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Best Online Colleges in West Virginia

Best Online Colleges in West Virginia

Best Colleges By State

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Benefits of Studying Online in West Virginia

West Virginia, the 39th largest state in the US by population, is often referred to as the “Mountain State” due to its various landscapes and terrain. Although not as large as neighboring western states and the nation leader (Texas), West Virginia still accounts for a total 24,230 square miles and is the 41st largest of all states by area. The capitol resides in Charleston, and this city serves as the state’s economic hub and largest city. Despite the state’s small population, it still provides many benefits for students who wish to study online in West Virginia.

Employment Stats

As of October 2022, West Virginia had 711,300 non-farm employees (the 40th most of any state), accounting for just 0.46% of the nation’s workforce. New jobs were added since 2021, when the total was just 689,000 - an increase of 3.24%, which makes West Virginia the 21st fastest growing state from the standpoint of jobs added year over year. West Virginia is within about 1.3 million fewer people employed than the median state (64% less to be exact). While this is below the national average growth rate, it’s still encouraging news for prospective students looking for future job opportunities.

West Virginia came in just above New Hampshire, which recorded just 686,000 jobs in 2022, meaning West Virginia had an advantage of 25,000 (3.64%) over the Granite State. West Virginia narrowly lost to the District of Columbia (by just under 7.5%, or 57k to be precise), which recorded more than 768 thousand jobs in 2022. Regardless, the Mountain State sits a whopping 96% below the nation leader (California), which is unsurprising given West Virginia accounts for just 0.5% of the nation’s population.

Job Opportunities

In terms of job diversity, West Virginia has 636 unique job types which puts it at the 39th slot, just behind the District of Columbia (which has 661,960 employed persons and 659 unique job types). This gives West Virginia a slight deficit of -0.6% when compared to the District of Columbia, and -11.9% when compared to the national median of 722 occupations. So although there’s a slightly smaller quantity of job types, the state still has a decent variety of employment possibilities, ranging from accounting to web design.

West Virginia is home to 2 colleges ranked in the top 200 nationally (though arguably their best institutions are Marshall University and West Virginia University). Marshall University is particularly well-known for its medical and business programs, while West Virginia University is best known for its engineering and science programs. Although most of the state is rural or mountainous, the cities of Charleston and Huntington offer some metropolitan attractions. The state is also home to a number of Fortune 500 companies, such as Walmart, Mylan, and FirstEnergy.

Overall, the stats point to West Virginia being a state with plenty of room for growth and job opportunity. While students may not get the same level of access to employment as larger states (due to population size), those who study online in West Virginia will be in a great position to take advantage of the state's relatively low cost of living and access to outdoor recreation.

*All data sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2023)

