Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
McKees Rocks earns a D−, better than 3% of U.S. towns, mostly because of safety and health. Its crime rate is higher than 95% of U.S. towns, with 23 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 94% of the country. One bright spot: few places in the country are easier to get around without a car. 32% of residents live below the poverty line in McKees Rocks, above both the Pennsylvania town median (7.6%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). Only 47 of Pennsylvania’s 1,751 towns score lower on hazard risk. McKees Rocks's public schools trail 92% of Pennsylvania towns on state tests and graduation.
Where McKees Rocks beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
McKees Rocks BridgeEach subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far McKees Rocks is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D for safety (better than 5%), so the D− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,687 in 1890, a peak of 18,116 in 1930, 5,920 in 2020. The archive holds 30 old photos and papers going back to 1901 and 6 maps from 1904 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around McKees Rocks. Close and well known come first.
Big draw3 mi Stadium & arenaAcrisure Stadium
3 mi LandmarkFort Duquesne
3 mi Stadium & arenaPNC Park
4 mi Stadium & arenaPPG Paints Arena
12 mi Theme parkKennywood
3 mi LandmarkFort PittAcrisure Stadium: Fo2grfr, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fort Duquesne: Sébastien Paquin, CC BY-SA 3.0 · PNC Park: alpineinc, CC BY 2.0 · PPG Paints Arena: Jleedev, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Kennywood: Ski2007 of English Wikipedia, Public domain · Fort Pitt: Downtown_Pittsburgh_May_2008.jpg: Allie Caufield derivative work: GrapedApe (tal, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in McKees Rocks, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in McKees Rocks.
McKees Rocks is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Pennsylvania (mostly inland flooding) and reports more crime than Pittsburgh and its other graded neighbors.
Each of the 3 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Pittsburgh (D) to Kennedy Township (C). Property crime runs at 40.6 per 1,000 residents, 3 times the Pennsylvania rate, most of it theft.
The property crime rate in McKees Rocks is 40.6 per 1,000 residents. McKees Rocks reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 95% report less. The violent crime rate in McKees Rocks is 4.1 per 1,000 residents.
| McKees Rocks | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 40.6 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.1 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 2,715 U.S. towns with household incomes like McKees Rocks’s, it is less healthy than 72%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income. All 3 graded neighbors score healthier than its D, from Stowe Township (C+) to Pittsburgh (B+).
24% of adults smoke cigarettes in McKees Rocks. McKees Rocks beats the Pennsylvania average on 1 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 19. 44% of adults sleep under 7 hours in McKees Rocks.
| McKees Rocks | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 16% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 14% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 19% | 19% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 38% | 36% |
| What stands out | McKees Rocks | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.4% | 8.8% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 25.8% | 14.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 98% of Pennsylvania towns, with expected losses of about $694 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
McKees Rocks’ FEMA risk score is 83 of 100. Since 1980, 55 flood insurance claims have been paid out in McKees Rocks.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 2.5 years of the Pittsburgh metro’s $76K median household income, the typical home (about $187K) costs less against local pay than in 81% of Pennsylvania towns; that ratio is one input to its B for cost of living.
The typical McKees Rocks home is worth about $187,000, down 1% in a year, 35% below the Pennsylvania typical home. 41% of McKees Rocks households own their home.
| McKees Rocks | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 41% | 78% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,081 a month | $1,116 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
McKees Rocks has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 22° and about 44 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
McKees Rocks has about as many jobs (2,442) as working residents, but only 99 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 19.4 minutes, against 26.3 across Pennsylvania.
Most working residents leave McKees Rocks for work: only 4% work in town. Jobs based in McKees Rocks fell to 2,442 in 2023, 295 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are Pittsburgh (30%), Robinson Township (5%) and Moon Township (3%).
| McKees Rocks | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $41,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.4% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| McKees Rocks | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.1% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. 3rd Street Park | — | 3 |
| 2. Munson Avenue Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
15 within 15 miles of the center of McKees Rocks
About 2 of every 100 McKees Rocks residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
17 notable people were born in McKees Rocks.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
McKees Rocks, also known as "The Rocks", is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. It lies along the south bank of the Ohio River and is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The population was 5,920 at the 2020 census. In the past, the city was known for its extensive iron and steel interests. There were large railroad machine shops and manufacturers of locomotives, freight and passenger cars. Other factories produced springs, enamel ware, lumber, wall materials, plaster, nuts and bolts, malleable castings, chains and forgings, tin ware, concrete, and cigars. The Pittsburgh, Allegheny and McKees Rocks Railroad was, and the Pittsburgh and Ohio Central Railroad is, l…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with McKees Rocks.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D−; Stowe Township (C−) is closest. Kennedy Township next door grades higher for schools (A to McKees Rocks’s D) and lower for cost of living (C to B).
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McKees Rocks | #1031 | D− | B | D | D | D |
| Pittsburgh | #928 | C− | B− | D | C | B+ |
| Stowe Township | #978 | C− | B+ | C− | D | C+ |
| Kennedy Township | #434 | B+ | C | C | A | B |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
McKees Rocks grades D− overall, better than 3% of U.S. towns. It grades D for health, D for safety and D for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
That is 2.5 years of the area's median household income ($75,762 across the Pittsburgh, PA metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
17 notable people were born here, including John Kasich and Billy Mays.
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