Best PlacesAllegheny County, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Allegheny County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Allegheny County ranks 375th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $91,250, everyday costs sit below the national average, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are noise, property taxes, and state infrastructure.
The best neighborhoods in Allegheny County
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.
The best areas in Allegheny County
The parts of Allegheny County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Bethel Park, Upper St. Clair & Bridgeville
Incomes run higher, local pay stretches further, and schools score higher.
Coraopolis, Wexford & Mckees Rocks
Crime runs lower and tree cover is thicker.
Allison Park, Gibsonia & Glenshaw
More adults hold degrees, though homes cost more.
Oakdale, Crafton & Imperial
Biking is better.
Plum, Verona & Natrona Heights
Streets are more car-dependent and transit reaches fewer jobs.
Baldwin, Jefferson Hills & Brentwood
Pittsburgh
More homes sit empty and fewer households have young kids.
Monroeville, Wilkinsburg & Swissvale
Health outcomes score lower.
McKeesport, West Mifflin & Elizabeth
Health care is harder to reach and fewer residents vote.
Allegheny County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 1% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Allegheny County's strengths and weaknesses
Allegheny County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Low disaster risk is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. Transit and walkability follow.
The one real hole is noise, near the bottom of the country. Property taxes and state infrastructure also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Allegheny County ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 99% of counties
- TransitBetter than 98% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 96% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 96% of counties
- BikingBetter than 94% of counties
Where Allegheny County ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 2% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 8% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 14% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 15% of counties
- Cheap childcare$991 a month, better than only 17% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Allegheny County
A household needs to earn about $75,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Allegheny County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $91,250, 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 Allegheny County's effective rate of 1.47%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Allegheny County
Allegheny County 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 Allegheny County.
Who works in Allegheny County, and how
Work in Allegheny County centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 68%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in Allegheny County
Allegheny County has more parkland per resident than 85% of counties and more late-night spots per resident than 79% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Allegheny County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Allegheny County growing, and who is moving in?
Allegheny County has held roughly flat in population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Pittsburgh, PA metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Allegheny County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Allegheny County, month by month
Allegheny County 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 Allegheny County
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 Allegheny County
Schools across Allegheny County average a B, better than 82% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Streams El SchA+ · 98% proficient
- Baker El SchA+ · 98% proficient
- Wilson El SchA+ · 98% proficient
Top middle schools
- Fort Couch MsA+ · 83% proficient
- South Fayette MsA+ · 80% proficient
- Shaler Area El SchA+ · 77% proficient
Top high schools
- South Park ShsA+ · 95% proficient
- Fox Chapel Area HsA+ · 93% proficient
- Pine-richland HsA+ · 91% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Allegheny County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Allegheny County 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 Allegheny County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Allegheny County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 21% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Allegheny County
Is Allegheny County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Allegheny County ranks 375th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low disaster risk, transit, and walkability, and lowest on noise and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Allegheny County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $264,573. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $91,250 median income, cost of living beats 88% of counties.
Is Allegheny County safe?
Allegheny County is safer than 22% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $423 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Allegheny County?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 40 with lows near 23. That works out to about 74 pleasant days a year, more than 29% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Allegheny County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Bethel Park, Upper St. Clair & Bridgeville, Coraopolis, Wexford & Mckees Rocks, and Allison Park, Gibsonia & Glenshaw. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Allegheny County good for families?
Schools beat 82% of counties, crime safety beats 22%, and childcare runs $991 a month.
Is Allegheny County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 63% of counties. About 21% of workers already work from home.
Compare Allegheny County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Allegheny County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Allegheny County 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.
Allegheny County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Allegheny County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Allegheny County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Allegheny County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Allegheny County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Allegheny County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.