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Cliff-Zone Families
46,939
Total Wage Suppression
$34.2M
State Avg Cliff Zone
19.3%
The benefits cliff — sometimes called the welfare cliff or cliff effect — occurs when families lose public benefits faster than they can replace them through increased earnings. In West Virginia, an estimated 46,939 families across 55 counties earn between 100–200% of the Federal Poverty Level, where benefits like SNAP, Medicaid, childcare subsidies, and housing assistance phase out. The CLIFF Index measures this exposure at the county level, including peak marginal effective tax rates, wage suppression estimates, and advancement thresholds. Click any county below for the full diagnostic report.
| CountyCounty↕ | PopulationPopulation↕ | Cliff Zone %Cliff Zone %↕ | Families AffectedFamilies↓ | Wage SuppressionWage Gap↕ | Peak METRPeak METR↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kanawha County | 176,537 | 18.0% | 4,404 | $3.2M | 372% |
| Berkeley County | 129,514 | 16.7% | 3,723 | $2.7M | 379% |
| Cabell County | 92,739 | 20.5% | 2,528 | $1.8M | 372% |
| Wood County | 83,407 | 21.1% | 2,373 | $1.7M | 372% |
| Monongalia County | 107,163 | 14.0% | 2,066 | $1.5M | 372% |
| Raleigh County | 73,195 | 18.8% | 1,851 | $1.3M | 372% |
| Mercer County | 58,563 | 21.4% | 1,796 | $1.3M | 372% |
| Harrison County | 64,984 | 19.0% | 1,681 | $1.2M | 372% |
| Marion County | 55,909 | 17.2% | 1,398 | $1.0M | 372% |
| Putnam County | 57,177 | 16.0% | 1,385 | $1.0M | 372% |
| Jefferson County | 59,260 | 11.0% | 1,185 | $863K | 380% |
| Wayne County | 38,164 | 21.4% | 1,086 | $791K | 372% |
| Fayette County | 39,519 | 18.8% | 1,048 | $763K | 372% |
| Ohio County | 41,582 | 17.6% | 975 | $710K | 372% |
| Logan County | 31,418 | 22.8% | 970 | $706K | 372% |
| Preston County | 34,160 | 18.7% | 917 | $668K | 372% |
| Marshall County | 29,865 | 19.0% | 916 | $667K | 372% |
| Randolph County | 27,576 | 24.4% | 899 | $654K | 372% |
| Greenbrier County | 32,386 | 19.0% | 882 | $642K | 372% |
| Mason County | 25,043 | 24.6% | 868 | $632K | 372% |
| Wyoming County | 20,629 | 27.1% | 767 | $558K | 372% |
| Upshur County | 23,712 | 22.9% | 715 | $521K | 372% |
| Hancock County | 28,431 | 18.2% | 714 | $520K | 372% |
| Taylor County | 16,487 | 24.0% | 686 | $499K | 372% |
| Jackson County | 27,705 | 19.2% | 658 | $479K | 372% |
| Brooke County | 21,805 | 20.6% | 638 | $464K | 372% |
| Lincoln County | 19,902 | 27.6% | 589 | $429K | 372% |
| Boone County | 21,026 | 21.0% | 559 | $407K | 372% |
| Hampshire County | 23,465 | 20.5% | 550 | $400K | 400% |
| Mineral County | 26,854 | 14.6% | 544 | $396K | 372% |
| Nicholas County | 24,277 | 18.2% | 530 | $386K | 372% |
| Braxton County | 12,208 | 26.3% | 514 | $374K | 372% |
| Mingo County | 22,542 | 22.3% | 497 | $362K | 372% |
| Hardy County | 14,243 | 26.0% | 478 | $348K | 372% |
| Roane County | 13,786 | 28.9% | 467 | $340K | 372% |
| Lewis County | 16,740 | 17.6% | 432 | $314K | 372% |
| McDowell County | 17,943 | 27.7% | 427 | $311K | 372% |
| Barbour County | 15,424 | 18.4% | 426 | $310K | 372% |
| Morgan County | 17,426 | 15.7% | 408 | $297K | 372% |
| Wetzel County | 14,078 | 22.8% | 353 | $257K | 372% |
| Pleasants County | 7,521 | 26.8% | 268 | $195K | 372% |
| Pocahontas County | 7,784 | 30.2% | 267 | $194K | 372% |
| Monroe County | 12,386 | 22.4% | 251 | $183K | 372% |
| Grant County | 10,983 | 16.8% | 241 | $175K | 372% |
| Ritchie County | 8,286 | 21.2% | 236 | $172K | 372% |
| Clay County | 7,835 | 27.2% | 230 | $167K | 372% |
| Doddridge County | 7,711 | 25.4% | 214 | $156K | 372% |
| Pendleton County | 6,043 | 20.1% | 197 | $143K | 372% |
| Webster County | 8,144 | 21.6% | 182 | $132K | 372% |
| Summers County | 11,729 | 21.9% | 172 | $125K | 372% |
| Wirt County | 5,053 | 25.5% | 166 | $121K | 372% |
| Gilmer County | 7,288 | 25.3% | 165 | $120K | 372% |
| Calhoun County | 6,048 | 17.5% | 157 | $114K | 372% |
| Tucker County | 6,654 | 17.1% | 155 | $113K | 372% |
| Tyler County | 8,064 | 15.0% | 135 | $98K | 372% |
55 of 55 counties shown. Click any county for full diagnostic.