St. Vincent Archabbey Gristmill · Photo: Canadian2006 · CC BY-SA 3.0Measured against area pay, Unity Township costs less to live in than 58% of U.S. towns
It ranks #333 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania for affordability. Home prices around Unity Township have risen about 39% over the past 5 years. Builders were permitted 20 new homes in 2025.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Pittsburgh, PA metro area ($76K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade compares costs with what households across the Pittsburgh metro earn ($76K, Census 2020–24). The typical home costs 3.2 years of metro income, and 33% of renters pay 30% or more of income for housing.
In dollars
- $1,130a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 95prices across the Pittsburgh metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 72)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 3.2 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$76K, Pittsburgh-area income
- 16%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 33%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Pennsylvania: 48%Census 2020–24
- 18%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
Housing in Unity Township, in brief
Rent is easier on renters here
33% of renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent, against 48% across Pennsylvania. A standard two-bedroom is 18% of the median household income. Renting ↓
Fewer people, more homes
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Unity Township lost 1,001 residents while 342 new homes were permitted. New homes ↓
New building is almost all single-family houses
Of the 211 homes permitted in Unity Township’s past 10 years, every one was a single-family house. New homes ↓
Written from the data on this page. There’s no Zillow index for Unity Township, so the typical value is an estimate: the Census median carried forward with the federal house price index; permits are Census figures through 2025 (2025 partly estimated); incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Unity Township’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Unity Township is more affordable than 58% of U.S. towns, #333 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Property tax pulls the grade down most; rent holds it up.
Home prices up 39% in 5 years
The federal house price index for the ZIP codes around Unity Township rose 39% over the past 5 years, slower than across Pennsylvania (48%). Last year prices rose 2.7%. Carrying the Census median home value forward with that index puts the typical Unity Township home at roughly $284,000 today.
Carrying the Census median forward with the index puts a typical home at about $284K.
Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (annual) for the ZIP codes around Unity Township, weighted by land area. It tracks repeat sales of the same homes, so it shows how prices changed, not what homes cost.
A year’s rent takes 16% of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Unity Township’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $2K short of a typical Unity Township home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,130 a month here, $660 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Unity Township’s typical property tax (1.27% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,130
Renters already here pay a median of $986, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Pittsburgh, PA HUD Metro FMR Area): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
20 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 20 new homes in Unity Township in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $1.8 million to build. That's 0.9 per 1,000 residents, slower than across Pennsylvania (2). Over the past 10 years, Unity Township has permitted 211 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Unity Township's population fell by 1,001 even though 342 new homes were permitted. Homes are holding fewer people: households are getting smaller, or more homes are used part of the year. Across Pennsylvania: 1.4 new residents per new home.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 12 | 12 | 0 | $1.1 million |
| 2025 | 20 | 20 | 0 | $1.8 million |
| 2024 | 20 | 20 | 0 | $1.9 million |
| 2023 | 19 | 19 | 0 | $1.7 million |
| 2022 | 21 | 21 | 0 | $2.3 million |
| 2021 | 21 | 21 | 0 | $1 million |
| 2020 | 22 | 22 | 0 | $5.8 million |
| 2019 | 21 | 21 | 0 | $5.5 million |
| 2018 | 22 | 22 | 0 | $5.8 million |
| 2017 | 22 | 22 | 0 | $5.8 million |
| 2016 | 23 | 23 | 0 | $6 million |
| 2015 | 51 | 51 | 0 | $13.1 million |
| 2014 | 33 | 33 | 0 | $8 million |
| 2013 | 50 | 50 | 0 | $11.7 million |
| 2012 | 28 | 28 | 0 | $6.6 million |
| 2011 | 43 | 43 | 0 | $9.5 million |
| 2010 | 49 | 49 | 0 | $10.4 million |
| 2009 | 39 | 39 | 0 | $8.8 million |
| 2008 | 66 | 66 | 0 | $14.5 million |
| 2007 | 87 | 24 | 63 | $5.3 million |
| 2006 | 95 | 33 | 62 | $6.7 million |
| 2005 | 101 | 35 | 66 | $7.1 million |
| 2004 | 106 | 45 | 61 | $8.5 million |
| 2003 | 65 | 38 | 27 | $6.6 million |
| 2002 | 120 | 75 | 45 | $12.8 million |
| 2001 | 98 | 73 | 25 | $12 million |
| 2000 | 104 | 79 | 25 | $12.9 million |
Unity Township's permit office didn't report to the Census in 2025, so the 2025 figures are Census estimates.
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs below the Pennsylvania norm
The median bill is $3,113 (Pennsylvania: $3,311), 1.27% of a home’s value a year, against 1.30% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Unity Township
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Pittsburgh, PA metro area, or Pennsylvania. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 95 | PA 98 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 101 | PA 99 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 108 | PA 109 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 98 | PA 100 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Unity Township vs. its neighbors
Zillow publishes no value for Unity Township. Ligonier Township and Hempfield Township and Mount Pleasant Township and Derry Township and Salem Township and Lawson Heights have no Zillow value, so they are in the table only.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, latest | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unity Township | B | — | $245K | 1.27% | $1,130 |
| Hempfield Township | B+ | — | $232K | 1.14% | $1,270 |
| Derry Township | A− | — | $180K | 1.16% | $1,040 |
| Latrobe | A | $213K | $145K | 1.26% | $1,120 |
| Salem Township | A | — | $179K | 1.00% | $1,190 |
| Mount Pleasant Township | A− | — | $191K | 1.08% | $1,070 |
| Ligonier Township | B+ | — | $243K | 0.96% | $1,120 |
| Lawson Heights | – | — | $175K | 1.69% | $1,120 |
“—” under Zillow: Zillow publishes no value for that town, so it’s left blank rather than mixed with Census figures. “—” under Cost: not graded (too little Census data, or under 1,000 residents).
Questions about the cost of living in Unity Township
Is Unity Township expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Unity Township costs less than 58% of U.S. towns: a B for cost of living, #333 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The typical home costs 3.2 years of the median household income of the Pittsburgh, PA metro area ($76K).
How much is rent in Unity Township?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,130 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $986 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Unity Township?
The median bill is $3,113 a year, 1.27% of the median home value (Pennsylvania: $3,311, 1.30%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Unity Township buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Price trend: Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.