Gary, West Virginia
2026 Edition · 10 cards · data as of Oct 30, 2026
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Population
Down 11.3% since 2020.
681
people, the 127th-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
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The workday
Nearly every job here goes to someone who lives somewhere else.
98.2%
of 56 jobs located in Gary are filled by in-commuters.
Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES
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Rent
Median rent is $525 a month.
$525
a month. West Virginia's median is $872.
Census ACS 5-year, 2005-2009 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year
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The seam
Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.
A $379 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in McDowell County.
- $335 Tract 9545.01
- $714 Tract 9545.04
Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year
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Room to build
Local wages can carry more rent than the median charged today.
$813–$1,219
is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.
- $525 median
Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2005-2009. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year
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Building
Most of the housing here is older than 2000.
- 98% of all homes were built before 2000
Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year
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Units needed
Closing the gap would add 0–0.2% to the 489 homes here.
0–1
is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.
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
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Home value
A median home costs 69% less than West Virginia's.
$50,900
median home value in Gary.
- $50,900 Gary
- $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