Best Places15209, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 15209, 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.
15209 ranks 6,817th 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 15209
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.
15209's strengths and weaknesses
Where 15209 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 88% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 86% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 15209 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 30% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 15209
A household needs to earn about $59,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 15209 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $92,925, 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 15209's effective rate of 1.45%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 15209
15209 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 15209.
Who works in 15209, and how
Work in 15209 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 15209
15209 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 70% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 92% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 15209 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 15209, month by month
15209 sees roughly 74 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 15209
Pittsburgh International sits about 14 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 15209
Schools across 15209 average a B+, better than 82% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Ross El SchA+ · 75% proficient
- Pittsburgh Sunnyside K-8B− · 40% proficient
- Pittsburgh Arsenal K-5C− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Shaler Area El SchA+ · 77% proficient
- North Hills MsA− · 56% proficient
- Shaler Area MsA− · 55% proficient
Top high schools
- Shaler Area HsA+ · 90% proficient
- North Hills ShsA · 72% proficient
- Pittsburgh Obama 6-12C+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 15209 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
15209 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 15209 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 15209
Is 15209 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 15209 ranks 6,817th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, transit, and civic engagement, 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 15209 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $208,266. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $92,925 median income, cost of living beats 80% of zip codes.
Is 15209 safe?
15209 is safer than 22% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $421 per resident a year.
Compare 15209 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 15209. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 15209 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.
15209 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 15209: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 15209: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 15209: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 15209: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
15209 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.