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ZIP Code26651

Summersville, WV

Nicholas County · West Virginia · United States
Home to 10,070 people across 199.904 square miles.

EasternOwner-majority19 ZIPs in county

At a glance

26651 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
10k
±830 · 71th pctile nationally
Median household income
$59,067
US median $70,109 · 31th pctile
Median home value
$156,500
US median $207,500 · 32th pctile
Median age
43.6
US median 42 years
Population density
50/mi²
42th pctile most dense
Land area
199.904 mi²
plus 4.272 mi² water

Location

Where 26651 is

38.265344, -80.993515 · Census ZCTA internal pointOpen larger map →
Coordinates38.265344, -80.993515
Time zoneAmerica/New_York
CountyNicholas County
StateWest Virginia (WV)
Land area199.904 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, PA333.4 mi
Atlanta, GA365.1 mi
New York, NY409.0 mi
Chicago, IL430.4 mi

People

Who lives in 26651

10,070 residents in 3,802 households, averaging 2.65 people per household. The largest age group is 65+ at 23.4% of residents.

Age distribution

Share of residents by age band

Under 1822.5%
18-245.9%
25-3412.1%
35-4411.0%
45-548.6%
55-6416.5%
65+23.4%

Households

Composition and size

Total households3,802
Average household size2.65
Family households68.9%
Living alone28.2%
Median age43.6 years
Households with internet85.8%

Race & ethnicity

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

White95.1%
Black0.4%
Asian0.6%
Native American0.1%
Other0.8%
Two or more3.0%
Hispanic / Latino0.8%

Income & work

What people earn in 26651

The median household here earns $59,067 a year, below the US median of $70,109, which puts 26651 ahead of 31% of American ZIP codes. 15.4% of residents live below the poverty line.

Compared to the US

This ZIP against the national median

Median household income$59,067
LowestHighest
Higher than 31% of all US ZIP codes.
Median household income$59,067 ±$9,241
Per capita income$33,796
Poverty rate15.4%
Unemployment rate9.8%
Labor force participation50.1%

Household income distribution

Share of households in each bracket

<$25k19.6%
$25-50k24.5%
$50-75k16.9%
$75-100k10.7%
$100-150k17.7%
$150-200k3.3%
$200k+7.3%

Educational attainment among residents 25 and older: 23.9% hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 89.0% finished high school.

Housing

Homes and rent in 26651

A typical home is valued at $156,500, and median rent runs $760 a month. This is an owner-majority area — 80.0% of occupied homes are owned, and the typical building went up in 1985.

Costs

Typical values

Median home value$156,500
Median gross rent$760/mo
Median year built1985
Housing units4,525
Vacancy rate16.0%

Own vs. rent

Of 3,802 occupied units

Owner-occupied80.0%
Renter-occupied20.0%
Owner households3,041
Renter households761

Building types

Units by structure size

Single family75.0%
2-4 units1.0%
5-19 units2.0%
20+ units21.9%

Getting to work

How 26651 commutes

88.6% of workers drove alone, and the average one-way trip takes 26.8 minutes.

Mode of transport

Workers 16 and older

Drove alone88.6%
Carpooled4.3%
Public transit0.4%
Walked1.5%
Worked from home4.5%

Travel time

Mean commute 26.8 minutes

<10 min22.8%
10-1930.5%
20-2916.5%
30-449.8%
45-595.0%
60+15.4%

Overview

Understanding ZIP code 26651

ZIP code 26651 is assigned to Summersville, WV, and falls within Nicholas 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 10,070 people live inside it.

At 50 residents per square mile spread over 199.904 square miles, 26651 reads as a rural area. It is a mid-sized postal code by population, 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 run below the national median. At $59,067, 26651 sits in the lower half, ahead of 31% 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 Summersville looks like

Housing in 26651 costs below the national median. A typical home is valued at $156,500 against a US median of $207,500, and median gross rent runs $760 a month. Ownership dominates: 80.0% 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 75.0% of housing units here. The median construction year is 1985, making the housing here from the later twentieth century.

The population skews broadly in line with the national age profile, with a median age of 43.6 against 42 nationally. The average household holds 2.65 people, and 68.9% are family households.

Getting to work takes 26.8 minutes on average one way. The dominant mode is drove alone at 88.6% of workers.

Where to stay

Where to stay in Summersville, WV

26651 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.

Local costs are modest — median rent here is $760 a month — and accommodation prices in the area tend to be correspondingly reasonable. For reference, Philadelphia, PA is about 333.4 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 26651 is used for

Beyond addressing mail, 26651 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, 26651 offers a compact profile of Summersville: 10,070 residents, a median household income of $59,067, 23.9% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and an unemployment rate of 9.8%. 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. 26651 may cover parts of several distinct areas, and a single neighbourhood in Summersville 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 26651

What city is ZIP code 26651 in?
26651 serves Summersville, West Virginia, in Nicholas County, United States.
What is the population of 26651?
About 10,070 people live in ZIP code 26651, according to the US Census Bureau's 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. The margin of error on that figure is ±830. That works out to roughly 50 people per square mile.
What is the average income in 26651?
The median household income in 26651 is $59,067 per year, compared with a US median of $70,109. Per capita income is $33,796. 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 26651?
The median home value is $156,500 and median gross rent is $760 a month. 80.0% of occupied homes are owner-occupied.
Is 26651 a good place to live?
That depends on what you're looking for, but here are the facts: 23.9% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, the unemployment rate is 9.8%, and the median age is 43.6. The average commute is 26.8 minutes. We publish the numbers and let you weigh them.
What time zone is 26651 in?
26651 observes Eastern Time (America/New_York). This zone observes daylight saving time.
How big is ZIP code 26651?
ZIP code 26651 covers 199.904 square miles of land plus 4.272 square miles of water, per the US Census Bureau's 2023 Gazetteer files.
Is 26651 urban, suburban or rural?
By population density, 26651 reads as a rural area. It holds 50 people per square mile across 199.904 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.
How much is rent in 26651?
Median gross rent in 26651 is $760 a month, according to the American Community Survey. Gross rent includes contract rent plus the estimated cost of utilities and fuels, so it is closer to what a tenant actually pays than a headline rent figure. Of 3,802 occupied homes here, 761 are rented.
What is the commute like from 26651?
The average one-way commute from 26651 takes about 26.8 minutes. The most common way to travel is drove alone, used by 88.6% 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 26651?
About 3,705 residents of 26651 are employed. Labor force participation stands at 50.1% and the unemployment rate is 9.8%. 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 26651?
Accommodation in and around Summersville, 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 26651 cover more than one city or county?
This page lists Summersville as the primary place and Nicholas 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 26651 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 26651. 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 26651, the Census approximation of the USPS delivery area.