IntelliMoveTake the quiz →Living in Welch, WV
Welch is a small town of 3,507 people in McDowell County, West Virginia. It's about 34 miles from Beckley, WV and 159 miles from Charlotte, NC, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 82°F and winter highs 41°F, with about 22 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $57k and rent runs about $542 a month.
3,507people
$57kTypical home
$542/moRent
82° / 41°Summer / winter
22"Snow
210Sunny days
153Rain/snow days
Is Welch right for you?
Take the 5-minute quiz and see your match — and how it stacks up against 34,000 other places.
Size & setting
- Small town of 3,507
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 459 people per sq mi
- 159 mi to Charlotte, NC
- 34 mi to Beckley, WV
- 34 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $57k (≈$361/mo)
- Median rent $542/mo
- Median household income $33k
- Property tax about 0.8% of value
- 1.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 82°F
- Winter highs around 41°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 62°F)
- 210 sunny days a year (66 totally clear)
- 155 cloudy days a year
- 54 of 90 winter days are gray
- 153 days a year with rain or snow
- 22" of snow a year
- 8 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 7 nights a year below 10°F
- Usually calm
People
- Median age 41
- 20% of households have kids
- 13% are 65 or older
- 5% have a college degree
- Mixed community
- 2% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 19 min
- 6% walk or take transit to work
- 36 mi to BKW airport
- 130 mi to GSO (major hub)
- 42 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 74% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1948
- 79% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 1,985 ft
- 237 mi to the ocean
- 101 mi to a big lake
- 10 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 28 mi to the nearest ski area
- 14 mi to the nearest campground
- 7 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 43 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
- 2 museums within 25 mi
- No breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 28 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 2% of West Virginia districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 3 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 28 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 25 mi to the nearest vet
- 61 mi to the nearest dog park
- 5 congregations per 10k people
- 11 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- McDowell County: R+60 in 2024
- West Virginia: R+42 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Low hurricane risk
- Very low tornado risk
- High wildfire risk
- Low earthquake risk
- Moderate flood risk
- Very low drought risk
- Moderate 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.