Huntington 4plexes: Buy a Fourplex and House Hack in Huntington
Huntington is the lowest-priced city in this guide by home value: about 44,815 people, a median household income of $45,100, and a median owner-occupied home value of $127,200. A house hacker here is buying a railroad and university city at a fraction of coastal prices — and accepting that tenant incomes, not just values, run lower too.
Huntington by the Numbers
Huntington is the county seat of Cabell County, at the confluence of the Ohio and Guyandotte rivers, and the state's second-most populous city. It was founded as a planned community and the western terminus of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, completed in 1871 and named for Collis Potter Huntington; the Port of Huntington Tri-State is the second-busiest inland port in the United States, Marshall University was founded in 1837 as Marshall Academy, and the Huntington Museum of Art is the state's largest art museum.
| Population (Census Vintage 2025, July 1, 2025) | 44,815 |
|---|---|
| State capital | Charleston |
| Median household income (ACS 2024 5-year, B19013) | $45,100 |
| Households earning under $50,000 (ACS 2024 5-year, B19001) | 52.9% |
| Households earning $50,000 to $99,999 (ACS 2024 5-year, B19001) | 26.7% |
| Households earning $100,000 to $199,999 (ACS 2024 5-year, B19001) | 14.9% |
| Households earning $200,000 or more (ACS 2024 5-year, B19001) | 5.6% |
| Median gross rent (ACS 2024 5-year, B25064) | $912 per month |
| Median earnings, all workers 16 and older (ACS 2024 5-year, B20017) | $26,825 |
| Median owner-occupied home value (ACS 2024 5-year, B25077) | $127,200 |
Put rent and value together: a year of rent at the median ($912 a month) is 8.60% of the median owner-occupied home value ($127,200). Treat that as a rough gauge of the rent-to-price relationship in Huntington, not as income — expenses, vacancies, and taxes all reduce what an owner actually keeps.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 5-year estimates (tables B19013, B19001, B25064, B20017, B25077).
Buying a 4plex in Huntington
Huntington's city figures — median gross rent of $912 a month, median owner-occupied home value of $127,200 — produce the highest rent-to-price reading in this batch, but that reading comes with a warning: median earnings here are lower, and the tenant pool leans on the university, the port, and CSX Transportation's Huntington Division. A fourplex near Marshall, downtown's Fourth Avenue, or Pullman Square serves that pool directly; a building far from it may rent for less than the city median suggests.
Underwrite in triplicate: seller rents, the $912 median, and a hard case with a vacancy plus a major repair. Huntington's low prices make the first case look generous and the third case essential — a cheap building that needs a roof and sits empty for two months is not a bargain, whatever the listing says.
Buyer Help and Loans in Huntington
Ask several lenders which Loan Types programs they close for owner-occupied 2-4 unit purchases in West Virginia, and what overlays they apply. In a lower-priced market, appraisal and condition overlays can matter more than rate, and a lender who has closed Huntington-style fourplexes will say so plainly.
Pre-approval with a fourplex-experienced lender first, then a same-building comparison of FHA, conventional, and VA where you qualify. The Loan Types page lists the program facts to check each quote against, including the 5% minimum down on 2-4 unit conventional and HomeReady/Home Possible purchases.
Living in Huntington
Fourth Avenue, pictured above, runs through downtown Huntington's historic district, near the Keith-Albee Theatre and Pullman Square. Camden Park, one of the world's oldest amusement parks, sits nearby, and the city earned the nickname Jewel City from the lights along the river — a downtown that an owner-occupant can walk, not just drive through.
Huntington rewards the buyer who respects both sides of the ledger: low prices and lower incomes. Buy near the university and downtown anchors, underwrite for vacancy, maintain the building well, and the fixed mortgage plus slowly rising rents can build a position that a coastal buyer would envy for the entry price alone.