Living in Montgomery, WV
Fayette County
Montgomery is a small city straddling Fayette and Kanawha counties along the Kanawha River in West Virginia's Upper Kanawha Valley, with a 2020 Census population of 1,275 (a fresher 2026 estimate was not confirmed this pass). Montgomery was home to West Virginia University Institute of Technology for 120 years until WVU's Board of Governors voted in 2015 to relocate the school to Beckley, a move completed by fall 2017 and disclosed here as a real, substantial, documented economic setback -- this record verifies WVU Tech's main campus is NOT currently active in Montgomery. A smaller BridgeValley Community and Technical College campus remains today, alongside real, current (2026) revitalization efforts including a Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation initiative to redevelop the former WVU Tech campus. Montgomery's housing runs genuinely affordable at approximately $133,000-$137,063 depending on measure, though its own property tax rate (approximately 0.98%-0.99% given its dual-county footprint) runs genuinely above West Virginia's already-low statewide average.
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Learn moreHousing
Taxes
Not independently sourced at the Fayette County level this session. West Virginia's top state income tax rate is 4.58%. See the West Virginia hub page for the statewide property tax context -- do not treat that figure as Montgomery-specific.
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Get local guidanceThe tradeoffs
Pros
Genuinely affordable housing relative to West Virginia's own statewide figures; a real, current, smaller BridgeValley Community and Technical College presence; real, current (2026), documented revitalization investment targeting the former WVU Tech campus; and West Virginia's comparatively moderate income tax with a full Social Security exemption.
Cons
A real, substantial, documented economic setback from WVU Tech's 2017 relocation to Beckley; a property tax rate running genuinely above West Virginia's already-low statewide average; median household income figures running well below the state median across every source reviewed; and a fresher, independently confirmed current population estimate not found this pass.
Who this fits
Best for: Best fits budget-conscious movers comfortable with a small, car-dependent Upper Kanawha Valley city genuinely still working through the economic transition of losing its longtime four-year university, drawn by real, current (2026) redevelopment investment and affordable housing.
Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for movers seeking an active four-year university-town identity -- WVU Tech's main campus relocated to Beckley in 2017 -- or anyone prioritizing a below-average property tax bill, since Montgomery's own rate runs above West Virginia's statewide average.
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