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ZIP Code26254

Bowden, WV

Randolph County · West Virginia · United States
Home to 127 people across 118.951 square miles.

EasternOwner-majority21 ZIPs in county

At a glance

26254 by the numbers

Every figure below comes from the 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the Census Gazetteer, or is computed from those. Margins of error are shown where they matter.

Population
127
±121 · bottom 10% nationally
Median household income
$83,393
US median $70,109 · 69th pctile
Median home value
$207,900
US median $207,500 · 50th pctile
Median age
65.6
US median 42 years
Population density
1/mi²
bottom 10% most dense
Land area
118.951 mi²
plus 0.142 mi² water

Location

Where 26254 is

38.962179, -79.630146 · Census ZCTA internal pointOpen larger map →
Coordinates38.962179, -79.630146
Time zoneAmerica/New_York
CountyRandolph County
StateWest Virginia (WV)
Land area118.951 mi²
Coordinate sourceCensus ZCTA internal point

Local time

America/New_York

—:—:—

Current weather

Live from the National Weather Service

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Distance to major cities

Straight-line, computed from coordinates

Philadelphia, PA247.8 mi
New York, NY321.9 mi
Atlanta, GA446.9 mi
Chicago, IL466.3 mi

People

Who lives in 26254

127 residents in 54 households, averaging 2.35 people per household. The largest age group is 65+ at 54.3% of residents, and 77.8% of households are families.

Age distribution

Share of residents by age band

Under 1826.8%
18-240.0%
25-3414.2%
35-440.0%
45-540.0%
55-644.7%
65+54.3%

Households

Composition and size

Total households54
Average household size2.35
Family households77.8%
Living alone22.2%
Median age65.6 years
Households with internet59.3%

Race & ethnicity

Census race categories. Hispanic or Latino origin is asked separately and overlaps these groups.

White95.3%
Two or more4.7%

Income & work

What people earn in 26254

The median household here earns $83,393 a year, above the US median of $70,109, which puts 26254 ahead of 69% of American ZIP codes. 0.0% of residents live below the poverty line.

Compared to the US

This ZIP against the national median

Median household income$83,393
LowestHighest
Higher than 69% of all US ZIP codes.
Median household income$83,393 ±$20,939
Per capita income$34,680
Poverty rate0.0%
Unemployment rate0.0%
Labor force participation19.4%

Household income distribution

Share of households in each bracket

<$25k22.2%
$25-50k0.0%
$50-75k18.5%
$75-100k38.9%
$100-150k0.0%
$150-200k20.4%
$200k+0.0%

Educational attainment among residents 25 and older: 44.1% hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 100.0% finished high school.

Housing

Homes and rent in 26254

A typical home is valued at $207,900. This is an owner-majority area — 100.0% of occupied homes are owned, and the typical building went up in 1985.

Costs

Typical values

Median home value$207,900
Median gross rent—/mo
Median year built1985
Housing units166
Vacancy rate67.5%

Own vs. rent

Of 54 occupied units

Owner-occupied100.0%
Renter-occupied0.0%
Owner households54
Renter households0

Building types

Units by structure size

Single family76.5%
20+ units23.5%

Getting to work

How 26254 commutes

100.0% of workers drove alone, and the average one-way trip takes 23.6 minutes.

Mode of transport

Workers 16 and older

Drove alone100.0%

Travel time

Mean commute 23.6 minutes

<10 min0.0%
10-1961.1%
20-290.0%
30-4438.9%
45-590.0%
60+0.0%

Overview

Understanding ZIP code 26254

ZIP code 26254 is assigned to Bowden, WV, and falls within Randolph County. Like every US postal code, it began as a mail-routing device rather than a geographic boundary — the US Postal Service groups delivery routes under a single code so carriers and sorting equipment can process mail efficiently. Today it also serves as a practical shorthand for the area itself: roughly 127 people live inside it.

At 1 residents per square mile spread over 118.951 square miles, 26254 reads as a rural area. It is a sparsely populated postal code, and density shapes almost everything else on this page — how people get to work, whether they own or rent, and what housing costs.

Household earnings track close to the national picture. The median of $83,393 puts 26254 near the middle of the pack, ahead of 69% of them. The US median for comparison is $70,109. Bear in mind that median income describes the midpoint household, not the average — it is not pulled upward by a handful of very high earners the way a mean would be.

Living here

What life in Bowden looks like

Housing in 26254 costs close to the national median. A typical home is valued at $207,900 against a US median of $207,500. Ownership dominates: 100.0% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, which usually signals an established residential area with relatively low turnover.

The building stock is dominated by detached single-family houses, which account for 76.5% of housing units here. The median construction year is 1985, making the housing here from the later twentieth century. The vacancy rate of 67.5% is high, which in many places reflects seasonal or second-home use rather than abandonment.

The population skews considerably older than the national median, with a median age of 65.6 against 42 nationally. The average household holds 2.35 people, and 77.8% are family households.

Getting to work takes 23.6 minutes on average one way. The dominant mode is drove alone at 100.0% of workers.

