Living in Cowen, WV
Cowen is a tiny town of 485 people in Webster County, West Virginia. It's about 55 miles from Beckley, WV and 144 miles from Pittsburgh, PA, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 81°F and winter highs 39°F, with about 90 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $52k and rent runs about $675 a month.
485people
$52kTypical home
$675/moRent
81° / 39°Summer / winter
90"Snow
192Sunny days
160Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Tiny town of 485
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 771 people per sq mi
- 144 mi to Pittsburgh, PA
- 55 mi to Beckley, WV
- 55 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $52k (≈$329/mo)
- Median rent $675/mo
- Median household income $28k
- Property tax about 0.6% of value
- 26.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 81°F
- Winter highs around 39°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 61°F)
- 192 sunny days a year (56 totally clear)
- 173 cloudy days a year
- 59 of 90 winter days are gray
- 160 days a year with rain or snow
- 90" of snow a year
- 27 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 17 nights a year below 10°F
- Usually calm
People
- Median age 37
- 20% of households have kids
- 22% are 65 or older
- 10% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 1% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 28 min
- 8% walk or take transit to work
- 39 mi to LWB airport
- 145 mi to PIT (major hub)
- 42 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 63% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1972
- 81% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Hilly terrain
- Elevation 2,234 ft
- 173 mi to the ocean
- 92 mi to a big lake
- 18 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 30 mi to the nearest ski area
- 6 mi to the nearest campground
- 3 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 18 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- Few or no bars within 25 mi
- Few or no coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- No museums within 25 mi
- No breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 39 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 22% of West Virginia districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 13 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 57 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 21 mi to the nearest vet
- 56 mi to the nearest dog park
- 6 congregations per 10k people
- 40 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Webster County: R+67 in 2024
- West Virginia: R+42 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- Very low tornado risk
- Very low wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- Moderate flood risk
- Very low drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Very low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk