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Braddock, Pennsylvania

Braddock is a suburb of about 1,600 people in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, in the Pittsburgh area. It has lost about 4% of its people since 2020. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Pittsburgh, is about 6 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Pittsburgh

Population
1,647
down 4.2% since 2020
Household income
$37,813
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Pittsburgh area
94.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
4 miles
Mc Keesport, PA
To Pittsburgh
6 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 5.3% below the U.S. average in the Pittsburgh metro area.
  • More house for the moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Braddock to say.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Braddock itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is West Mifflin Area Hs, about 1 mile away.
  • A hospital close byUPMC McKeesport Hospital in Mc Keesport, about 4 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityPittsburgh is about 6 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Braddock meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Braddock runs into the built-up area around Pittsburgh (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Home prices since then
Up 14%Allegheny County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$689 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$37,813U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
35%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,311 a yearPennsylvania: $3,311
Homes built since 2010
12%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
94.7U.S. average = 100 (the Pittsburgh metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 14% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Pittsburgh metro area, not Braddock alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
1,6472020: 1,719
Median age
31.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
14%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
30%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
7%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
2%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (34%); retail (18%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (12%)
Work from home
1%U.S.: 15%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: UPMC McKeesport Hospital, Mc Keesport, PA, about 4 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

1 public school in Braddock, run by West Mifflin Area SD. The nearest public high school is West Mifflin Area Hs, about 1 mile away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Pennsylvania's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Weather

January average low
22°F
July average high
84°F
Days 90°F or hotter
14 a year
Nights at or below freezing
92 a year
Rain and melted snow
43.6 inches a year
Snow
25 inches a year
Elevation
751 feet

Weather stations: Braddock Lock 2 (1 mile away) and Murrysville 2 SW (8 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: UPMC McKeesport Hospital, Pittsburgh.

Allegheny County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Carnegie Free Library Of Braddock. One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Fort Necessity National Battlefield38 miles
  • Friendship Hill National Historic Site43 miles
  • Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site53 miles
  • Flight 93 National Memorial55 miles
  • Johnstown Flood National Memorial57 miles

Read about Braddock's history on Wikipedia.

Know Braddock?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Chalfant, PA710 people, 2 miles
  • West Wilmerding, PA (unincorporated)475 people, 2 miles
  • Wall, PA493 people, 4 miles
  • Boston, PA (unincorporated)162 people, 7 miles
  • Greenock, PA (unincorporated)1,815 people, 7 miles
  • Lincoln, PA888 people, 8 miles
  • Coulter, PA (unincorporated)236 people, 8 miles
  • Blaine Hill, PA (unincorporated)587 people, 9 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.