Shepherdstown is a very small town located in the state of West Virginia. With a population of 1,537 people and three associated neighborhoods, Shepherdstown is the 124th largest community in West Virginia. Shepherdstown has an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic towns. Shepherdstown real estate is some of the most expensive in West Virginia, although Shepherdstown house values don't compare to the most expensive real estate in the U.S.Shepherdstown is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 88.58% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Shepherdstown is a town of service providers, professionals, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Shepherdstown who work in food service (15.98%), office and administrative support (15.37%), and teaching (12.79%). Of important note, Shepherdstown is also a town of artists. Shepherdstown has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Shepherdstown’s character. One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 21.06% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. Shepherdstown is a place where college students are a big part of the character and culture of the town. Small towns have often struggled with declining populations over the past few decades, but the presence of such a large college student population has helped Shepherdstown to fight this trend. Not only does the college population add spending and jobs to local economy, but it also contributes a very tangible, youthful energy to the town. One of the benefits of Shepherdstown is that there is very little traffic. The average commute to work is 18.37 minutes, which is substantially less than the national average. Not only does this mean that the drive to work is less aggravating, but noise and pollution levels are lower as a result.Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Shepherdstown. 71.37% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 21.84%. The per capita income in Shepherdstown in 2022 was $22,913, which is lower middle income relative to West Virginia, and low income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $91,652 for a family of four. However, Shepherdstown contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Shepherdstown is a somewhat ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Shepherdstown home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Shepherdstown residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Shepherdstown include German, Irish, English, Italian, and Scots-Irish. The most common language spoken in Shepherdstown is English. Other important languages spoken here include Polish and Spanish.
