Best PlacesMcDowell Corners, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around McDowell Corners, 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.
McDowell Corners ranks 15,151st of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in McDowell Corners
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.
McDowell Corners' strengths and weaknesses
Where McDowell Corners ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 97% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 95% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 95% of towns
Where McDowell Corners ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 4% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than only 19% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,038 a month, better than only 23% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 24% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 27% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in McDowell Corners
A household needs to earn about $70,000 a year to comfortably buy the median McDowell Corners home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $77,354, 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 McDowell Corners' effective rate of 0.96%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in McDowell Corners
McDowell Corners's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 McDowell Corners.
Who works in McDowell Corners, and how
Work in McDowell Corners centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in McDowell Corners
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across McDowell Corners.
What the weather is like in McDowell Corners, month by month
McDowell Corners sees roughly 71 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 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° | 28° | 20° |
| April | 64° | 50° | 38° |
| July | 86° | 73° | 61° |
| October | 67° | 54° | 43° |
Flying in and out of McDowell Corners
Pittsburgh International sits about 48 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 McDowell Corners
Schools across McDowell Corners average a C+, better than 51% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Hillview El SchA · 66% proficient
- Mercer Area El SchA · 63% proficient
- Grove City Area George Jr El SchD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mercer Area MsB · 47% proficient
- Grove City Area George Jr MsF · 7% proficient
Top high schools
- Mercer Area ShsB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every McDowell Corners school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
McDowell Corners 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 McDowell Corners against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in McDowell Corners
Is McDowell Corners a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, McDowell Corners ranks 15,151st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on few empty homes, civic engagement, and low disaster risk, and lowest on noise and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is McDowell Corners expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $262,862. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $77,354 median income, cost of living beats 49% of towns.
Is McDowell Corners safe?
Yes, McDowell Corners is safer than 80% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $186 per resident a year.
Compare McDowell Corners with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to McDowell Corners. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in McDowell Corners 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.
McDowell Corners detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for McDowell Corners: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in McDowell Corners: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of McDowell Corners: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in McDowell Corners: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
McDowell Corners 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.