Best Places15101, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 15101, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
15101 ranks 707th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 15101
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.
15101's strengths and weaknesses
Where 15101 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- School gradeA+, better than 97% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 95% of zip codes
Where 15101 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 26% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 30% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$991 a month, better than only 33% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 15101
A household needs to earn about $98,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 15101 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $134,243, 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 15101's effective rate of 1.46%, 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 15101
15101 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 15101.
Who works in 15101, and how
Work in 15101 centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 71%
- Work from home 25%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 15101
15101 has more parkland per resident than 85% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 15101 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 15101, month by month
15101 sees roughly 74 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 29° | 20° |
| April | 63° | 50° | 39° |
| July | 85° | 73° | 61° |
| October | 66° | 54° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 15101
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 15101
Schools across 15101 average an A+, better than 97% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Wexford El SchA+ · 88% proficient
- Central El SchA+ · 86% proficient
- Poff El SchA+ · 85% proficient
Top middle schools
- Shaler Area El SchA+ · 77% proficient
- Eden Hall Upper El SchA+ · 74% proficient
- Dorseyville MsA+ · 72% proficient
Top high schools
- Pine-richland HsA+ · 91% proficient
- Shaler Area HsA+ · 90% proficient
- Hampton HsA+ · 90% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 15101 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
15101 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 15101 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 15101 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 95% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 25% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 15101
Is 15101 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 15101 ranks 707th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, good schools, and health care access, and lowest on property taxes and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 15101 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $342,134. The overall cost of living runs about 0% above the national average. Set against a $134,243 median income, cost of living beats 95% of zip codes.
Is 15101 safe?
Yes, 15101 is safer than 88% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $172 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 15101?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 38 with lows near 20. That works out to about 74 pleasant days a year, more than 34% of zip codes.
Is 15101 good for families?
Schools beat 97% of zip codes, crime safety beats 88%, and childcare runs $991 a month.
Compare 15101 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 15101. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 15101 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.
15101 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 15101: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 15101: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 15101: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 15101: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
15101 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.