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WVWest Virginia rankings

Towns with the best public schools in West Virginia

Ranked by how far each town's public schools score above or below the West Virginia average in math and reading proficiency, weighted by enrollment. 61 towns with 2,500+ residents.

U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024 5-yearTest scores SY2020–21

Philippi
West Virginia · Best schools

Where Philippi lands: #39 of 61

−1.9 pts vs. the WV average in math + reading · Visit Philippi →

Map of Culloden 1 Culloden +33.4 pts Math 67% · Reading 67% 2 Cheat Lake +28.9 pts Math 62% · Reading 63% Williamstown 3 Williamstown +22.2 pts Math 51.2% · Reading 60.4%
#Townvs. state averageMathReading
1 Map of Culloden CullodenCabell County Schools +33.4 pts 67% 67%
2 Cheat LakeMonongalia County Schools +28.9 pts 62% 63%
3 Williamstown WilliamstownWood County Schools +22.2 pts 51.2% 60.4%
4 Vienna ViennaWood County Schools +21.6 pts 51.7% 58.9%
5 Bridgeport BridgeportHarrison County Schools +20.0 pts 46.8% 60.5%
6 Teays Valley Teays ValleyPutnam County Schools +19.3 pts 52.6% 53.4%
7 Morgantown MorgantownMonongalia County Schools +19.2 pts 47.3% 58.4%
8 Map of Brookhaven BrookhavenMonongalia County Schools +18.9 pts 49% 56%
9 Winfield WinfieldPutnam County Schools +18.6 pts 45% 59.6%
10 Lewisburg LewisburgGreenbrier County Schools +15.9 pts 52% 47%
11 Map of Blennerhassett BlennerhassettWood County Schools +14.8 pts 45.4% 51.4%
12 Barboursville BarboursvilleCabell County Schools +12.4 pts 39.6% 52.4%
13 Map of Hurricane HurricanePutnam County Schools +12.2 pts 39.2% 52.5%
14 Map of Pinch PinchKanawha County Schools +10.9 pts 42% 47%
15 Map of Shady Spring Shady SpringRaleigh County Schools +10.9 pts 32% 57%
16 Wheeling WheelingOhio County Schools +10.3 pts 35.2% 52.6%
17 Charleston CharlestonKanawha County Schools +9.8 pts 37.4% 49.5%
18 Map of Pleasant Valley Pleasant ValleyMarion County Schools +9.8 pts 32.9% 54%
19 Follansbee FollansbeeBrooke County Schools +8.4 pts 47% 37%
20 Kenova KenovaWayne County Schools +7.4 pts 37% 45%
21 Charles Town Charles TownJefferson County Schools +7.2 pts 29.8% 51.9%
22 MiltonCabell County Schools +5.9 pts 34% 45%
23 Parkersburg ParkersburgWood County Schools +4.9 pts 31% 46%
24 Map of Weirton WeirtonHancock County Schools +4.1 pts 34.8% 40.7%
25 Nitro NitroKanawha County Schools +3.5 pts 23.6% 50.7%
26 Ripley RipleyJackson County Schools +2.8 pts 29.4% 43.4%
27 Map of Inwood InwoodBerkeley County Schools +2.8 pts 20.5% 52.4%
28 Map of Cross Lanes Cross LanesKanawha County Schools +2.6 pts 34.4% 38%
29 St. Albans St. AlbansKanawha County Schools +2.0 pts 28.9% 42.4%
30 Elkins ElkinsRandolph County Schools +1.2 pts 27.9% 41.9%
31 Fairmont FairmontMarion County Schools +0.9 pts 27.2% 41.8%
32 Beckley BeckleyRaleigh County Schools +0.9 pts 26.5% 42.6%
33 White Sulphur Springs White Sulphur SpringsGreenbrier County Schools +0.9 pts 37% 32%
34 Princeton PrincetonMercer County Schools +0.6 pts 27.9% 40.7%
35 Ravenswood RavenswoodJackson County Schools +0.6 pts 23.3% 45.3%
36 Williamson WilliamsonMingo County Schools −0.2 pts 26% 41%
37 Westover WestoverMonongalia County Schools −1.6 pts 29.1% 35.1%
38 Grafton GraftonTaylor County Schools −1.7 pts 17% 47%
39 Philippi PhilippiBarbour County Schools −1.9 pts 25.8% 37.7%
40 South Charleston South CharlestonKanawha County Schools −2.0 pts 26.1% 37.2%
41 Moorefield MoorefieldHardy County Schools −2.1 pts 21.5% 41.7%
42 Huntington HuntingtonCabell County Schools −2.3 pts 25.6% 37.1%
43 Bluefield BluefieldMercer County Schools −2.4 pts 22.1% 40.4%
44 Clarksburg ClarksburgHarrison County Schools −2.6 pts 19.6% 42.5%
45 Map of Sissonville SissonvilleKanawha County Schools −3.3 pts 32% 28.7%
46 New Martinsville New MartinsvilleWetzel County Schools −3.5 pts 26.5% 33.8%
47 Kingwood KingwoodPreston County Schools −4.2 pts 27% 32%
48 Point Pleasant Point PleasantMason County Schools −4.3 pts 28.8% 29.8%
49 Martinsburg MartinsburgBerkeley County Schools −6.1 pts 19.1% 36%
50 Summersville SummersvilleNicholas County Schools −6.2 pts 17.8% 37.1%
51 Buckhannon BuckhannonUpshur County Schools −6.7 pts 22% 32%
52 Map of Madison MadisonBoone County Schools −7.6 pts 18.4% 33.6%
53 Map of Dunbar DunbarKanawha County Schools −8.1 pts 20.8% 30.3%
54 Moundsville MoundsvilleMarshall County Schools −10.4 pts 19.2% 27.2%
55 Keyser KeyserMineral County Schools −10.4 pts 19.8% 26.6%
56 Oak Hill Oak HillFayette County Schools −11.9 pts 16.6% 26.8%
57 Weston WestonLewis County Schools −12.9 pts 18.9% 22.7%
58 Welch WelchMcDowell County Schools −16.2 pts 10.5% 24.3%
59 ShannondaleJefferson County Schools −16.7 pts 17% 17%
60 Ranson corporationJefferson County Schools −21.4 pts 7.5% 17%
61 Map of Fayetteville FayettevilleFayette County Schools −28.2 pts 14% -3%

How this ranking works

For every public school in a town we take its latest math and reading proficiency and subtract the West Virginia average for the same test. The town’s score is the average of those gaps, weighted by each school’s enrollment, so a big high school counts more than a small annex. Private schools aren’t included.

Each state writes its own tests, so these scores compare towns within West Virginia only. We don’t rank a town unless at least 150 students in its schools were tested. Test data: EDFacts via Urban Institute Education Data Portal (SY2020-21).

Only towns with at least 2,500 residents are ranked; Census estimates for smaller places are too uncertain. Population and income: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Town photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited on each town’s page.

Same ranking in other states

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