Best Online Colleges in West Virginia

Best Online Colleges in West Virginia

D

Rating

#1 Best Online Colleges in West Virginia

American Public University System

Charles Town, WV | https://www.apus.edu/

0%

Acceptance

89,719

Students

#1958

Ranking

$7K

Tuition

F

Rating

#2 Best Online Colleges in West Virginia

Valley College-Martinsburg

Martinsburg, WV | www.valley.edu/

0%

Acceptance

915

Students

#2556

Ranking

$0

Tuition

F

Rating

#3 Best Online Colleges in West Virginia

Martinsburg College

Martinsburg, WV | www.martinsburgcollege.edu/

100%

Acceptance

2,523

Students

#3365

Ranking

$0

Tuition

F

Rating

#4 Best Online Colleges in West Virginia

Salem University

Salem, WV | www.salemu.edu/

0%

Acceptance

1,481

Students

#3386

Ranking

$17K

Tuition

F

Rating

#5 Best Online Colleges in West Virginia

Huntington Junior College

Huntington, WV | www.huntingtonjuniorcollege.edu/

0%

Acceptance

438

Students

#3659

Ranking

$10K

Tuition

F

Rating

#6 Best Online Colleges in West Virginia

Strayer University-West Virginia

Scott Depot, WV | www.strayer.edu/campus-locations/west-virginia/teays-valley

0%

Acceptance

459

Students

#3698

Ranking

$14K

Tuition

F

Rating

#7 Best Online Colleges in West Virginia

Appalachian Bible College

Mount Hope, WV | https://abc.edu/

49%

Acceptance

276

Students

#4056

Ranking

$16K

Tuition

F

Rating

#8 Best Online Colleges in West Virginia

Catholic Distance University

Charles Town, WV | https://cdu.edu/

0%

Acceptance

278

Students

#4279

Ranking

$8K

Tuition

F

Rating

#9 Best Online Colleges in West Virginia

Mountain State College

Parkersburg, WV | www.msc.edu/

0%

Acceptance

44

Students

#5597

Ranking

$8K

Tuition

C

Rating

#10 Best Online Colleges in West Virginia

Wheeling University

Wheeling, WV | www.wju.edu/

77%

Acceptance

880

Students

#1375

Ranking

$29K

Tuition

C−

Rating

#11 Best Online Colleges in West Virginia

University of Charleston

Charleston, WV | www.ucwv.edu/

61%

Acceptance

3,804

Students

#1533

Ranking

$32K

Tuition

F

Rating

#12 Best Online Colleges in West Virginia

Marshall University

Huntington, WV | https://www.marshall.edu/

89%

Acceptance

15,850

Students

#2473

Ranking

$19K

Tuition

F

Rating

#13 Best Online Colleges in West Virginia

West Virginia University at Parkersburg

Parkersburg, WV | www.wvup.edu/

0%

Acceptance

3,376

Students

#2913

Ranking

$9K

Tuition

F

Rating

#14 Best Online Colleges in West Virginia

Mountwest Community and Technical College

Huntington, WV | www.mctc.edu/

0%

Acceptance

2,887

Students

#3488

Ranking

$11K

Tuition

F

Rating

#15 Best Online Colleges in West Virginia

Concord University

Athens, WV | https://www.concord.edu/

91%

Acceptance

2,319

Students

#3550

Ranking

$18K

Tuition

D+

Rating

#16 Best Online Colleges in West Virginia

Alderson Broaddus University

Philippi, WV | www.ab.edu/

53%

Acceptance

1,036

Students

#1782

Ranking

$29K

Tuition

D

Rating

#17 Best Online Colleges in West Virginia

Davis & Elkins College

Elkins, WV | www.dewv.edu/

69%

Acceptance

876

Students

#1900

Ranking

$30K

Tuition

D

Rating

#18 Best Online Colleges in West Virginia

West Liberty University

West Liberty, WV | www.westliberty.edu/

68%

Acceptance

2,966

Students

#2040

Ranking

$16K

Tuition

F

Rating

#19 Best Online Colleges in West Virginia

Shepherd University

Shepherdstown, WV | www.shepherd.edu/

98%

Acceptance

5,165

Students

#2250

Ranking

$18K

Tuition

F

Rating

#20 Best Online Colleges in West Virginia

BridgeValley Community & Technical College

South Charleston, WV | www.bridgevalley.edu/

0%

Acceptance

2,108

Students

#2826

Ranking

$11K

Tuition

F

Rating

#21 Best Online Colleges in West Virginia

Pierpont Community and Technical College

Fairmont, WV | https://www.pierpont.edu/

0%

Acceptance

2,287

Students

#3234

Ranking

$12K

Tuition

F

Rating

#22 Best Online Colleges in West Virginia

Fairmont State University

Fairmont, WV | https://www.fairmontstate.edu/

94%

Acceptance

4,358

Students

#3331

Ranking

$17K

Tuition

F

Rating

#23 Best Online Colleges in West Virginia

Ohio Valley University

Vienna, WV | https://www.ovu.edu/

95%

Acceptance

334

Students

#3378

Ranking

$23K

Tuition

F

Rating

#24 Best Online Colleges in West Virginia

Bluefield State College

Bluefield, WV | https://bluefieldstate.edu/

90%

Acceptance

1,435

Students

#3673

Ranking

$15K

Tuition

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