West Virginia ranks #49 among US states for total patents filed in 2020, with 326 patents from 233 inventors across 78 cities. On a per-capita basis that is 0.2 patents per 1,000 residents, a standard benchmark for comparing state-level R&D intensity.
Top Cities in West Virginia 2020
| Rank ↑ | City ↕ | Patents ↕ | Inventors ↕ |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Morgantown, WV | 85 | 58 |
| #2 | Charleston, WV | 20 | 16 |
| #3 | Charles Town, WV | 18 | 4 |
| #4 | Martinsburg, WV | 13 | 11 |
| #5 | Vienna, WV | 12 | 8 |
| #6 | Wheeling, WV | 11 | 9 |
| #7 | Hedgesville, WV | 11 | 2 |
| #8 | Huntington, WV | 9 | 9 |
| #9 | Kearneysville, WV | 8 | 6 |
| #10 | South Charleston, WV | 7 | 5 |
| #11 | Beckley, WV | 7 | 3 |
| #12 | Ravenswood, WV | 6 | 4 |
| #13 | Harpers Ferry, WV | 6 | 6 |
| #14 | Hurricane, WV | 6 | 3 |
| #15 | Boaz, WV | 5 | 1 |
| #16 | Clarksburg, WV | 5 | 5 |
| #17 | Williamson, WV | 4 | 3 |
| #18 | Parkersburg, WV | 4 | 4 |
| #19 | Weirton, WV | 4 | 2 |
| #20 | Bruceton Mills, WV | 4 | 2 |
| #21 | Scott Depot, WV | 3 | 1 |
| #22 | Keyser, WV | 3 | 3 |
| #23 | Spencer, WV | 3 | 1 |
| #24 | Fairmont, WV | 3 | 3 |
| #25 | Moundsville, WV | 3 | 2 |