Living in Point Pleasant, WV

Mason County

Point Pleasant is the real Mason County seat in far western West Virginia, sitting at the confluence of the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers directly across from Gallipolis, Ohio. Its national identity centers on two real, documented historical events: the 1966-67 Mothman sightings, now commemorated by the World's Only Mothman Museum and the annual Mothman Festival (confirmed running September 19-20, 2026, drawing thousands of visitors), and the catastrophic December 15, 1967 Silver Bridge collapse, which killed 46 people and directly led to the creation of national bridge-inspection standards -- a real, sobering piece of infrastructure history this record discloses accurately. Point Pleasant's median age runs a real, notably elevated 48.5 years, well above West Virginia's own already-elevated statewide median of 42.7 years, connecting directly to this record's retiring-topic choice. Property tax runs genuinely low (Mason County's Ownwell-cited 0.71% median effective rate), though this record discloses a real, disclosed county-vs-city sourcing gap on that figure, alongside a real, disclosed housing-price spread and a genuinely elevated employment decline (-10.3% from 2023 to 2024) this record does not soften.

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Housing

Median sale price$133,994

Taxes

Local effective property tax rate0.71%

Not independently sourced at the Mason 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 Point Pleasant-specific.

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The tradeoffs

Pros

Genuinely low property tax (Mason County's Ownwell-cited 0.71% median effective rate) and affordable entry-level housing by national standards; a real, nationally distinctive tourism identity anchored by the Mothman Museum and annual Mothman Festival; a real, above-average senior population share connected to genuinely low violent crime (1 per 1,000, below the national average); and West Virginia's real Social Security income-tax exemption for qualifying retirees.

Cons

A real, meaningful population decline (-1.09% annually, -5.51% since the 2020 census) and a real, disclosed -10.3% employment decline from 2023 to 2024. A real, elevated overall crime rate (higher than 79% of West Virginia communities, driven by property crime) alongside genuinely low violent crime -- a mixed signal this record discloses directly. A real, disclosed housing-price and rent data-quality spread across sources this record does not resolve to one number. Riverine flood risk given the city's Ohio/Kanawha confluence location, alongside West Virginia's statewide flash-flood and winter-storm exposure.

Who this fits

Best for: Best fits retirees and small-town/history-minded buyers drawn to Point Pleasant's genuinely distinctive Mothman and Silver Bridge history, low property taxes, and affordable entry-level housing, alongside those comfortable with a small river town's modest, softening local job market.

Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for movers who need a strong, growing local job market -- this pass found a real, disclosed -10.3% employment decline from 2023 to 2024 -- or for buyers who need confident, single-source housing and rent data rather than the real, disclosed cross-source spreads this record discloses honestly.

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Last reviewed: 2026-08-28. Independent research; see individual metric entries above for source attribution. This is not financial, tax, or legal advice -- confirm current figures with a local professional before making a decision.