AreaProfile

Pittsburgh, PA

Metro Area Profile

2,439,940 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Pittsburgh, PA metropolitan area.

75
Area Score
Top 13% of 99 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 17% of 99 published metros79
Growth67th of 99 published metros40
Housing affordabilityTop 4% of 99 published metros100
Climate68th of 99 published metros65
Physical resilienceTop 20% of 99 published metros79
Access58th of 99 published metros92
Economic stability55th of 99 published metros69
The quick read

Pittsburgh ranks in the top 17% of published metro profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.8% and median household income of $75,762.

Housing is more affordable relative to local incomes than in most published city profiles, with rent taking 17% of median household income.

Natural-hazard exposure is lower than in most comparable published metro profiles, placing Pittsburgh in the top 20% for physical resilience.

At a glance

Population
2,439,940
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$75,762
Top 25% nationally
Density
433/sq mi
5640.3 sq mi of land
Median age
42.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Pittsburgh, PA
Nearest major airport
PIT
19 mi · Pittsburgh Intl
Median home value
$215,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.8% is lower than 74% of the 99 measured US metros.

Employment grew 2.4% over the past year, to 1,207,455 employed residents.

38% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 86% of measured US metros.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$672$75,762Top 25%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$334$45,933Top 12%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate11.1%Bottom 25%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute27.8 minTop 18%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher38.2%Top 14%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment1,207,455Top 27%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)1.4%Top 39%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)2.4%Top 1%June 2026
Labor force1,254,709Top 27%June 2026
Labor force participation62.5%Top 33%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$65,230Top 50%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$49,650Top 49%2025 OEWS
Metro employment1,114,490Top 29%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.5%Bottom 14%June 2026
Unemployment rate3.8%Bottom 26%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032026/012026/066.63.3
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.8% in June 2026.
Largest occupations — Pittsburgh, PA
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides37,200$29,250
General and Operations Managers31,020$100,840
Registered Nurses29,360$82,370
Retail Salespersons28,700$30,840
Fast Food and Counter Workers27,460$28,250
Cashiers20,950$29,470

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,053 takes 17% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 2.8 times median household income here, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
16.7%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.8×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,053
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$215,000
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income2.84Bottom 32%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate70.7%Top 45%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3871,174,149Top 2%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$9$1,053Top 38%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$1,196$215,000Top 49%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income16.7%Bottom 29%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate9.6%Bottom 37%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
40/ 100
Ranks 67 of 99 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has fallen 1% since 2020, reaching 2,429,917 in 2024.

At 2.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
6,107
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.5
Bottom 21% nationally
Year over year
+22%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
44.6%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
202020212022202320242455k2429k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 83°F and January a low of 22°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 41.3 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station PITTSBURGH ALLEGHENY CO AP, 8.6 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.6"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation41.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low22°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high83°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing44°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

79 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding.

Inland floodingModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, landslide, strong wind, ice storm, earthquake, tornado, winter weather, heat wave, hurricane, cold wave, wildfire, hail, avalanche, drought.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Taxes

AreaProfile does not yet publish tax comparisons. No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, methodology transparency and update cadence, and the product rule is to omit a dimension rather than estimate it. The Area Score is calculated without a tax component and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Nothing on AreaProfile is individualized tax advice.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 19 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Pittsburgh IntlPIT19 mi11,500 ft
Arnold Palmer RgnlLBE28 mi8,222 ft
Youngstown/Warren RgnlYNG69 mi9,003 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
75
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 29, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.

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