West Virginia · Census place 86452
Wheeling, WV population, income and ZIP codes
Quick answer
The population of the city of Wheeling, West Virginia (Wheeling, WV — Census place “Wheeling city”) is 26,670 residents, ranking #5 of 439 places in West Virginia. Median household income is $48,498, the median home is worth $142,500 and median gross rent runs $795 a month. Looking for the Wheeling West Virginia ZIP code list? 1 ZIP codes serve Wheeling, WV: 26003.
- Population
- 26,670Wheeling city residents
- Median household income
- $48,498Past 12 months, inflation adjusted
- Median home value
- $142,500Owner-occupied units
- Median gross rent
- $795Rent plus utilities, monthly
- Median age
- 44.8 yrsAll residents
- Homeownership rate
- 59.6%Owner-occupied households
Wheeling ZIP codes (West Virginia)
Census ZCTAs whose delivery area overlaps Wheeling.
The Wheeling WV ZIP code list below covers 1 ZIP code. Open any one for its population, income, housing and rent profile.
What the numbers mean in Wheeling city
Housing cost measured against local earnings.
A household earning the Wheeling city median would spend about 19.7% of gross income on the median rent. The 30% mark is the federal threshold for cost burden, so anything above it signals a stretched rental market. The median home costs 2.9× the median household income; nationally that ratio sits near 4.5×. Poverty affects 19.3% of residents and 59.6% of households own their home.
Source: US Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates · rates as published for 2019-2023 ACS 5-year
Wheeling city, WV in context
How this area compares with national benchmarks.
Wheeling city is a small city in West Virginia, with 26,670 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #5 of 439 ranked by population — larger than 99% of them. The median age here is 44.8 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly older profile than the country as a whole. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.
Households in Wheeling city earn a median of $48,498 a year, 38.2% below the national figure of $78,538 and 8% below the $52,974 median for the 148 West Virginia cities we cover. The median is the midpoint household, not an average, so a handful of very high earners cannot drag it upward the way they distort a mean. Poverty reaches 19.3% of residents here, well above the 12.4% national rate, which is the single clearest signal in this dataset that median income here is carried by a narrow band of households.
The typical owner-occupied home in Wheeling city is valued at $142,500, 53% below the national figure and 12% above the $127,200 peer median, while median gross rent runs $795 a month, 43.5% below the national figure, or roughly $9,540 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 19.7% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is cheap relative to what people here earn. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 2.9×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is easier here than in the average US market. 59.6% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans more heavily on renters. Rent is reported gross — contract rent plus tenant-paid utilities — which is why it runs above the advertised price on a listing for the same unit.
No figure on this page is estimated by us; each one comes straight from the published ACS tables for this area. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.
Compare with nearby places
Places of similar size in West Virginia.
- Martinsburg city 18,805
- Parkersburg city 29,461
- Weirton city 18,785
- Morgantown city 30,273
- Fairmont city 18,303
- Huntington city 46,189
- Beckley city 16,977
- Charleston city 47,918
Keep going
More West Virginia coverage.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about this area.
- What is the population of Wheeling city?
- Wheeling city has 26,670 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #5 of 439 in West Virginia.
- What is the median household income in Wheeling city?
- Median household income in Wheeling city is $48,498 a year, 38.2% below the national figure of $78,538.
- How much does it cost to rent or buy in Wheeling city?
- Median gross rent is $795 a month and the median home value is $142,500, so rent absorbs about 19.7% of median household income.
- Is Wheeling city affordable compared with the rest of the US?
- Homes cost about 2.9× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Wheeling city is more affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 19.7% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.
- How current is this Wheeling city data?
- All figures come from the US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year five-year estimates. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.