IntelliMoveTake the quiz →Living in Institute, WV
Institute is a tiny town of 521 people in Kanawha County, West Virginia. It's about 8 miles from Charleston, WV and 129 miles from Columbus, OH, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 86°F and winter highs 42°F, with about 23 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $147k and rent runs about $1k a month.
521people
$147kTypical home
$1,000/moRent
86° / 42°Summer / winter
23"Snow
204Sunny days
157Rain/snow days
Is Institute right for you?
Take the 5-minute quiz and see your match — and how it stacks up against 34,000 other places.
Size & setting
- Tiny town of 521
- Part of a metro area
- About 1,835 people per sq mi
- 129 mi to Columbus, OH
- 8 mi to Charleston, WV
- 3 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $147k (≈$929/mo)
- Median rent $1,000/mo
- Median household income $52k
- Property tax about 0.7% of value
- 3.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 86°F
- Winter highs around 42°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 63°F)
- 204 sunny days a year (65 totally clear)
- 161 cloudy days a year
- 56 of 90 winter days are gray
- 157 days a year with rain or snow
- 23" of snow a year
- 8 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 8 nights a year below 10°F
- Usually calm
Safety
- About average violent crime (384 per 100k), county-wide
- Above-average property crime (2,215 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 27
- 27% of households have kids
- 22% are 65 or older
- 34% have a college degree
- Mixed community
- 24% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 22 min
- 16% walk or take transit to work
- 9 mi to CRW airport
- 127 mi to CMH (major hub)
- 7 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 54% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1991
- 75% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 614 ft
- 239 mi to the ocean
- 135 mi to a big lake
- 9 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 41 mi to the nearest ski area
- 11 mi to the nearest campground
- 11 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 155 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 14 bars within 25 mi
- 16 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 6 museums within 25 mi
- 1 brewery or distillery within 25 mi
- 3 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 33% of West Virginia districts (reading)
- 2 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 5 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 41 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 7 mi to the nearest vet
- 4 mi to the nearest dog park
- 10 congregations per 10k people
- College in town
Politics
- Kanawha County: R+17 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
- Moderate flood risk
- Very low drought risk
- Moderate winter storm risk
- Low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk
Limited data: this place is small enough that most of its Census numbers (rent, home value, income, age) are blended with county figures. Treat its match as a rough guide.