What is the cost of living in Morgantown?

Morgantown has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 93.3, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 69.1, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,099/month.

What is the median salary in Morgantown?

The median salary in Morgantown is $60,408 annually (mean: $66,856). Top occupations include Registered Nurses, Retail Salespersons, Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary.

How safe is Morgantown?

The violent crime rate in the Morgantown area is 242 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1089 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Morgantown?

The state of WV has 648 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 13.1:1. Charter schools make up 0.6% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Morgantown?

Infant center-based childcare in the Morgantown area averages $8,974 per year. Preschool averages $8,470/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Morgantown a good place to relocate?

Morgantown has a Life Score of 60.6/100 (C), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is an above-average score, Morgantown outperforms most scored metros on the combined measure.

Where does Morgantown sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Morgantown ranks #25 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Morgantown, WV

LiveAbility 63.2/100 places Morgantown #25 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

93.3
Cost index (US=100): $1,099
2BR rent / mo: $60,408
Median salary: 63.2
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Morgantown ranks #25 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (63.2/100), with its strongest marks in safety and housing.

#25
of 387 US metros · Excellent: 1,769,979
metro-area population: 242
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 648
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: climate (27/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Morgantown ranks #25 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 93.3 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,099/mo, median salary $60,408; LiveAbility Score 63.2/100, strongest in safety and housing.

Signature: LiveAbility 63.2/100 places Morgantown #25 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 93.3 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,099/mo.

LiveAbility 63.2/100 puts Morgantown in the top third (#25 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Morgantown area is 57,550.

Morgantown vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

63 Top 7% higher than 93% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Morgantown housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Morgantown MSA; housing RPP 69.1 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,099/mo.

Studio

$871

/month

1 Bedroom

$877

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,099

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,318

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,657

/month

Morgantown wages and employment

Morgantown posts 57,550 total employment with median salary $60,408.

Median Salary

$60,408

Mean Salary

$66,856

Total Employment

57,550

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Registered Nurses	$80,130
Retail Salespersons	$28,570
Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary	$60,300
Cashiers	$27,370
Nursing Assistants	$35,880

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Morgantown area from NCES.

Schools

648

Enrollment

242,956

Student:Teacher

13.1:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Morgantown area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$8,974

per year

Toddler (Center)

$8,493

per year

Preschool (Center)

$8,470

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Morgantown's composite Life Score is 60.6/100 (C), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

52/100

Average

Wages

37/100

Below average

Rent

81/100

Elite

Crime

99/100

Elite

Schools

22/100

Weak

Childcare

62/100

Above average

Environment

73/100

Strong

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Morgantown ranks #25 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 63.2/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Safety (99/100)

Safety

99
Housing

81
Schools

78
Low hazard

71
Air quality

55
Cost of living

52
Job market

37
Climate

27

What this shows Morgantown's strongest dimensions are safety and housing; its weakest among scored dims is climate at 27/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Morgantown to

Worcester Yakima York-Hanover Youngstown-Warren Yuba City Yuma

Metros near Morgantown on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Morgantown on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Morgantown cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Morgantown wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Morgantown?

Morgantown runs a $60,408 median salary at a 93.3 cost index, ranking #25 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Morgantown's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Morgantown head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Morgantown
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.