Athens, West Virginia

Population

Down 3.0% since 2020.

1,184

people, the 94th-largest of West Virginia's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among West Virginia's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

Nearly every job here goes to someone who lives somewhere else.

98.3%

of 59 jobs located in Athens are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is up 62% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$975

a month. West Virginia's median is $872.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.

A $587 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Mercer County.

• $381 Tract 19
• $968 Tract 22

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

The median rent is above what local wages can carry.

$531–$797

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $975 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

Most of the housing here is older than 2000.

• 0 homes permitted, 2022–2025
• 92% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2022–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.2% to the 515 homes here.

1

is the estimated number of missing housing units; all three estimates agree.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 3% more than West Virginia's.

$168,100

median home value in Athens.

• $168,100 Athens
• $162,600 West Virginia
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year