Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Area Profile
304,759 residents. Jobs, income, climate, physical risk, development and airport access for Pittsburgh, in Allegheny County.
Pittsburgh ranks in the top 5% of published city profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.7% and median household income of $65,742.
Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 2,430 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 103% on the prior year.
Natural-hazard exposure is lower than in most comparable published city profiles, placing Pittsburgh in the top 18% for physical resilience.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment of 3.7% is lower than 88% of the 140 measured US cities.
Employment grew 2.4% over the past year, to 162,999 employed residents.
49% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 88% of measured US cities.
| Metric | Value | Compared with peers | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income ±$1,484 | $65,742 | Bottom 48% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$1,102 | $45,385 | Top 23% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate | 20.1% | Top 23% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute | 24.6 min | Bottom 39% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 49.1% | Top 12% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Employment | 162,999 | Top 42% | June 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years) | 2.5% | Top 24% | June 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year) | 2.4% | Top 1% | June 2026 |
| Labor force | 169,226 | Top 42% | June 2026 |
| Labor force participation | 64.4% | Top 36% | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Mean annual wage | $65,230 | Bottom 41% | 2025 OEWS |
| Median annual wage | $49,650 | Bottom 44% | 2025 OEWS |
| Unemployment change (year over year) | 0.2% | Top 45% | June 2026 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.7% | Bottom 12% | June 2026 |
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 37,200 | $29,250 |
| General and Operations Managers | 31,020 | $100,840 |
| Registered Nurses | 29,360 | $82,370 |
| Retail Salespersons | 28,700 | $30,840 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 27,460 | $28,250 |
| Cashiers | 20,950 | $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.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated →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 grown 2% since 2020, reaching 307,668 in 2024.
Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before.
95% of recently permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.
At 8.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.
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.
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Annual precipitation | 41.3" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low | 22°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high | 83°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months | 5 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Seasonal temperature swing | 44°F | 1991-2020 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
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding and avalanche.
Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, strong wind, ice storm, heat wave, lightning, winter weather, tornado, earthquake, landslide, hurricane, wildfire, hail.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. 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 14 miles away.
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Intl | PIT | 14 mi | 11,500 ft |
| Arnold Palmer Rgnl | LBE | 32 mi | 8,222 ft |
| Youngstown/Warren Rgnl | YNG | 68 mi | 9,003 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.
Customize your score
What matters to you?
Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.
Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.
Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyCompare
Put Pittsburgh side by side with a similar place.
Data & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle | 28-day NASR cycle |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) | Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current) |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals | Every ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period) |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | June 2026 | Monthly |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | 2025 OEWS | Annual (spring release) |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate | Annual (vintage released each spring) |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 | Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month |
| Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year | Annual (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.