Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Estonia instead of West Virginia, you would:

Health

be 49.8% less likely to be obese

In West Virginia, 40.5% of adults are obese as of 2022. In Estonia, that number is 20.3% of people as of 2024.

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Economy

be 88.9% more likely to be unemployed

In West Virginia, 4.4% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Estonia, that number is 8.3% as of 2025.

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be 38.0% more likely to live below the poverty line

In West Virginia, 16.3% live below the poverty line as of 2023. In Estonia, however, that number is 22.5% as of 2022.

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make 26.5% less money

West Virginia has a GDP per capita of $46,834 as of 2024, while in Estonia, the GDP per capita is $34,418 as of 2025.

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Sources: World Bank (2022–2025), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), World Health Organization (2024), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024). How we calculate this

Compare further: West Virginia vs. Estonia

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
Estonia is 29.5% cheaper than West Virginia
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Size Comparison · See true size
West Virginia is about 1.4 times bigger than Estonia.
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Moving from West Virginia to Estonia · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
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Estonia: At a glance

Estonia is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 42,388 sq km. After centuries of Danish, Swedish, German, and Russian rule, Estonia attained independence in 1918. Forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1940 - an action never recognized by the US - it regained its freedom in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since the last Russian troops left in 1994, Estonia has been free to promote economic and political ties with the West. It joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004, formally joined the OECD in late 2010, and adopted the euro as its official currency on 1 January 2011.
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How big is Estonia compared to West Virginia? See an in-depth size comparison.

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