On the surface, hearing that you reside in one of the most expensive cities in the state to live in may be a bit disheartening. Then again, depending on how you look at things, it may not necessarily be a bad thing depending on who you ask.

 

Last year, another Web site list was produced. This one from www.zippia.com lists the “10 Most Expensive Cities in West Virginia to Raise a Family.” And like so many others using data that is publicly available, this one also lists Bridgeport among its top 10.

 

The Web site had Bridgeport as the sixth most expensive city to raise a family in West Virginia. So how did they come by the rankings?

 

Zippia, a career guidance Web site, utilized six primary statistics to come up with their decision. The areas include the cost of housing, food, gas, health insurance, utilities and transportation. When asked about the criteria, City Clerk Andrea Kerr said most of the statistics they used are likely to be regional in nature and even statewide versus within the municipal limits of Bridgeport.

 

“You take an item such as gas and it’s going to be the same, or within a few cents in one way or the other in most cases, from one area of the state to the other. Many of the utilities in the area cover a wide range, while other issues vary as well,” said Kerr. “The only one that appears to be able to be determined clearly from a Bridgeport standpoint would be costs related to housing.”

 

Bridgeport, it’s safe to say, has the highest average priced homes on the market of any Harrison County municipality and among the highest in the state. The statement isn’t a reflection of anything other than the amount of new homes within the community and the fact that most of the growth has come in the last several decades as opposed to other communities where the housing stock is older with multiple homes exceeding a century in life span.

 

“If housing drove this number up we think that it’s a good thing because it reflects that there are quality homes available in the community,” said Kerr. “The fact many young families are coming from out of the area or relocating from this area to Bridgeport is something we view as a positive as opposed to a negative.”

 

The site itself says it uses the following from the above numbers in coming up with the rankings of 110 cities in the state when using the categories above:

 

“What you are left with is a “Cost of Living Index” that normalizes to 100 for an average place in the United States. And lucky for us, Sperling’s Best Places has such an index for us.

 

“So we used that cost of living index in order to rank all of the 110 places in West Virginia that have more than 1,000 people.

 

“And just so you can better understand how the cost of living index works, 100 is the average cost of a place in the United States. A score of 80 means that the place cost 20% less than average. A score of 120 means it’s 20% more expensive.

 

“San Francisco has a score of 243 meaning it’s almost 2.5 times as expensive as the average place in the country.”

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows work being done on new housing last year in the city, while utility work - the cost for which is often the same regionally - is shown being done along Main Street in the bottom picture.