State profile · WV · Clery Act

Safest Colleges in West Virginia

Federal Clery Act filings for all 65 tracked West Virginia campuses, ranked by 2024 on-campus Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents per 1,000 students. Among nonzero reporters, Blue Ridge Community and Technical College currently has the lowest rate.

65
Institutions tracked
7.60
Avg campus rate / 1k (65 of 65 scored)
2.22
Statewide rate / 1k
#56
Rank by avg campus rate
135,612
Students enrolled

Among nonzero Clery reporters, Blue Ridge Community and Technical College has the lowest rate in West Virginia

According to U.S. Department of Education Clery Act filings, across 65 tracked campuses in West Virginia, 44 reported zero 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents used in the rate; among campuses with any in those categories, Blue Ridge Community and Technical College has the lowest rate at 0.24 per 1,000 students. This comparison excludes other Clery tables and unreported harm, so review the details before drawing a safety conclusion.

Data source U.S. Department of Education, OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey

campuses tracked
65
average campus, per 1,000 (65 of 65 scored)
7.60
lowest nonzero rate - Blue Ridge Community
0.24
campuses at zero in score categories
44

Data updated August 2026

Clery Act plate

Sheet WV · West Virginia 7.60/1k campus avg · #56/59

RATE-HOT · RANK-BOTTOM · BELOW-PEER · ZERO-HEAVY · WT-SMALL-HOT · BOOK-FULL · CONC-HEAVY

  • RATE-HOT 7.60/1k
  • RANK-BOTTOM #56/59
  • BELOW-PEER Pennsylvania · 0.40 back
  • ZERO-HEAVY 68% zero
  • WT-SMALL-HOT Δ +5.38
  • BOOK-FULL 65/65
  • CONC-HEAVY top5 69%

Nearest campus-rate peer: Pennsylvania (+0.40/1k)

West Virginia sheet RATE-HOT · RANK-BOTTOM · BELOW-PEER · ZERO-HEAVY · WT-SMALL-HOT · BOOK-FULL · CONC-HEAVY · peer Pennsylvania. Codes from this state’s OPE Campus Safety filing: unweighted campus rate, corpus rank (low = safer), photo-finish peer state, zero-report share, campus-vs-weighted gap, scored book, top-five enrollment concentration. Not a moving recommendation.

Clery plate RATE-HOT · RANK-BOTTOM · BELOW-PEER · ZERO-HEAVY · WT-SMALL-HOT · BOOK-FULL · CONC-HEAVY. Nearest unweighted-rate peer is Pennsylvania (+0.40/1k). Among nonzero reporters inside the state, Blue Ridge Community and Technical College leads at 0.24/1k. Instrument codes from this state's OPE Campus Safety sheet; compare similarly sized campuses before treating any single rate as decisive.

Most scored campuses in West Virginia (44 of 65) reported zero in the 2024 score categories and stay unranked against each other. Among the nonzero reporters, Blue Ridge Community and Technical College leads at 0.24/1k, then University of Charleston (0.65/1k); Marshall University (1.34/1k). A high zero share is a filing pattern, not a proof that campuses are safer.

Campus-rate neighbourhood around West Virginia

Lowest/highest poles plus states nearest West Virginia on unweighted average campus Clery rate. Full ladder: /rankings/.

per 1,000 students

What this shows Neighbourhood of scored states around West Virginia's 7.60/1k unweighted campus average, not a full 50-state board reprint.

Source U.S. Department of Education, OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey (Clery Act) As of 2024

Safest colleges in West Virginia, ranked by reported rate

Ranked from the lowest 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA rate upward, counting only the 21 West Virginia campuses with at least one incident in those score categories. Positions are numbered within that group, because a rank counted through the zero-score campuses below would order them by nothing.

