Private wells
West Virginia well water: who's on a well and what to test for
People on private wells
426,600
Homes on wells
24.1%
Est. above arsenic limit
11,600
Every West Virginia county
Sorted by people on private wells. Arsenic and nitrate are modeled for typical wells in the county, not measured at yours; depth is the median of domestic well records.
| Kanawha County | 25,700 | 13% | 2.8% | 0.1 | 75 ft |
| Berkeley County | 25,100 | 20% | 2.4% | 1.9 | 135 ft |
| Jefferson County | 23,800 | 41% | 2.4% | 5.2 | 158 ft |
| Boone County | 16,100 | 74% | 1.8% | 0.0 | 85 ft |
| Hampshire County | 15,700 | 72% | 2.3% | 0.1 | 90 ft |
| Preston County | 14,600 | 46% | 2.0% | 0.1 | n/a |
| Greenbrier County | 14,100 | 43% | 1.8% | 0.2 | 85 ft |
| Morgan County | 13,600 | 80% | 3.6% | 0.0 | 205 ft |
| Cabell County | 11,800 | 12% | 2.5% | 0.1 | 68 ft |
| Logan County | 11,700 | 35% | 2.5% | 0.0 | 61 ft |
| Raleigh County | 11,400 | 13% | 2.4% | 0.1 | 73 ft |
| Lincoln County | 11,100 | 54% | 2.6% | 0.0 | 80 ft |
| Mercer County | 11,100 | 19% | 2.0% | 0.1 | n/a |
| Fayette County | 10,400 | 26% | 2.6% | 0.0 | 100 ft |
| Mason County | 10,300 | 41% | 2.9% | 0.1 | 82 ft |
| Putnam County | 9,900 | 18% | 2.9% | 0.1 | 73 ft |
| Hardy County | 9,600 | 72% | 1.6% | 0.1 | n/a |
| Wayne County | 9,000 | 23% | 2.3% | 0.0 | 75 ft |
| Lewis County | 8,600 | 49% | 2.4% | 0.1 | n/a |
| Jackson County | 8,400 | 30% | 3.0% | 0.0 | 120 ft |
| McDowell County | 8,100 | 46% | 2.4% | 0.0 | 72 ft |
| Wyoming County | 8,100 | 37% | 2.1% | 0.0 | 75 ft |
| Harrison County | 7,500 | 11% | 2.9% | 0.1 | n/a |
| Mingo County | 7,400 | 30% | 2.5% | 0.0 | 64 ft |
| Mineral County | 7,200 | 26% | 2.3% | 0.1 | n/a |
| Randolph County | 7,000 | 29% | 2.3% | 0.1 | n/a |
| Monroe County | 6,600 | 55% | 2.5% | 0.2 | n/a |
| Summers County | 6,500 | 58% | 3.2% | 0.0 | n/a |
| Roane County | 6,100 | 45% | 2.7% | 0.0 | 62 ft |
| Grant County | 6,000 | 54% | 1.6% | 0.1 | n/a |
| Doddridge County | 5,600 | 79% | 2.8% | 0.0 | n/a |
| Pocahontas County | 5,600 | 58% | 2.1% | 0.1 | n/a |
| Braxton County | 5,400 | 46% | 2.2% | 0.0 | 58 ft |
| Monongalia County | 4,900 | 4% | 2.7% | 0.1 | 65 ft |
| Clay County | 4,900 | 59% | 2.1% | 0.0 | 50 ft |
| Pendleton County | 4,700 | 79% | 1.8% | 0.1 | n/a |
| Nicholas County | 4,600 | 19% | 1.8% | 0.1 | 75 ft |
| Ritchie County | 4,300 | 52% | 2.8% | 0.0 | n/a |
| Webster County | 4,100 | 53% | 1.3% | 0.0 | 95 ft |
| Wetzel County | 3,800 | 27% | 3.0% | 0.0 | n/a |
| Calhoun County | 3,600 | 58% | 3.1% | 0.0 | n/a |
| Tyler County | 3,400 | 44% | 3.2% | 0.1 | n/a |
| Marion County | 3,200 | 6% | 3.0% | 0.1 | n/a |
| Wood County | 3,100 | 3% | 2.6% | 0.1 | n/a |
| Gilmer County | 3,000 | 53% | 2.7% | 0.0 | n/a |
| Upshur County | 2,400 | 11% | 2.0% | 0.1 | n/a |
| Hancock County | 2,400 | 8% | 3.9% | 0.2 | n/a |
| Tucker County | 2,400 | 46% | 2.0% | 0.0 | 119 ft |
| Pleasants County | 2,400 | 33% | 3.0% | 0.1 | n/a |
| Barbour County | 2,200 | 16% | 2.7% | 0.1 | n/a |
| Ohio County | 2,100 | 5% | 2.3% | 0.6 | n/a |
| Marshall County | 2,000 | 7% | 2.9% | 0.1 | 96 ft |
| Wirt County | 1,600 | 32% | 3.3% | 0.0 | n/a |
| Brooke County | 1,200 | 5% | 3.5% | 0.3 | n/a |
| Taylor County | 1,000 | 6% | 3.3% | 0.1 | n/a |
Shading: red is among the highest counties nationally, amber the middle, green the lower range. Click a column to sort.
