Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town with more to fix than most. With a D overall, Wilkinsburg is better than 10% of U.S. towns and ranks 1003rd of 1032 in Pennsylvania. Its lowest grade is for safety (D): it reports more crime per resident than 89% of U.S. towns, including 91 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. Where it does best is walkability (A+). Homes run about $156K for a typical one, 2.1 times the Pittsburgh metro’s $76K median household income. The town’s violent crime rate is 6.7 per 1,000 residents, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 0.7 and U.S. towns at 1.6. This Pennsylvania town has 5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them John F. Singer House and Pennsylvania Railroad Station-Wilkinsburg.
Figures: FBI crime data, 2025 · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Wilkinsburg beats most towns.
John F. Singer House
Census counts: 1,529 in 1880, a peak of 31,418 in 1950, 14,349 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1884 and 4 maps from 1904 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Wilkinsburg is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D for safety (better than 11%), so the D overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Wilkinsburg. Close and well known come first.
Big draw8 mi Stadium & arenaAcrisure Stadium
4 mi Theme parkKennywood
7 mi LandmarkFort Duquesne
7 mi Stadium & arenaPNC Park
6 mi Stadium & arenaPPG Paints Arena
2 mi City parkFrick ParkAcrisure 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 · Frick Park: Lee Paxton, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Wilkinsburg, 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 Wilkinsburg.
Wilkinsburg is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it reports violent crime at 3 times the Pennsylvania rate.
Violent crime runs at 6.7 per 1,000 residents, 3 times the Pennsylvania rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D. Each of the 3 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Pittsburgh (D) to Churchill (A−).
For Wilkinsburg, the property crime rate is 17.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Wilkinsburg | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.7 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 17.8 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Two of its 6 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Wilkinsburg Borough SD runs its public schools. 2 public schools serve Wilkinsburg, with 476 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kelly Primary SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 276 | – |
| Plea School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades K–10 | Grades K–10 | 44 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests
The FEMA hazard score for Wilkinsburg comes to 8 of 100. FEMA puts 71% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 17% to cold waves. Flood insurance has paid one claim here since 2013.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 4,479 U.S. towns with household incomes like Wilkinsburg’s, it is healthier than 63%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
42% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Wilkinsburg. The town does better than the Pennsylvania average on 2 of 26 CDC measures and worse on 13.
| Wilkinsburg | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 11% | 12% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 38% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 34% | 35% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 19% | 19% |
| What stands out | Wilkinsburg | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.8% | 8.8% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 83.4% | 79.2% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 20.3% | 14.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
24.1% of workers work from home, against 15.6% across Pennsylvania.
Wilkinsburg’s middle household income is $46,000. Most working residents leave Wilkinsburg for work: only 3% work in town. For workers here, the share who work from home is 24%. The top destinations are Pittsburgh (49%), Monroeville (3%) and Ross Township (2%).
| Wilkinsburg | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 24% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 20% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $46,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The midsummer high in Wilkinsburg is 83°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The median household earns $46,416, against $77,971 across Pennsylvania, one input to its C− for jobs and income. Only 30.1% of households own their home, against 69.3% across Pennsylvania.
Since 2020, Wilkinsburg has lost 4.9% of its people, to 13,602 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. Adults 18 to 34 are 28% of residents (22% statewide); children under 18 are 15% of residents (21% statewide). 37% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 35% across Pennsylvania.
| Wilkinsburg | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 15% | 20% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 37% | 29% | 29% |
| Median age | 40 years | 43.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 21% | 18% |
57% women, 43% men
About 76 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3 points). Across Pennsylvania, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Wilkinsburg | PA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 6.9% | 10.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.3% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 19.9% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.3% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.7% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.2% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.4% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.4% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.3% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 22.7% | 32.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.5% | 15.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14.7% | 8.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.2% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 17.5% | 14.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Count the trails in 2 parks and preserves and they come to 0.6 miles. Wilkinsburg’s trail network density stands at 0.3 miles per square mile.
| Wilkinsburg | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.2% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Graham Field | — | 3 |
| 2. Whitney Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 2.1 years of the Pittsburgh metro’s $76K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 89% of Pennsylvania towns; that ratio is one input to its B− for cost of living.
A home in Wilkinsburg typically sold within 64 days of listing. Only 3 of the 1,035 Pennsylvania towns we compare have a lower home-ownership rate than Wilkinsburg. Homes in Wilkinsburg sold for 92.5% of their list price on average.
| Wilkinsburg | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 30% | 78% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,025 a month | $1,116 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
15 within 15 miles of the center of Wilkinsburg
About 6 of every 100 Wilkinsburg residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Pennsylvania.
Where Wilkinsburg’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
5 places in Wilkinsburg on the National Register of Historic Places.
25 notable people were born in Wilkinsburg.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Wilkinsburg is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough has a population of 14,349 as of the 2020 census. Wilkinsburg is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The borough was named for John Wilkins Jr., a United States Army officer who served as Quartermaster General of the United States Army from 1796 to 1802.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Wilkinsburg.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D; Pittsburgh (C−) is closest.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilkinsburg | #1003 | D | B− | D | C− | C− |
| Pittsburgh | #928 | C− | B− | D | C | B+ |
| Penn Hills | — | — | — | — | C− | — |
| Edgewood | #711 | B− | C− | C | D | A+ |
| Churchill | #237 | A | B− | A− | D | A |
| Braddock Hills | — | — | A− | — | D | C |
Braddock Hills has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Penn Hills and Braddock Hills report no FBI crime data of their own. Penn Hills isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Wilkinsburg with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Wilkinsburg grades D overall, better than 10% of U.S. towns and #1003 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades C− for health, D for safety and C− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
The typical home is worth about $156,000, 46% below the Pennsylvania typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
25 notable people were born here, including Paul Taylor and Virgil.
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