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Terra Alta is a small town of 1,841 people in Preston County, West Virginia. It's about 25 miles from Morgantown, WV and 73 miles from Pittsburgh, PA, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 77°F and winter highs 34°F, with about 169 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $95k and rent runs about $742 a month.
1,841people
$95kTypical home
$742/moRent
77° / 34°Summer / winter
169"Snow
190Sunny days
191Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Small town of 1,841
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 1,554 people per sq mi
- 73 mi to Pittsburgh, PA
- 25 mi to Morgantown, WV
- 22 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $95k (≈$600/mo)
- Median rent $742/mo
- Median household income $51k
- Property tax about 0.6% of value
- 9.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 77°F
- Winter highs around 34°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 60°F)
- 190 sunny days a year (51 totally clear)
- 175 cloudy days a year
- 60 of 90 winter days are gray
- 191 days a year with rain or snow
- 169" of snow a year
- 46 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 18 nights a year below 10°F
- Usually calm
Safety
- Very low violent crime (6 per 100k), county-wide
- Very low property crime (132 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 30
- 32% of households have kids
- 15% are 65 or older
- 11% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 2% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 30 min
- 2% walk or take transit to work
- 24 mi to MGW airport
- 81 mi to PIT (major hub)
- 40 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 72% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1964
- 87% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Hilly terrain
- Elevation 2,559 ft
- 136 mi to the ocean
- 153 mi to a big lake
- 19 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 11 mi to the nearest ski area
- 5 mi to the nearest campground
- 14 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 57 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 5 bars within 25 mi
- 11 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 6 museums within 25 mi
- 5 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 8 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 49% of West Virginia districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 9 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 9 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 9 mi to the nearest vet
- 7 mi to the nearest dog park
- 6 congregations per 10k people
- 25 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Preston County: R+57 in 2024
- West Virginia: R+42 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- 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