Appalachia:
~26.3 Million
All of West Virginia and parts of 12 other states comprise Appalachia.
(Dark red counties in the map form traditional Appalachia. Source.)
West Virginia is the only state in the U.S. that is located entirely within Appalachia.
Appalachians have historically been stereotyped as the “backward, barefoot, poor white hillbilly” — unflattering portrayals of dirt-smeared faces, or so-called “rednecks” on trailer steps chain-smoking abound.
[B&W Photos Source: John Dominis/Life Pictures/Shutterstock; 1964 Appalachia in Eastern Kentucky]
There is no doubt that West Virginia experiences dire poverty. It is routinely ranked as one of the poorest states in the country:
West Virginia:
3rd Poorest in US
Similar (but slightly lower than) poverty rates as Louisiana and Mississippi
Sobering West Virginia Foster Care Statistics
When adjusted for population, West Virginia leads the nation with 1,710 foster kids in care per 100,00 residents under age 21 (Alaska is second and Montana is third). The opioid crisis in the state is an obvious contributing factor.
Despite the systemic issues and (largely unfair and ignorant) stereotypes, West Virginia is extremely rich (in culture, history, resources, kindness, beauty).
As a transplant to West Virginia who has now lived in the state for a year, I am proud to live in the state and hope to raise my future kids here (and if they develop an Appalachian accent, I will be proud!).
…
One interesting aspect of living in Charles Town, the county seat of Jefferson County WV, is that I live in the richest county of West Virginia, which is also adjacent to Loudoun County, the richest county of Virginia and often ranked as the richest county of the US, with a 2022 median household income of $170,643.
From where I live, I can be in most of Loudoun County within ~25-35 minutes; among other things, this is where I receive my medical and dental care and do any “fancy” shopping necessary, like going to Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods (neither of which exist in the entire state of WV — disinvestment in the state is a real thing and one reason among many it remains so poor).
When my wife and I were considering where to move, from Baltimore, we considered some places in Loudoun County like Purcellville, Leesburg, and Hamilton — but largely chose West Virginia because it is so much cheaper (among many other benefits: cultural and economic).
Loudoun County, VA
Bordered to west by Jefferson County, WV and north by Frederick County, MD
With my wife being able to work from home, the ability to purchase a nice SFH (Single Family Home) in WV vice townhouse in VA [for our limited budget] was worth trading off a longer commute for me.
Living in West Virginia but working in Virginia or Maryland is not uncommon.
In my neighborhood, there are noticeably several Loudoun County Sheriff vehicles and a Reston Police car; there are also many nurses and teachers who choose to live in WV but work in nearby VA or MD for the higher pay. Most of my neighbors work in Loudoun County, Fairfax County, or even Washington, D.C., and make the long commutes work in support of their families (e.g., taking the MARC train from WV to Union Station in DC).
So what exactly is the difference between Jefferson County, WV and Loudoun County, VA — which are only separated by the crestline of the Blue Ridge Mountains (not the Shenandoah River, as one might expect)?
Let’s take a look at five differential aspects: housing, income, population, quality of public schools, and politics.
#1: Housing.
The median SFH in Jefferson County sold for $439,990 in February 2024 (median of 67 days on market). This is ~47.6% of the median sale price of Loudoun County, $925,000 (median of only 26 days on market).
In short, homes in Loudoun County are around twice as expensive as Jefferson County (2.1x) yet sell more than twice as fast (2.6x).
Furthermore, when we look at property tax rates, we see that Loudoun County exacts a 0.875% property tax rate of the Fair Market Value, while Jefferson County largely exacts a 0.584% property tax rate of the Assessed Value, which is 60% of the Fair Market Value — or an effective 0.3504% property tax rate of the Fair Market Value.
Therefore, Loudoun County has an effective property tax rate ~2.5x higher than that of Jefferson County.
The annual property tax bill on the median SFH in Loudoun County is around $8,093, while that of Jefferson County would be $1,542.
#2: Income.
According to the U.S. Census, in 2022 the median household income of Loudoun County was $170,463 while the median household income of Jefferson County was $93,744 (~69.8% higher than the median West Virginia household income of $55,217).
The per capita income of Loudoun County was $67,251 while the per capita income of Jefferson County was $42,359. (The per capita income of West Virginia is $31,462.)
On a median basis, Loudoun County households are ~81.8% richer than Jefferson County (and around 3.1x [210%] richer than West Virginia overall).
On a per capita basis, Loudoun County is ~58.8% richer than Jefferson County (and around 2.1x [114%] richer than West Virginia overall).
#3: Population.
According to the U.S. Census, in 2023 the population of Loudoun County was 436,347 while the population of Jefferson County was 59,787.
Loudoun County has ~7.3x the population of Jefferson County.
When factoring in geographic area, the normalized population density statistics are as follows:
Loudoun County has ~845 people per square mile, while Jefferson County has around 282 people per square mile.
Loudoun County has ~3.0x the population density as Jefferson County.
(This differential in population shows up in traffic and wait lines in grocery stores: practically none in WV, noticeable [quasi-painful during peak hours] in VA.)
#4: Quality of Public Schools.
For this, we turn to GreatSchools and look at all high schools in each county.
Jefferson County has only two public high schools: Washington HS and Jefferson HS. GreatSchools ranks these as a 6/10 and 7/10, respectively — an overall county average of 6.50/10 for high schools.
Loudoun County, on the other hand, has 12 public high schools: two are ranked 8/10, four are ranked 7/10, five are ranked 6/10, and one is ranked 5/10. This is an overall county average of 6.58/10 for high schools.
Loudoun County has about the same quality (ranked) public high schools as Jefferson County (only a 1.01% difference).
The two high schools in Jefferson County are ranked by US News as both being amongst the Top 10 Best High Schools in West Virginia (Washington HS being #10 in West Virginia, Jefferson HS being #7 in West Virginia).
This in spite of the fact that West Virginia is ranked as the least educated state in the country (#50).
#5: Politics.
West Virginia is considered to be the second most conservative state in the U.S., with 68.6% of West Virginians voting for Trump in 2020.
So how does Jefferson County (considered to be very liberal for WV) compare to Loudoun County (considered pretty conservative for northern VA)?
In 2020, 54.26% of Jefferson County voted for Trump, while 43.77% voted for Biden.
This is noticeably more liberal than Jefferson County’s western neighbor, Berkeley County (county seat of Martinsburg, WV), which voted 64.57% in favor of Trump and 33.35% in favor of Biden.
In 2020, 36.51% of Loudoun County voted for Trump, while 61.54% voted for Biden.
This is noticeably more conservative than Arlington County, VA (closer to D.C.), which voted 17.08% in favor of Trump and 80.60% for Biden.
Loudoun County is ~41% more likely to vote Democratic than Jefferson County, while Jefferson County is about 49% more likely to vote Republican than Loudoun County.
Interestingly, Jefferson County (and much of West Virginia) was not always so conservative; in fact, for many decades, it was solidly blue (Democratic). It was not until 2008 that Jefferson County became more Republican (in relative vote) than Loudoun County:
…
In summary, compared to Jefferson County (WV), Loudoun County (VA) has:
~2x more expensive homes that sell more than 2x faster
~2.5x higher property tax rate
~82% richer households (on median basis)
~59% richer population (on per capita basis)
~7.3x the population
~3.0x the population density
About the same quality public high schools across the county (per GreatSchools)
~41% higher Democratic voter base
~33% lower Republican voter base
All in all, the tradeoffs of living in Jefferson County vice Loudoun County are worth it (or even advantageous) for me and my family.
We love living in Wild and Wonderful West Virginia and wouldn’t trade it for anything else!