CitytisticsShortlist

Cost of living, pay and housing

37.31° N · 81.26° W · GEOID 5408764

Bluewell

Mercer County, West Virginia · part of the Bluefield, WV metro

Limited data population under 5,000

West VirginiaBluewell, WVBluewellBluewell

The short answer

Bluewell is home to 1,992 people. Median household income is $35,168 a year and median rent is $728 a month, 24.8% of income (a ratio of two medians, not any one household's burden). Rent pressure is lighter than in most places. The median home is valued at $125,500, about 3.6x annual median household income.

Median gross rent
$728
47% below the median place
Median household income
$35,168
56% below the median place
Median home value
$125,500
61% below the median place
Unemployment
2.6%
46% below the median place

Compared with the median of the 6,645 places we track. The bundle was checked 2026-11-14; each measure may refer to an older release.

What stands out about Bluewell

  • The median resident is 67.5 years old, older than in 99% of the 2,479 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the highest of 31 West Virginia places.
  • 0% of residents were born outside the US, fewer than in 99% of places its size. It is the lowest of 22 West Virginia places.
  • Households average 1.82 people, smaller than in 98% of places its size. It is the lowest of 31 West Virginia places.
  • The median household earns $35,168 a year, less than in 98% of places its size. It is the lowest of 31 West Virginia places.
  • Median rent is $728 a month, lower than in 95% of places its size. It is the 2nd-lowest of 31 West Virginia places.
01

Moving to Bluewell

Mercer County loses about 6.5 residents per 1,000 a year to moves between counties.

Moved in1,631
Moved out1,914
Net−283

Where people come from and where they go, top counties

McDowell County, WV110101+9
Giles County, VA5754+3
Summers County, WV3972−33
Monroe County, WV61

Within West Virginia, other states or abroad

Arrivals
Leavers
Within West VirginiaOther states

Income per tax return

Arrivals$43K
Leavers$42K

People on tax returns who moved between counties, from IRS migration data, 2022 to 2023. Figures are for all of Mercer County; flows under 20 returns are not published.

Who moves here
6.2% of residents arrived from another county in the past year, 4.5% from another state. County figure.
Who arrives and who leaves
Households moving into Mercer County report $42,600 a year in income on average; those leaving, $41,900.
Income you would need
$29,100 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
Rent or buy
Median rent is $728 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $1,059 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $125,500.
Getting to work
24 minutes each way on average; 6.6% work from home.
If it is close but not quite
Zephyrhills South, FL matches it on character. Compare the two
Income of households moving out5
$41,878
40% below the median place
Income of households moving in5
$42,630
40% below the median place
Moved from another state1
4.5%
128% above the median place
All 5 moving measures
MeasureBluewellAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Moved here in the past year1County figure6.2%8% above
Moved from another state1County figure4.5%128% above
Net movers per 1,000 people5County figure-6.5below (median -0.6)
Income of households moving in5County figure$42,63040% below
Income of households moving out5County figure$41,87840% below
02

What it costs to live here

Median gross rent is $728, 47% below the median place.

Bluewell24.8%
Typical place20.4%

Share of the median household income that goes to the median rent. Above 30% is the usual stress line.

Income needed to rent
$29,120
a year, at the 30% line
Rent to income
24.8%
22% above the median place
Home price to income
3.6x
6% below the median place

Could you afford it?

The median rent would take
25%
comfortably under the 30% line
Left after rent, in US prices
$26,300
a year, prices not adjusted
Vs the typical household here
Same
as the median household

Uses the median rent in Bluewell, $728 a month. It runs in your browser and stores nothing.

Like Bluewell, but easier on the budget

Close matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, where rent takes a clearly smaller share of income.

PlaceRent to incomeMore left a year
Houghton Lake, MI19.7% vs 24.8%n/aCompare
Fussels Corner, FL20.0% vs 24.8%n/aCompare
White Oak, PA20.2% vs 24.8%n/aCompare

Moving from somewhere else? Work out the salary you would need in Bluewell.