5
Salem University Salem · 1,083 students
Enrollment
1,083
Incidents /1k
1.85
19
Bethany College Bethany · 640 students
Enrollment
640
Incidents /1k
21.88
# Campus EnrollmentIncidents /1k
1 Blue Ridge Community and Technical College Martinsburg · 4,203 students 4,203 0.24 4% of the leader · rank #1
2 University of Charleston Charleston · 3,062 students 3,062 0.65 4% of the leader · rank #2
3 Marshall University Huntington · 11,958 students 11,958 1.34 4% of the leader · rank #3
4 Shepherd University Shepherdstown · 3,339 students 3,339 1.50 4% of the leader · rank #4
5 Salem University Salem · 1,083 students 1,083 1.85 4% of the leader · rank #5
6 Glenville State University Glenville · 1,765 students 1,765 2.27 4% of the leader · rank #6
7 Wheeling University Wheeling · 774 students 774 2.58 4% of the leader · rank #7
8 West Liberty University West Liberty · 2,299 students 2,299 2.61 4% of the leader · rank #8
9 Fairmont State University Fairmont · 3,305 students 3,305 3.03 4% of the leader · rank #9
10 West Virginia State University Institute · 3,246 students 3,246 4.00 4% of the leader · rank #10
11 Concord University Athens · 1,943 students 1,943 4.63 4% of the leader · rank #11
12 West Virginia University Institute of Technology Beckley · 1,278 students 1,278 5.48 4% of the leader · rank #12
13 Potomac State College of West Virginia University Keyser · 1,077 students 1,077 5.57 4% of the leader · rank #13
14 West Virginia University Morgantown · 23,643 students 23,643 6.43 4% of the leader · rank #14
15 Davis & Elkins College Elkins · 661 students 661 7.56 4% of the leader · rank #15
16 Bluefield State University Bluefield · 1,313 students 1,313 7.62 4% of the leader · rank #16
17 West Virginia Wesleyan College Buckhannon · 1,055 students 1,055 13.27 4% of the leader · rank #17
18 Morgantown Beauty College Inc Morgantown · 68 students 68 14.71 4% of the leader · rank #18
19 Bethany College Bethany · 640 students 640 21.88 7% of the leader · rank #19
20 B M Spurr School of Practical Nursing Glen Dale · 17 students 17 58.82 18% of the leader · rank #20
21 West Virginia University Hospital Departments of Rad Tech and Nutrition Morgantown · 64 students 64 328.13 100% of the leader · rank #21

Unranked campuses (44): zero score or no normalized rate

44 filed zero 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA incidents in the score categories; other Clery tables can still contain reports. Neither group supports a safety ordering, so these campuses are listed alphabetically without positions. Showing 15 alphabetically; the remaining 29 stay out of this HTML table so large states stay crawlable.

# Campus EnrollmentIncidents /1k
Academy of Careers and Technology Beckley · 168 students 168 0.00
American Public University System Charles Town · 50,715 students 50,715 0.00
Appalachian Bible College Mount Hope · 223 students 223 0.00
Ben Franklin Career Center Dunbar · 78 students 78 0.00
Boone Career and Technical Center Foster · 59 students 59 0.00
BridgeValley Community & Technical College South Charleston · 1,927 students 1,927 0.00
Cabell County Career Technology Center Huntington · 51 students 51 0.00
Carver Career Center Charleston · 169 students 169 0.00
Charleston School of Beauty Culture Charleston · 46 students 46 0.00
Clarksburg Beauty Academy and School of Massage Therapy Clarksburg · 47 students 47 0.00
Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College Moorefield · 465 students 465 0.00
Fayette Institute of Technology Oak Hill · 32 students 32 0.00
Fred W Eberle Technical Center Buckhannon · 109 students 109 0.00
Future Generations University Franklin · 48 students 48 0.00
Huntington Junior College Huntington · 182 students 182 0.00

Open any remaining campus from the school directory or the incident tool.

The largest universities in West Virginia by enrollment

Enrollment leaders: American Public University System (50,715); West Virginia University (23,643); Marshall University (11,958), then 62 more. The 15 biggest West Virginia institutions by total enrolled students, from the same federal IPEDS collection, each shown with its 2024 Criminal Offenses and VAWA rate. The five largest alone account for 69% of the 135,612 students enrolled across all 65 tracked West Virginia institutions. Mid-pack by size sits near Huntington Junior College (182 students, 0.00/1k).

