Best Places15238, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 15238, 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.
15238 ranks 780th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on an educated workforce by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 15238
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.
15238's strengths and weaknesses
Where 15238 ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 97% of zip codes
Where 15238 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 30% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 32% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 15238
A household needs to earn about $156,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 15238 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $152,424; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 15238's effective rate of 1.50%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 15238
15238 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 15238.
Who works in 15238, and how
Work in 15238 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 15238
15238 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 87% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 92% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 15238 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 15238, month by month
15238 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 15238
Pittsburgh International sits about 19 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 15238
Schools across 15238 average an A, better than 97% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Fairview El SchA+ · 93% proficient
- Ohara El SchA+ · 91% proficient
- Verner El SchA+ · 90% proficient
Top middle schools
- Dorseyville MsA+ · 72% proficient
- Shaler Area MsA− · 55% proficient
- Linton MsD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Fox Chapel Area HsA+ · 93% proficient
- Hampton HsA+ · 90% proficient
- Riverview JshsB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 15238 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
15238 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 15238 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 15238
Is 15238 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 15238 ranks 780th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on an educated workforce, low disaster risk, and health care access, 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 15238 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $543,491. The overall cost of living runs about 8% above the national average. Set against a $152,424 median income, cost of living beats 97% of zip codes.
Is 15238 safe?
Yes, 15238 is safer than 56% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $269 per resident a year.
Compare 15238 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 15238. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 15238 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.
15238 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 15238: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 15238: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 15238: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 15238: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
15238 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.