Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Vandergrift gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $107K, 1.4 years of the Pittsburgh metro’s $76K median household income. It grades B+ overall, 445th among Pennsylvania's 1032 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $51K, and 22% of residents live below the poverty line, and residents are less healthy than 81% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. On the plus side, its schools rank ahead of 79% of Pennsylvania towns. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 90% of U.S. towns, with 2 places on the National Register. 22% of residents live below the poverty line in Vandergrift, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 7.6% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Vandergrift is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns.
Where Vandergrift beats most towns.
St. Gertrude Roman Catholic ChurchWhere Vandergrift’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Vandergrift is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,076 in 1900, a peak of 11,479 in 1930, 5,075 in 2020. The archive holds 14 old photos and papers going back to 1895 and 5 maps from 1907 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Vandergrift, 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 Vandergrift.
Vandergrift pairs an A− for schools with modest home prices, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Pennsylvania (mostly inland flooding) and reports more crime than Kiskiminetas Township and its other graded neighbors.
At 1.4 years of the Pittsburgh metro’s $76K median household income, the typical home (about $107K) costs less against local pay than in 97% of Pennsylvania towns; that ratio is one input to its A for cost of living. Values fell 5.1% in the past year while the Pennsylvania typical home rose 2.2%.
55% of households own their home in Vandergrift. Typical home values fell 5.1% in the year to September 2026. Vandergrift’s median rent is $794 a month.
| Vandergrift | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 55% | 78% | 73% |
| Median rent | $794 a month | $1,116 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A− for schools comes with an A for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $107K.
Its public schools are run by Kiski Area SD. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kiski Area East Primary SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 425 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Against the 6,103 U.S. towns with household incomes like Vandergrift’s, it is less healthy than 55%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
21% of Vandergrift adults smoke cigarettes. Vandergrift beats the Pennsylvania average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 12. 42% of Vandergrift adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Vandergrift | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 16% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 38% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Vandergrift | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 21.8% | 14.5% |
| More uninsured adults | 8.2% | 5.8% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.6% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents leave Vandergrift for work: only 6% work in town. Since 2013, Vandergrift has lost 82 jobs, to 688 in 2023. The top destinations are Pittsburgh (11%), Allegheny Township (4%) and Washington Township (4%).
| Vandergrift | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $51,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.1% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Vandergrift is safe by national standards, yet each of the 3 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Kiskiminetas Township (A) to Parks Township (A+).
The property crime rate in Vandergrift is 3.8 per 1,000 residents. Pennsylvania has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns Vandergrift sits closer to the middle.
| Vandergrift | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2023) | 3.8 per 1,000 residents | 7.7 | 13.1 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2023) | 2 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.8 |
FBI crime data, 2023 · crimes reported to police
Vandergrift has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 20° and about 29 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 87% of Pennsylvania towns, with expected losses of about $372 per resident a year; that rating is what its C for hazard risk is built on.
Since 2013, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Vandergrift.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Kennedy Park | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Vandergrift. Close and well known come first.
Big draw25 mi Stadium & arenaAcrisure Stadium
21 mi Theme parkKennywood
25 mi LandmarkFort Duquesne
25 mi Stadium & arenaPNC Park
24 mi Stadium & arenaPPG Paints Arena
25 mi LandmarkFort PittAcrisure 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 · PPG Paints Arena: Jleedev, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fort Pitt: Downtown_Pittsburgh_May_2008.jpg: Allie Caufield derivative work: GrapedApe (tal, CC BY 2.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Vandergrift
About 3 of every 100 Vandergrift residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
2 places in Vandergrift on the National Register of Historic Places.
11 notable people were born in Vandergrift.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Vandergrift is a borough in Westmoreland County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, approximately 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Pittsburgh. In the early 20th century, Vandergrift had the largest sheet steel mill in the world. On June 28, 1915, the Borough of Vandergrift Heights was consolidated with Vandergrift. As of the 2020 census, Vandergrift had a population of 5,075.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Vandergrift.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vandergrift | #445 | B+ | A | B+ | A− | C− |
| Allegheny Township | #219 | A | B+ | A | A− | B− |
| Parks Township | — | — | A+ | A+ | A− | C |
| Pleasant View | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| North Vandergrift | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| East Vandergrift | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| North Apollo | — | — | A+ | — | B− | C− |
| Kiskiminetas Township | #399 | B+ | A− | A | B− | B− |
Parks Township and North Apollo have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. North Apollo reports no FBI crime data of its own. Pleasant View, North Vandergrift and East Vandergrift aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Vandergrift with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Vandergrift grades B+ overall, better than 71% of U.S. towns and #445 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades C− for health, B+ for safety and A− for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes, by national standards. Pennsylvania has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Vandergrift sits nearer the middle.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A.
11 notable people were born here, including William Perry and Jaira Burns.
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