Living in Jeannette, Pennsylvania: homes, schools and costs

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 moneyA typical home costs 2.3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood39 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 4.6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 6.2 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town5 public schools: 3 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close byAhn Emerus Westmoreland, LLC is in town and has an emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityPittsburgh is about 21 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 Jeannette 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

Jeannette 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

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $114,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 18%Westmoreland County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $863 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $49,188U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 67%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $1,648 a yearPennsylvania: $3,311
Homes built before 1940: 31%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 2%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 18% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Pittsburgh metro area, not Jeannette 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: 8,4892020: 8,759
Median age: 47.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 23%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 16%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 20%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 2%U.S.: 6%
College students: 5%share of all residents

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 (23%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (13%); manufacturing (11%)
Unemployment rate: 5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 29 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 6%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 19%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Ahn Emerus Westmoreland, LLC, Greensburg, PA, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

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

5 public schools in Jeannette, run by Penn-Trafford SD and Jeannette City SD.

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.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet: 68%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 82%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

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

Weather

January average low: 22°F
July average high: 86°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 27 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 129 a year
Rain and melted snow: 43.6 inches a year
Snow: 25 inches a year
Elevation: 1,096 feet

Weather station: Murrysville 2 SW (8 miles away). 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

Pittsburgh, PAMetro of 2.4 million21

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: Pittsburgh.

Westmoreland 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

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Fort Necessity National Battlefield31 miles
Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site40 miles
Flight 93 National Memorial41 miles
Friendship Hill National Historic Site41 miles
Johnstown Flood National Memorial44 miles

Read about Jeannette's history on Wikipedia.

Know Jeannette?

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

Manor, PA3,500 people, 3 miles
Greensburg, PA14,500 people, 4 miles
Southwest Greensburg, PA2,100 people, 4 miles
Irwin, PA3,800 people, 5 miles
South Greensburg, PA2,100 people, 5 miles
Youngwood, PA2,900 people, 6 miles

Smaller places

Grapeville, PA (unincorporated)421 people, next door
Penn, PA610 people, 1 mile
Adamsburg, PA136 people, 2 miles
Arona, PA244 people, 5 miles
North Irwin, PA804 people, 5 miles
Export, PA865 people, 6 miles
Madison, PA350 people, 7 miles
Herminie, PA (unincorporated)700 people, 7 miles

Sources

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.