Sponsored · exampleMoving to Bluewell? Compare quotes from licensed movers. No partner is signed yet. Sponsored offers are always labelled and never change the data.
Owner costs with a mortgage1
$1,059
43% below the median place
Vacant homes1
18.7%
165% above the median place
Median home value1
$125,500
61% below the median place
All 14 cost and housing measures
MeasureBluewellAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median gross rent1$72847% below
Rent to income124.8%22% above
Property tax rate10.5%43% below
Home price to income13.6x6% below
Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms2County figure$94641% below
Property tax paid (median)1County figure$65680% below
Median home value1$125,50061% below
Home prices, 1-year change3County figure-4.0%below (median 3.2%)
Home prices, 5-year change3County figure32.6%37% below
Homeownership164.3%3% below
Renters paying 30%+1County figure51.0%1% above
Owner costs with a mortgage1$1,05943% below
Vacant homes118.7%165% above
Median year built119740% below
03

Work and pay

Commutes by transit is 0.0%, below the median place (median 0.8%).

Commutes by transit1
0.0%
below the median place (median 0.8%)
Median household income1
$35,168
56% below the median place
Income per person1
$24,915
38% below the median place
All 10 work and pay measures
MeasureBluewellAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median household income1$35,16856% below
Income per person1$24,91538% below
Unemployment1County figure2.6%46% below
Average annual pay4County figure$51,37422% below
Pay growth, 1 year4County figure2.4%35% below
Jobs4County figure19,50787% below
Poverty rate118.3%70% above
Mean commute1County figure24 min4% below
Works from home1County figure6.6%47% below
Commutes by transit10.0%below (median 0.8%)
04

Who lives here

Born abroad is 0.0%, below the median place (median 8.8%).

Born abroad1
0.0%
below the median place (median 8.8%)
Median age1
67.5
73% above the median place
Household size1
1.8
27% below the median place

More about who lives here, against the typical place

High school or higher73.3% −21%
Bachelor's or higher15.9% −50%
Homes with broadband86.1% −7%
All 8 people measures
MeasureBluewellAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Population11,9926646th largest
Median age167.573% above
Bachelor's or higher115.9%50% below
High school or higher173.3%21% below
Household size11.827% below
Born abroad10.0%below (median 8.8%)
No health insurance1County figure4.9%23% below
Homes with broadband186.1%7% below
05

Life in Bluewell

21 sites are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Out the door, against the typical place

Parks per 10k residents0.0 −100%
Playgrounds per 10k0.0 −100%
Grocery stores per 10k0.0 −100%
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k0.0 −100%
Libraries per 10k0.0 −100%
Named paths and bike trails0 km −100%
Bus and rail stops per sq mi0.0 −100%

Mapped by volunteers in OpenStreetMap inside the city limits (Census boundaries), so coverage is fuller in some places than others. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

Businesses per 10,000 residents (county figures)

Restaurants and bars15.4 −26%
Shops33.0 +9%
Arts, recreation and fitness4.6 +12%
Doctors' offices and clinics18.1 −10%
Child care centers2.0 −13%

Counts businesses with paid staff, so small owner-run shops are not included.

Restaurants and bars per 10k6
15.4
26% below the median place
Public schools9
26
189% above the median place
Child care centers per 10k6
2.0
13% below the median place
All 16 schools and local life measures
MeasureBluewellAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Public schools9County figure26189% above
Public school students9County figure8,31070% above
Students per teacher9County figure14.46% below
Restaurants and bars per 10k6County figure15.426% below
Shops per 10k6County figure33.09% above
Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k6County figure4.612% above
Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k6County figure18.110% below
Child care centers per 10k6County figure2.013% below
Parks per 10k70.0below (median 10.2)
Playgrounds per 10k70.0below (median 9.4)
Grocery stores per 10k70.0below (median 2.1)
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k70.0below (median 11.2)
Libraries per 10k70.0below (median 0.9)
Named paths and bike trails70.0below (median 2.0)
Transit stops per sq mi70.0below (median 0.2)
National Register listings8County figure2162% above
06

Safety, weather and risk

Heat wave risk is 2.2, 98% below the median place.

No crime figure yet. Either the city police department did not report to the FBI for the latest year, or our monthly fetch has not reached Bluewell. Larger places are fetched first.

