Ranked from NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals
Driest Counties in West Virginia
The least rainfall in the country. Dry is easier on a building than wet, but it moves the cost somewhere else: irrigation, foundation movement in shrink-swell soils, and in the driest counties the price and reliability of water itself. Figures are NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals from the weather station nearest each county seat, so they describe a thirty-year average rather than any single year.
West Virginia ranked
| # | County | Annual rainfall | FEMA risk rating | Median home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brooke County | 37.5" | Relatively Low | $127,700 |
| 2 | Ohio County | 37.5" | Relatively Low | $165,300 |
| 3 | Hampshire County | 38.2" | Very Low | $204,600 |
| 4 | Pendleton County | 38.5" | Very Low | $178,600 |
| 5 | Monroe County | 38.8" | Very Low | $146,100 |
| 6 | Berkeley County | 39.0" | Relatively Low | $248,000 |
| 7 | Jefferson County | 39.0" | Relatively Low | $324,500 |
| 8 | Putnam County | 39.5" | Relatively Low | $214,200 |
| 9 | Grant County | 40.3" | Very Low | $167,500 |
| 10 | Hardy County | 40.3" | Very Low | $159,700 |
| 11 | Summers County | 41.0" | Very Low | $126,100 |
| 12 | McDowell County | 41.2" | Relatively Low | $49,200 |
| 13 | Mercer County | 41.2" | Relatively Low | $118,600 |
| 14 | Mineral County | 41.4" | Relatively Low | $180,400 |
| 15 | Greenbrier County | 41.5" | Relatively Low | $136,300 |
| 16 | Hancock County | 41.7" | Very Low | $119,600 |
| 17 | Morgan County | 42.8" | Very Low | $223,100 |
| 18 | Monongalia County | 43.1" | Relatively Low | $254,200 |
| 19 | Raleigh County | 43.4" | Relatively Low | $142,600 |
| 20 | Wirt County | 44.2" | Very Low | $112,800 |
| 21 | Wood County | 44.2" | Relatively Low | $153,700 |
| 22 | Barbour County | 44.8" | Very Low | $126,000 |
| 23 | Wayne County | 45.1" | Relatively Low | $124,900 |
| 24 | Pleasants County | 45.4" | Very Low | $129,300 |
| 25 | Jackson County | 46.0" | Relatively Low | $154,600 |
| 26 | Marshall County | 46.1" | Relatively Low | $139,800 |
| 27 | Mason County | 46.2" | Relatively Low | $127,400 |
| 28 | Clay County | 46.2" | Very Low | $107,100 |
| 29 | Kanawha County | 46.2" | Relatively High | $135,000 |
| 30 | Cabell County | 46.6" | Relatively Moderate | $156,100 |
| 31 | Gilmer County | 47.1" | Very Low | $83,300 |
| 32 | Randolph County | 47.2" | Relatively Low | $137,800 |
| 33 | Ritchie County | 47.3" | Very Low | $107,800 |
| 34 | Tyler County | 47.3" | Very Low | $112,100 |
| 35 | Roane County | 47.4" | Relatively Low | $121,100 |
| 36 | Lincoln County | 47.6" | Relatively Low | $103,400 |
| 37 | Marion County | 47.8" | Relatively Low | $164,300 |
| 38 | Fayette County | 47.9" | Relatively Low | $104,200 |
| 39 | Harrison County | 48.2" | Relatively Low | $158,500 |
| 40 | Mingo County | 48.3" | Relatively Low | $85,600 |
| 41 | Wyoming County | 48.5" | Relatively Low | $78,400 |
| 42 | Taylor County | 48.6" | Very Low | $144,000 |
| 43 | Doddridge County | 49.1" | Very Low | $160,000 |
| 44 | Logan County | 49.2" | Relatively Low | $101,500 |
| 45 | Boone County | 49.5" | Relatively Low | $90,300 |
| 46 | Calhoun County | 49.7" | Very Low | $111,200 |
| 47 | Nicholas County | 49.8" | Relatively Low | $114,200 |
| 48 | Braxton County | 51.0" | Very Low | $106,400 |
| 49 | Wetzel County | 51.4" | Relatively Low | $102,800 |
| 50 | Lewis County | 51.5" | Relatively Low | $135,800 |
| 51 | Upshur County | 56.4" | Relatively Low | $160,700 |
| 52 | Tucker County | 56.7" | Very Low | $144,700 |
| 53 | Preston County | 57.0" | Very Low | $157,700 |
| 54 | Webster County | 60.3" | Very Low | $78,000 |
| 55 | Pocahontas County | 62.5" | Very Low | $139,400 |
Every figure is modelled on the county's own median home with 20% down at 7.03%. Property tax and electricity are county and state specific; homeowners insurance uses the NAIC average premium for that state, which ranges from 0.16% of home value in Hawaii to 1.16% in Oklahoma. Maintenance and water are national estimates. Full methodology.
Nationwide
Driest Counties across all 3,133 US counties · Every county in West Virginia