Where to stay

Where to stay in Bowden, WV

26254 covers a rural area, and accommodation within the postal code itself is likely to be sparse — perhaps a country inn, a lodge or a vacation rental rather than a conventional hotel. Widening the search radius is usually the practical approach, and it also opens up more availability at short notice.

For reference, Philadelphia, PA is about 247.8 miles away in a straight line, which is worth factoring in if you are comparing a stay here against one closer to the city centre.

Availability and pricing change constantly, so the live search below will give you a more accurate picture than any figure we could publish here. It opens results for this area on Booking.com.

Book a Hotel →

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Practical uses

What ZIP code 26254 is used for

Beyond addressing mail, 26254 does a lot of quiet administrative work. Retailers use it to calculate shipping and sales tax at checkout. Insurers use it to set premiums, since risk profiles vary geographically. Employers and marketers use it to define service areas. Government agencies use it to route benefits and organise reporting. If you have ever been asked for a postal code by a form that clearly does not intend to send you anything, this is why.

For anyone weighing a move, 26254 offers a compact profile of Bowden: 127 residents, a median household income of $83,393, 44.1% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and an unemployment rate of 0.0%. A handful of figures like these answer more relocation questions than most neighbourhood guides do.

One caution worth repeating: a postal code is not a neighbourhood. 26254 may cover parts of several distinct areas, and a single neighbourhood in Bowden may be split across more than one code. Boundaries also shift as USPS adjusts delivery routes. Treat the figures here as describing a delivery area, which is what they actually measure.

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Questions

Common questions about 26254

What city is ZIP code 26254 in?
26254 serves Bowden, West Virginia, in Randolph County, United States.
What is the population of 26254?
About 127 people live in ZIP code 26254, according to the US Census Bureau's 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. The margin of error on that figure is ±121. That works out to roughly 1 people per square mile.
What is the average income in 26254?
The median household income in 26254 is $83,393 per year, compared with a US median of $70,109. Per capita income is $34,680. Median income is more representative than an average because it isn't skewed by a small number of very high earners.
How expensive is housing in 26254?
The median home value is $207,900 and median gross rent is — a month. 100.0% of occupied homes are owner-occupied.
Is 26254 a good place to live?
That depends on what you're looking for, but here are the facts: 44.1% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, the unemployment rate is 0.0%, and the median age is 65.6. The average commute is 23.6 minutes. We publish the numbers and let you weigh them.
What time zone is 26254 in?
26254 observes Eastern Time (America/New_York). This zone observes daylight saving time.
How big is ZIP code 26254?
ZIP code 26254 covers 118.951 square miles of land plus 0.142 square miles of water, per the US Census Bureau's 2023 Gazetteer files.
Is 26254 urban, suburban or rural?
By population density, 26254 reads as a rural area. It holds 1 people per square mile across 118.951 square miles of land. For reference, densities above 10,000 per square mile generally indicate an urban core, 1,000–3,000 is typically suburban, and under 200 is rural. These are rules of thumb rather than official designations — the Census Bureau classifies urban and rural areas by census block, not by ZIP code.
What is the commute like from 26254?
The average one-way commute from 26254 takes about 23.6 minutes. The most common way to travel is drove alone, used by 100.0% of workers aged 16 and over. Commute figures cover people who were employed and working outside the home during the survey period.
How many people work in 26254?
About 18 residents of 26254 are employed. Labor force participation stands at 19.4% and the unemployment rate is 0.0%. Note this counts residents by where they live, not by where they work — a ZIP with many offices can have far more jobs than employed residents.
Where should I stay when visiting 26254?
Accommodation in and around Bowden, WV ranges with the character of the area. See the 'Where to stay' section on this page for local context, and use the live search there for current availability and pricing.
Does 26254 cover more than one city or county?
This page lists Bowden as the primary place and Randolph County as the county. ZIP codes follow mail delivery routes rather than municipal or county lines, so a single code can straddle boundaries, and USPS also recognises alternate acceptable city names for many codes. If you need the definitive answer for a specific street address, the USPS ZIP Code Lookup is the authority.
Can ZIP code 26254 change?
Yes. USPS adjusts ZIP codes as delivery volumes shift — codes are occasionally split, merged, retired or newly created, and boundaries move more often than most people assume. The Census Bureau's ZCTA definitions, which underpin the demographic figures on this page, are redrawn only once a decade, so the two can drift apart between censuses.

Methodology

Where this data comes from

  • Postal geography — GeoNames open postal code database (CC BY 4.0), cross-checked against the US Census Gazetteer.
  • Demographics, income, housing, commute — US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-Year Estimates, ZIP Code Tabulation Area 26254. Tables B01001, B01002, B01003, B02001, B03003, B08301, B08303, B11001, B15003, B17001, B19001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25024, B25035, B25064, B25077, B28002.
  • Land and water area — US Census Bureau 2023 Gazetteer Files.
  • Weather — NOAA National Weather Service, fetched live in your browser.
  • Map — OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
On accuracy. ACS figures are survey estimates, not counts. The margin of error shown alongside the population figure means the true value has a 90% chance of falling in that range. For small ZIP codes the error can be large relative to the estimate — treat the direction as more reliable than the exact number. This page reports data for ZCTA 26254, the Census approximation of the USPS delivery area.