Heat wave risk11
2.2
98% below the median place
Tornado risk11
17.2
79% below the median place
July average high10
82°F
6% below the median place
All 9 weather and risk measures
MeasureBluewellAmong 6,645 placesVs median
July average high10County figure82°F6% below
January average low10County figure23°F7% below
Average temperature10County figure52°F5% below
Annual precipitation10County figure42.1 in4% below
Natural hazard risk11County figure65.229% below
Hurricane risk11County figure50.029% below
Tornado risk11County figure17.279% below
Wildfire risk11County figure62.93% above
Heat wave risk11County figure2.298% below
08

Bluewell in 2030: where the trends point

If recent trends hold, the median rent will take about 26% of the median income in 2030, up from 25% now.

Citytistics projections to 2030: each figure's own trend, blended with the typical trend across the places we rate, eased toward long-run US growth and carried forward from the latest release. The range is where 80% of places landed when we tested the same method on past releases.

MeasureLatest2030 projectionLikely rangeAvg. per year
Median rent$728/mo (2024)$940/mo$770 to $1,150/mo+4.4%
Median household income$35,168 (2024)$44,000$37,000 to $52,000+3.8%
Median home value$125,500 (2024)$179,000$130,000 to $246,000+6.1%

The median home would be worth 4.1 years of the median income in 2030, against 3.6 now.

A projection of recent trends, not a prediction of the economy or advice to buy or sell. How we project.

09

Places like Bluewell

The closest matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, and the places nearby.

PlaceRentIncome
Zephyrhills South, FL$926$42,454Compare
Zephyrhills West, FL$1,127$51,992Compare
Hudson, FL$1,044$51,513Compare
Crestwood Village, NJ$1,146$38,091Compare
Crestwood Village, NJHudson, FLZephyrhills West, FLZephyrhills South, FLBluewell, WVBluewellZephyrhills SouthZephyrhills WestHudsonCrestwood VillageBluewellZephyrhills SouthZephyrhills WestHudsonCrestwood Village

Common questions

Is Bluewell a good place to live?

It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. The median resident is 67.5 years old, older than in 99% of the 2,479 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the highest of 31 West Virginia places. 0% of residents were born outside the US, fewer than in 99% of places its size. It is the lowest of 22 West Virginia places. On cost, space and class size it scores 9 out of 100 for families. See how it ranks with your own weights.

Is Bluewell expensive to live in?

The median rent takes 24.8% of the median household income, against 20.4% in the typical place we track. Housing is a heavier load here than usual. The median home is valued at $125,500.

What salary do you need to live in Bluewell?

To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $29,120 a year. Work it out from your current city.

What places are similar to Bluewell?

On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Zephyrhills South, FL, Zephyrhills West, FL, Hudson, FL and Crestwood Village, NJ.

Sources and methods

The small numbers beside each measure point here. Every dataset is public; links go to the publisher.

  1. American Community Survey 5-year estimates · US Census Bureau · 2020 to 2024 estimatesTables B01002, B01003, B05002, B07003, B08013, B08301, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25035, B25064, B25070, B25077, B25088, B25103, B28002, S2701
  2. Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
  3. House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  4. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
  5. SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration · Internal Revenue Service · Tax years 2022 to 2023Counts tax returns and the people on them; flows under 20 returns are suppressed.
  6. County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
  7. OpenStreetMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL) · Map data as of 2026-11
  8. National Register of Historic Places · National Park Service · Listings through 2026-05-22
  9. Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
  10. 1991-2020 climate normals · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · Series updated 2026-11-05Averages for 1991 to 2020 computed from NOAA's county climate series (nClimDiv).nClimDiv county series
  11. National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps

Derived by Citytistics from the tables above: rent to income (B25064, B19013); property tax rate (B25103, B25077); home price to income (B25077, B19013).

What stands out compares Bluewell with places of a similar size, using only figures measured for Bluewell itself; county and metro figures never count. Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology. API: /api/v1/places/bluewell-west-virginia

Citytistics. “Bluewell, West Virginia.” Data as of 2026-11-14. https://www.citytistics.com/city/bluewell-west-virginia/

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.