# Institution EnrollmentIncidents /1k
1 American Public University System Charles Town · 50,715 students 50,715 100% of the leader · rank #1 0.00
2 West Virginia University Morgantown · 23,643 students 23,643 47% of the leader · rank #2 6.43
3 Marshall University Huntington · 11,958 students 11,958 24% of the leader · rank #3 1.34
4 Blue Ridge Community and Technical College Martinsburg · 4,203 students 4,203 8% of the leader · rank #4 0.24
5 Shepherd University Shepherdstown · 3,339 students 3,339 7% of the leader · rank #5 1.50
6 Fairmont State University Fairmont · 3,305 students 3,305 7% of the leader · rank #6 3.03
7 West Virginia State University Institute · 3,246 students 3,246 6% of the leader · rank #7 4.00
8 University of Charleston Charleston · 3,062 students 3,062 6% of the leader · rank #8 0.65
9 West Virginia University at Parkersburg Parkersburg · 2,728 students 2,728 5% of the leader · rank #9 0.00
10 West Liberty University West Liberty · 2,299 students 2,299 5% of the leader · rank #10 2.61
11 Concord University Athens · 1,943 students 1,943 4% of the leader · rank #11 4.63
12 Pierpont Community and Technical College Fairmont · 1,938 students 1,938 4% of the leader · rank #12 0.00
13 BridgeValley Community & Technical College South Charleston · 1,927 students 1,927 4% of the leader · rank #13 0.00
14 Glenville State University Glenville · 1,765 students 1,765 4% of the leader · rank #14 2.27
15 New River Community and Technical College Beaver · 1,571 students 1,571 4% of the leader · rank #15 0.00

Enrollment is total reported students, not full-time equivalent, and a branch campus is reported separately from its parent institution. A larger campus is not a less safe one: the incident rate beside it is already per 1,000 students.

Nationwide states with similar campus scale or Clery rate

Two nationwide peer sets for West Virginia: closest on tracked campus count (65 here) and closest on unweighted average 2024 Clery rate (7.60/1k here). The rate-neighbourhood and keep-peer blocks above stay geo-adjacent; these columns are cross-state ABS comparisons with deduped link sets.

Similar campus count

Nearest other states by number of tracked postsecondary institutions (≥5 scored campuses in corpus).

Similar campus Clery rate

Nearest other states by unweighted average on-campus Clery rate. Campus-count peers above are excluded.

Read with this state

Keep-peer handoff: Pennsylvania sits nearest on unweighted campus average (+0.40/1k). Inside West Virginia, open Blue Ridge Community and Technical College's campus sheet next.

Blue Ridge Community and Technical College profile → | All states → | West Virginia net price → | Incident tool → | Methodology →

West Virginia campus safety FAQ

What are the safest colleges in West Virginia?

Among West Virginia campuses that reported at least one 2024 Criminal Offense or VAWA incident in the Clery categories used here, Blue Ridge Community and Technical College has the lowest rate (0.24 per 1,000 students). Next among nonzero reporters: University of Charleston (0.65/1k); Marshall University (1.34/1k). 44 campuses reported zero in those score categories and are listed separately without a safety ordinal, because a zero report is not the same as a proven safer campus.

How does PlainCampus rank campus safety in West Virginia?

In West Virginia, campuses with any 2024 Criminal Offenses or VAWA incidents in the score categories are ordered by incidents per 1,000 students - Blue Ridge Community and Technical College currently leads that nonzero list at 0.24/1k. Zero-report and unscored campuses stay unranked and alphabetical. See /methodology for the full rate definition.

How many colleges in West Virginia are compared?

This page covers 65 tracked higher-education institutions in West Virginia, serving about 135,612 enrolled students combined across 40 cities. 21 carry a ranked nonzero rate; 44 are listed without a safety ordinal. By enrollment the largest are American Public University System (50,715); West Virginia University (23,643); Marshall University (11,958). Nearby state averages for context: Pennsylvania (8.00/1k); District of Columbia (8.54/1k); Kansas (5.58/1k); Vermont (9.77/1k); Iowa (5.37/1k); New Mexico (4.89/1k).

Every figure on PlainCampus is rendered directly from federal Clery Act source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on federal Clery Act source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

PlainCampus is for informational purposes only and does not constitute safety, security, legal, or enrollment advice; the data describes reported on-campus activity, it is not a complete picture of safety at any campus and cannot predict any individual student's experience. See our appropriate use guidance.