 24% across West Virginia.
| St. Albans | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 25% | 21% | 18% |
| Median age | 45.2 years | 42 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 18% | 20% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 24% | 29% | 29% |
53% women, 47% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3 points. Across West Virginia, 50.1% of residents are women.
| St. Albans | WV | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.9% | 10.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.4% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.5% | 8.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11% | 12% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.1% | 12% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.9% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.1% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.3% | 12.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.8% | 8.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.1% | 10.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 36.6% | 39.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 24.3% | 17.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.7% | 8.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16.5% | 14.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.8% | 9.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
3 within 15 miles of the center of St. Albans
About 3 of every 100 St. Albans residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across West Virginia.
Where St. Albans’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
12 places in St. Albans on the National Register of Historic Places.
10 notable people were born in St. Albans.
City in West Virginia, US
St. Albans is a city in western Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States, at the confluence of the Kanawha and Coal rivers. The population was 10,861 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Charleston metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with St. Albans.
| Town | WV rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Albans | #45 | C− | A− | C | C+ | D |
| Jefferson | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Jefferson isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare St. Albans with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
St. Albans grades C− overall, better than 20% of U.S. towns and #45 of 61 in West Virginia. It grades D for health, C for safety and C+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
St. Within West Virginia, it does better than 54% of towns.
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−.
St. 10 notable people were born here, including Renee Montgomery and Joe Chrest.