Most well users above the arsenic limit
- Hampshire County: about 1,500 people
- Morgan County: about 1,100 people
- Berkeley County: about 980 people
- Mineral County: about 930 people
- Mercer County: about 770 people
Highest modeled nitrate
- Jefferson County: 5.2 mg/L average (limit 10)
Test first, then treat what the test finds
We may earn a commission from links below, at no cost to you. Picks follow the testing order, not who pays. How we make money.
1. Certified lab well test
Start here, every year
A mail-in kit analyzed by a certified lab measures bacteria, nitrate, arsenic, metals and more. Test strips cannot measure arsenic or uranium reliably.
Mail-in certified lab well water test
Mid-range2. Sediment pre-filter
Sand, silt or cloudy water
A 5-micron cartridge after the pressure tank catches sand, silt and rust before they reach fixtures or other filters. Cartridges are cheap and swap every few months.
5-micron whole-house sediment filter
Budget3. Iron and sulfur filter
Orange stains or rotten-egg smell
Air-injection or oxidizing-media filters remove orange staining and rotten-egg smell. Size one from a lab result for iron, manganese and hydrogen sulfide.
Air-injection iron and sulfur filter
Premium4. UV disinfection system
Coliform bacteria in a test
Inactivates bacteria and viruses; usually for private wells or after boil notices.
12 GPM whole-house UV purifier
Premium5. Under-sink reverse osmosis
Arsenic, nitrate or uranium in a test
The most thorough option for drinking water: PFAS, lead, nitrate, arsenic and more. Look for NSF/ANSI 58.
Waterdrop G3P600 tankless RO
Price at Waterdrop, checked Oct 5, 2026or compare on Amazon
iSpring RCC7AK reverse osmosis
Mid-range6. Whole-house well filter
Several problems at once
Multi-stage sediment and carbon for every tap. Add UV if bacteria shows up, and choose stages from your lab results, not a guess.
Waterdrop WHF21-PG 2-stage whole-house filter
Price at Waterdrop, checked Oct 5, 2026
Questions
Which West Virginia counties rely most on wells?+
By share of homes: Morgan County (80%), Doddridge County (79%), Pendleton County (79%), Boone County (74%), Hampshire County (72%). By number of people: Kanawha County (25,700), Berkeley County (25,100), Jefferson County (23,800).
Is arsenic a problem in West Virginia wells?+
USGS estimates about 11,600 West Virginia well users have water above the 10 microgram per liter arsenic limit that applies to public systems, the largest numbers in Hampshire County, Morgan County, Berkeley County. Arsenic has no taste or smell, so only a lab test finds it.
Do I have to test my well when I sell a house in West Virginia?+
We could not confirm a statewide rule for West Virginia. Check with your county health department. Buyers can still make a lab test a condition of the offer.
How often should I test my well?+
No federal law covers private wells. EPA's drinking water limits apply to public water systems, so testing and treating a private well is up to the owner. EPA and CDC recommend testing at least once a year for coliform bacteria, nitrate, pH and total dissolved solids, and testing for arsenic, uranium, radon and other local concerns based on where you live.
Well-user counts, arsenic and nitrate figures are each a modeled estimate built from national datasets, not a count of tested wells, and well depths summarize drilling records rather than every well. Your own well can be very different from the county average, which is why the only answer for your home is a lab test. Sources: EPA Office of Research and Development, Water Source 2020 (private well estimates by census block); CDC Environmental Public Health Tracking, Well Water Index (from USGS nitrate and arsenic models); USGS, county-level domestic well population with arsenic above 10 micrograms per liter (Ayotte and others, 2017); USGS Synthesized Domestic Well Database for the Conterminous United States (SynDWell-US), McCarthy and others, 2025 (depth, where a county has 30+ usable records).