There are 3 counties in the Eastern Panhandle and each has distinct personality that’s pretty apparent. So I’ll go over my impression of each county – how they are different and how they are alike so you can get a feel for which county is a good fit for you.
So the 3 counties are Jefferson, Berkeley and Morgan. Jefferson is closest to the DC metro area, then heading northwest is Berkeley and the furthest is Morgan.
So here’s some similarities of the 3 counties. All have a crime rate less than the average of all counties in the US. Jefferson is given an A+ according to the Crimegrade.org webite and is rated as one of the top 10 safest cities in West Virginia. Berkeley is rated A and Morgan a B+. Anything with a B- or above is considered safer than most counties in the US. So all 3 counties are good on that front. This website has maps color coded – it rates entire states down to counties, cities and neighborhoods. Crimegrade.org. Good resource.
Another similarity is the low property taxes compared to neighboring states. WV ranks as the 8th state in the lowest property taxes. Jefferson has a tax rate of 7%. Berkeley & Morgan 6%. All 3 counties have a high percentage of home owners – around 70-75%. That’s probably due to the lower property taxes and home prices compared to the DC area. Those large Condominium buildings you see as you get closer to metro areas haven’t made it here yet. There’s slightly more women than men in all 3 counties. That kinda surprised me.
All 3 counties also are rich in American History dating back to the Revolutionary War. So you’ll find historic landmarks and beautiful historic places in all 3 counties.
So even with those similarities, there are some differences. One is population density. Jefferson has 276 people per sq mile, Berkeley 378 (that reflects how fast that county is growing) and Morgan 79 people per sq mile. if you are looking for open spaces, privacy home with some land, then Morgan is a good choice – much less dense with fewer people per square mile. But it’s further away from the DC area and a longer commute if that’s a consideration. Also, it’s a fairly small town so if you like a variety of shopping options you may find the need to drive the 35 minutes to Berkeley County for more accessibility. Another difference is the zoning status. Jefferson has zoning ordinances for the county, Berkeley County does not although there are efforts underway by some citizens to put that in place. Morgan County does not have zoning and there is a strong faction there that would oppose any attempt at that.
A few other differences: 19% of the population in Jefferson have college degrees – same as the national average. Morgan 9% and Berkeley 14%. Median household income. Berkeley $61,000 about the same as the national average. $77,000 in Jefferson and $51,000 in Morgan. Home sale prices: The median for Morgan is $210,000, Berkeley $260,000 the highest Jefferson at $300,000.
Commuting times. Jefferson is more convenient if you have to travel to MD or VA close to DC. Rt 340 from Charles Town provides a quick trip to Frederick. And Rt 270. It’s also closest to Dulles airport about an hour 15 away and has 2 commuter trains that go to DC. One in Harpers Ferry and one in Shenandoah Junction which is not far from Shepherdstown. I81 runs right through Berkeley County and it extends from north of Penn to Virginia and beyond. It’s a quick trip to anyplace along that route. Morgan is further out so a commute to the DC area would be around 2 hours depending on where you are going in that area. Rt 522 runs through town and it extends from Virginia north to the MD line.
So summing it all up. Home prices in Jefferson are slightly more expensive. It is more similar to towns in the DC area in several ways – zoning in place for example. Berkeley is the fastest growing and is more dense in population than Jefferson or Morgan. Home prices are slightly less than Jefferson. Morgan is by far, the least populated and home prices are lower. And this is just my impression. As you head further away from the metro area, there is less tolerance for any type of control. Many buyers find Morgan appealing for that reason – they are looking for more land, privacy and the freedom to do what they want on their property. Things like hunting, 4 wheeling, keeping chickens. There’s no zoning and more unrestricted property in Morgan. It’s not for everyone. Some people want the assurance that a used car lot won’t open next to their house and lower their home’s value. Here’s something else and it’s just my opinion, it tends to be more conservative as you head further away from the DC metro area.
We did lots of research on the communities here — school links, medical resources, current homes for sale etc and you can see it all on our website: https://meetmeinthepanhandle.com. If you click on Communities, you’ll see the list so just click on the one you’re interested in (that link is also at the top of this page).
Hope this was helpful. if you are looking into moving to this area, we can help. So be sure to call. 304-264-2828.
