Best Places15120, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 15120, 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.
15120 ranks 21,709th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 15120
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.
15120's strengths and weaknesses
Where 15120 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 93% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 92% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 89% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 15120 ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 15120
A household needs to earn about $39,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 15120 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $60,746, 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 15120's effective rate of 1.61%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 15120
15120 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 15120.
Who works in 15120, and how
Work in 15120 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in 15120
15120 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 77% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 67% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 15120 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 15120, month by month
15120 sees roughly 75 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 31° | 23° |
| April | 66° | 53° | 41° |
| July | 86° | 75° | 65° |
| October | 68° | 57° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 15120
Pittsburgh International sits about 18 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 15120
Schools across 15120 average a B, better than 69% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Park El SchA · 70% proficient
- Pittsburgh Linden K-5B · 50% proficient
- Barrett El SchB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- West Mifflin Area MsB · 43% proficient
- Steel Valley MsC− · 30% proficient
- Pittsburgh Classical 6-8D · 20% proficient
Top high schools
- Steel Valley ShsA− · 60% proficient
- West Mifflin Area HsB · 50% proficient
- Pittsburgh Allderdice HsB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 15120 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
15120 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 15120 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 15120
Is 15120 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 15120 ranks 21,709th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, cell coverage, and transit, and lowest on crime and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 15120 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $133,061. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $60,746 median income, cost of living beats 36% of zip codes.
Is 15120 safe?
15120 is safer than 6% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $627 per resident a year.
Compare 15120 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 15120. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 15120 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.
15120 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 15120: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 15120: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 15120: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 15120: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
15120 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.