Lawson HeightsPA
A town of 2,213.
Is Lawson Heights a good place to live?
Lawson Heights’ concentration of trails is 1.4 miles per square mile, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 0.4 and U.S. towns at 0.4. Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve, at 49 acres with 2.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. We don’t grade Lawson Heights yet; the figures below are still real.
Every workday, about 1,206 people come to Lawson Heights for work
Where Lawson Heights’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Moving to Lawson Heights: who provides what
Lawson Heights is unincorporated, so Westmoreland County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Lawson Heights.
Lawson Heights has 1.6 jobs for every working resident, and 1,206 people commute in
Most working residents leave Lawson Heights for work: only 4% work in town. In Lawson Heights, the typical journey to work is 22 minutes, against 26 minutes in Pennsylvania’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Half commute less than 11 miles. The top destinations are Unity Township (20%), Hempfield Township (9%) and Latrobe (8%).
| Lawson Heights | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $65,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.7% | 6.3% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The FEMA risk score in Lawson Heights is lower than in the typical Pennsylvania or U.S. town
78% of Lawson Heights’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 98% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Lawson Heights stands out in Pennsylvania and nationally, with fewer of its residents who are under 18
For Lawson Heights, the median age is 53.3 years. Here, just over a third of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree, against 35% in Pennsylvania as a whole.
| Lawson Heights | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 9.5% | 20% | 22% |
| Median age | 53.3 years | 43.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 35% | 29% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
Somewhere between 44% and 66% women
The Census survey reached too few of Lawson Heights’ residents to say more: its margin here is ±10.9 points. Across Pennsylvania, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Lawson Heights | PA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.4% | 10.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 2.1% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.2% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.8% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.2% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 18.8% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.2% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 15.4% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 1.5% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 40.1% | 32.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 15.4% | 15.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.5% | 8.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.7% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.9% | 14.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,200, single groups can be off by several points
Snowy winters and pleasant summers: that is Lawson Heights’ year
In July, afternoons reach 84°; in January, nights fall to 21°, and about 48 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
How healthy Lawson Heights is
Only 5 of the 1,036 Pennsylvania towns we compare have a higher share of adults who had a checkup this year than Lawson Heights. This Pennsylvania town does better than the Pennsylvania average on 6 of 26 CDC measures and worse on 5. Among adults in the town, 39% have high blood pressure.
| Lawson Heights | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 82% | 79% | 79% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 34% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | Lawson Heights | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.7% | 14.5% |
| Fewer smokers | 13.8% | 15.8% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.8% | 8.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve | 2.1 mi | 49 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The median home in Lawson Heights sells for about $161K
The going rate for rent in Lawson Heights is $909 a month. In Lawson Heights, 78% of households are owner-occupiers.
| Lawson Heights | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $909 a month | $1,115 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 78% | 78% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Fallingwater and 60 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lawson Heights. Close and well known come first.
Big draw27 mi MuseumFallingwater
Big draw30 mi National MemorialFlight 93 National Memorial286K visitors a year
Big draw35 mi Stadium & arenaAcrisure Stadium
26 mi Theme parkKennywood
34 mi LandmarkFort Duquesne
34 mi Stadium & arenaPNC ParkPhoto credits
Fallingwater: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Flight 93 National Memorial: James Steakley, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Acrisure Stadium: Fo2grfr, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Kennywood: Ski2007 of English Wikipedia, Public domain · Fort Duquesne: Sébastien Paquin, CC BY-SA 3.0 · PNC Park: alpineinc, CC BY 2.0
.jpg){kind=link}
Everything we know about Lawson Heights
Colleges nearby
5 within 15 miles of the center of Lawson Heights
About 10 of every 100 Lawson Heights residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
About Lawson Heights
Unincorporated community in Pennsylvania, US
Lawson Heights is a census-designated place (CDP) in Unity Township, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,339 at the 2000 census. Lawson Height's most notable residents are author and local community activist, James "Jim" Ramsey, along with his wife, skilled RN Katheryn "Kay" Ramsey.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.5 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,132 ft
Lawson Heights’s neighbors
3 towns share a border with Lawson Heights.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lawson Heights | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Latrobe | #210 | A | A | B | A | B− |
| Unity Township | #253 | A | B | — | A | B |
| St. Vincent College | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Unity Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Lawson Heights and St. Vincent College aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Lawson Heights with a neighbor →
Questions about Lawson Heights
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Lawson Heights, PA a good place to live?
We don’t grade Lawson Heights yet; the figures below are still real.