Using data from the Pennsylvania State Police, this category ranks a two-year average of reported incidents of criminal homicide, sex-related offenses, robbery, assault, property offenses, and drug and alcohol-related crimes. For assault, property crimes and drug and alcohol crimes, numbers are converted to a ratio per 100,000 population so as not to penalize larger communities that have correspondingly more incidents.
Rankings are based on average reported commute time to work, as well as how many residents walk to their jobs. County crash statistics per mile of road give a measure of how safe local streets are. A bonus point is awarded to communities served by a T stop, and/or along the route of the Three Rivers Heritage or Montour trails.
Communities are graded by their public school district (private schools are not part of the rankings) according to students’ average math and verbal SAT scores, how many Advanced Placement courses are offered, the presence or absence of full-day kindergarten and the school tax millage.
Higher scores go to places with a larger share of adults holding college degrees, as well as suburbs with more children. This category also ranks political engagement, the number of residents moving into the suburb within the last year, how many acres are shaded by trees and the presence of a coffee shop.
Ratings in this category compare age of homes, how much the median sale price of a home has changed over five years, the property tax millage and the percent of home ownership verses rental units.
Pittsburgh is no longer a smoky city, but that doesn’t mean it has cleaned up its act. Pittsburgh's air quality still ranks among the worst in the nation. What steps are being taken to reduce Pittsburgh's ongoing dependence on fossil fuels?
When veterans returned from Vietnam, they didn't often hear the phrase “Thank you for your service.” But now, Pittsburgh veterans think people are learning to separate the war from the warrior.
From a medic who fainted when his blood was drawn during his physical to an Army nurse, area Vietnam veterans share stories about their time in country.
In an obituary read round the world, the family of Bedford, Pa., teen Sadie Riggs called out those who had bullied her and pleaded for people to be kind to one another. A year after Sadie’s death, lessons remain to be learned from her suicide.
Within the span of 10 years, the Delta Foundation of Pittsburgh has brought
the city’s annual Pride festival to previously unimaginable heights. That growth, however, has left some members of the community behind — and unhappy.
