Best Places15074, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 15074, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
15074 ranks 19,283rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Property taxes pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on walkability.
The best neighborhoods in 15074
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
15074's strengths and weaknesses
Where 15074 ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 86% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 74% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 73% of zip codes
Where 15074 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Household income$58,961 median, better than only 22% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 15074
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 15074 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $58,961, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 15074's effective rate of 1.68%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 15074
15074 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 15074.
Who works in 15074, and how
Work in 15074 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 15074
15074 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 70% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 15074 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 15074, month by month
15074 sees roughly 74 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 31° | 25° |
| April | 62° | 53° | 44° |
| July | 85° | 76° | 67° |
| October | 66° | 57° | 49° |
Flying in and out of 15074
Pittsburgh International sits about 15 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 4.8 million passengers in 2025, with 104 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 15074
Schools across 15074 average a B−, better than 58% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Rochester Area El SchA · 70% proficient
- Freedom Area El SchB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Freedom Area MsC · 34% proficient
- Rochester MsC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Freedom Area ShsC+ · 40% proficient
- Rochester High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 15074 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
15074 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 15074 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 15074
Is 15074 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 15074 ranks 19,283rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on walkability, low disaster risk, and transit, and lowest on property taxes and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 15074 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $146,829. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $58,961 median income, cost of living beats 27% of zip codes.
Is 15074 safe?
Yes, 15074 is safer than 57% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $275 per resident a year.
Compare 15074 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 15074. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 15074 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
15074 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 15074: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 15074: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 15074: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 15074: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
15074 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.