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Scottdale, Pennsylvania

Scottdale is a small town of about 4,300 people in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. It has lost about 3% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.8 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Pittsburgh, is about 31 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
4,271
down 3% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$156,900
Westmoreland County prices up 18% since 2022
Household income
$55,423
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Pittsburgh area
94.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
4 miles
Mount Pleasant, PA
To Pittsburgh
31 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 moneyA typical home costs 2.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Scottdale 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 town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 middle. No public high school in town: the nearest is Southmoreland Shs, about 2 miles away.
  • A hospital close byExcela Health - Frick Hospital in Mount Pleasant, about 4 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityPittsburgh is about 31 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 Scottdale 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.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$156,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 18%Westmoreland County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$689 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$55,423U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
65%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,607 a yearPennsylvania: $3,311
Homes built before 1940
41%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
6%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 Scottdale 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
4,2712020: 4,404
Median age
41.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
21%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
21%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
3%U.S.: 6%
College students
7%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 (32%); manufacturing (19%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (9%)
Average commute
24 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
8%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
15%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Excela Health - Frick Hospital, Mount Pleasant, 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

2 public schools in Scottdale, run by Southmoreland SD. The nearest public high school is Southmoreland Shs, about 2 miles 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.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
69%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
77%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
21°F
July average high
84°F
Days 90°F or hotter
17 a year
Nights at or below freezing
116 a year
Rain and melted snow
46.9 inches a year
Snow
24 inches a year
Elevation
1,074 feet

Weather station: Connellsville 2 SSW (7 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

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: Excela Health - Frick Hospital, 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

3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Scottdale Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Fort Necessity National Battlefield16 miles
  • Friendship Hill National Historic Site28 miles
  • Flight 93 National Memorial36 miles
  • Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site43 miles
  • Johnstown Flood National Memorial46 miles

Read about Scottdale's history on Wikipedia.

Know Scottdale?

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

  • Everson, PA736 people, 1 mile
  • Dawson, PA336 people, 5 miles
  • Vanderbilt, PA395 people, 6 miles
  • Bear Rocks, PA (unincorporated)1,258 people, 7 miles
  • Hunker, PA302 people, 7 miles
  • Norvelt, PA (unincorporated)987 people, 9 miles
  • Wyano, PA (unincorporated)263 people, 9 miles
  • Dunbar, PA978 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.