Morgantown is a medium-sized city located in the state of West Virginia. With a population of 30,429 people and 24 associated neighborhoods, Morgantown is the third largest community in West Virginia.
Morgantown real estate is some of the most expensive in West Virginia, although Morgantown house values don't compare to the most expensive real estate in the U.S.
Of important note, Morgantown is also a city of artists. Morgantown has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Morgantown’s character.
Also of interest is that Morgantown has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.
Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 13.04% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.
Morgantown is also a major college town with a large number of people who are 18 years or older and attending college. As is often the case in college towns, the many students that live in Morgantown have a strong influence on the local culture and entertainment scene, which may seem dormant by comparison in the summer months when much of the student population is away. In the fall, the return of students has a reinvigorating effect on the community. Because colleges are lasting institutions, they have a stabilizing effect on the economy by providing direct local benefits such as jobs for faculty and staff and spending by students. Morgantown’s economy is one such example of this.
Morgantown, while not large, also appears to be attractive to some younger, educated professionals, who help shape the character of the city.
Residents of the city have the good fortune of having one of the shortest daily commutes compared to the rest of the country. On average, they spend only 18.13 minutes getting to work every day.
Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Morgantown. 58.08% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 21.84%.
The per capita income in Morgantown in 2022 was $28,620, which is upper middle income relative to West Virginia, and lower middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $114,480 for a family of four. However, Morgantown contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Morgantown also has one of the higher rates of people living in poverty in the nation, with 34.37% of its population below the federal poverty line.
Morgantown is a somewhat ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Morgantown home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Morgantown residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Morgantown include German, Irish, English, Italian, and Polish.
The most common language spoken in Morgantown is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Arabic.