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Athens is a small town of 1,494 people in Mercer County, West Virginia. It's about 26 miles from Beckley, WV and 153 miles from Charlotte, NC, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 82°F and winter highs 43°F, with about 26 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $168k and rent runs about $975 a month.
1,494people
$168kTypical home
$975/moRent
82° / 43°Summer / winter
26"Snow
210Sunny days
134Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Small town of 1,494
- Its own small hub, not a suburb
- About 3,707 people per sq mi
- 153 mi to Charlotte, NC
- 26 mi to Beckley, WV
- 26 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $168k (≈$1,060/mo)
- Median rent $975/mo
- Median household income $55k
- Property tax about 0.5% of value
- 5.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 82°F
- Winter highs around 43°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 61°F)
- 210 sunny days a year (66 totally clear)
- 155 cloudy days a year
- 54 of 90 winter days are gray
- 134 days a year with rain or snow
- 26" of snow a year
- 10 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 11 nights a year below 10°F
- Usually calm
Safety
- Low violent crime (244 per 100k), county-wide
- Very low property crime (797 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 21
- 35% of households have kids
- 15% are 65 or older
- 42% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 33% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 21 min
- 13% walk or take transit to work
- 26 mi to BKW airport
- 109 mi to GSO (major hub)
- 19 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 73% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1959
- 91% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 2,500 ft
- 205 mi to the ocean
- 69 mi to a big lake
- 14 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 13 mi to the nearest ski area
- 7 mi to the nearest campground
- 14 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 67 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 7 bars within 25 mi
- 3 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 8 museums within 25 mi
- No breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 29 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 44% of West Virginia districts (reading)
- 5 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 5 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 27 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 15 mi to the nearest vet
- 32 mi to the nearest dog park
- 11 congregations per 10k people
- College in town
Politics
- Mercer County: R+57 in 2024
- West Virginia: R+42 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- Very low tornado risk
- Low wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- High flood risk
- Very low drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Very low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk
Some of this place's Census numbers are blended with county figures because its survey sample is small.