Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Public schools that outperform most of West Virginia.
Williamstown gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $220K, 3.8 years of the Parkersburg metro’s $57K median household income. It grades A overall, ranked 2nd of 61 in West Virginia. On the plus side, its schools rank ahead of 84% of West Virginia towns. No town among the 31 in West Virginia we compare has a lower violent crime rate than Williamstown. Williamstown's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 91% of U.S. towns. Among 31 West Virginia towns, just 2 have a lower property crime rate than Williamstown.
Where Williamstown beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Williamstown Elementary School | PK–5 | 545 |
| Williamstown High School | 6–12 | 676 |
| Wood County Christian School | PK–12 | 302 |
Tomlinson MansionWhere Williamstown’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 Williamstown is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 209 in 1860, 2,997 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1907 and 6 maps from 1904 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Williamstown, 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 Williamstown.
Williamstown pairs an A− for schools with modest home prices, sends many workers across the state line to Marietta and looks healthier within West Virginia than nationally.
Its A− for schools comes with an A− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $220K.
Its public schools are run by the Wood County Schools. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Williamstown High School, with 676 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Williamstown Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 545 | A+ |
| Williamstown High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 676 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WV on state tests and graduation
47% of working residents cross a state line to work, Marietta among the top destinations. The average commute for its 1,329 working residents takes 19.2 minutes, against 26.6 across West Virginia.
Most working residents leave Williamstown for work: only 6% work in town. 5.2% of residents live below the poverty line in Williamstown, below both West Virginia’s towns (17%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). Williamstown’s average trip to work is 19 minutes.
| Williamstown | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 5.2% | 17% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 21 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $89,000 | $59,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.1% | 14% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
90% of households own their home in Williamstown, above both the West Virginia town median (68%) and the median of U.S. towns (73%). The typical Williamstown home is worth about $220,000, up 3.7% in a year, 25% above the West Virginia typical home. The median rent in Williamstown is $839 a month.
| Williamstown | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 90% | 68% | 73% |
| Median rent | $839 a month | $882 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Williamstown has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 23° and about 16 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Within West Virginia it is healthier than 88% of the 61 graded towns: much of West Virginia scores lower on these measures. Its widest gap with West Virginia is food insecurity: 9.9% of its 2,375 adults worry about having enough food, against 16.2% statewide.
Williamstown beats the West Virginia average on 17 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 30% of Williamstown adults feel lonely. Of the 61 West Virginia towns we compare, none has a higher share of adults who had a checkup this year than Williamstown.
| Williamstown | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 34% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 81% | 79% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 31% | 23% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 9.9% | 17% | 14% |
| What stands out | Williamstown | WV |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.9% | 16.2% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.4% | 8.5% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.9% | 9.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Williamstown's reported crime rate is well below West Virginia's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. No violent crimes were reported in 2025.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
52 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 10 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 60% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 52 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Williamstown.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Williamstown | West Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.5% | 2.5% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Williamstown Ohio River Access Site | 0.1 mi | 7 |
| 2. Tomlinson Park | — | 6 |
| 3. Fenton Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Williamstown. Close and well known come first.
33 mi Zoo & aquariumThe Wilds
2 mi MuseumCampus Martius Museum
2 mi MuseumOhio River Museum
2 mi MuseumThe Castle
33 mi MuseumOld Meigs County Courthouse
23 mi MuseumBeauchamp-Newman HouseThe Wilds: Bikingshaun (talk), CC BY 3.0 · Campus Martius Museum: Snoopywv, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ohio River Museum: Wolfgang8741, CC BY-SA 4.0 · The Castle: Chrispainter1966, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Old Meigs County Courthouse: Nyttend, Public domain · Beauchamp-Newman House: mjswisher79, CC BY-SA 3.0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Williamstown
About 3 of every 100 Williamstown residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across West Virginia.
City in West Virginia, US
Williamstown is a city in Wood County, West Virginia, United States, along the Ohio River. It is part of the Parkersburg–Vienna metropolitan area. The population was 2,997 at the 2020 census. The now closed Fenton Art Glass Company was located in the city.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Williamstown.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Williamstown grades A overall, better than 89% of U.S. towns and #2 of 61 in West Virginia. It grades C+ for health and A− for schools.
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−.
