About Penn Hills
Penn Hills Information
Penn Hills is a tree-lined suburban community of 46,809 residents (2000 census) located ten miles east of the City of Pittsburgh. It is the most populous suburb of Pittsburgh and the second most populous community in Allegheny County. The residents of Penn Hills live on nearly 19 square miles of rolling hills flanked by the Allegheny River on the north, and, working clockwise, the communities of Verona, Oakmont, Plum, Monroeville, Wilkins, Churchill, Wilkinsburg, and the City of Pittsburgh. To see photos of Penn Hills, click on this link: Photos of Penn Hills Today.
Penn Hills is connected to the City of Pittsburgh by major arteries, including the Parkway East, Frankstown Road, Allegheny River Boulevard, Route 28, and an extensive public transit system that includes the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway. Penn Hills is situated within a 10 minute drive of two entrances to the Pennsylvania Turnpike (Exit #5 in Harmar and Exit #6 in Monroeville) and a short distance from Route 22 (traveling East) and Route 8 (traveling North). In the next three years, Penn Hills will be five minutes away from an entrance to the Mon Fayette Expressway, a roadway that will provide access to the Mon Valley and points south while also creating a southern bypass that will speed travel to the airport and points west.
Penn Hills has a thriving shopping district, anchored by Penn Hills Center, where area residents shop at Big Lots and Giant Eagle, as well as dozens of smaller boutique stores, theaters, restaurants, taverns, and banks. Penn Hills Center also features a full-service U.S. Post Office and the Eastern Suburbs' only Penn Dot Drivers Licensing Center. In addition to its own shopping, dining, and entertainment outlets, Penn Hills is within a ten minute drive to the commercial districts of Monroeville, Wilkins, Oakmont, Verona, and the Waterworks (near Fox Chapel). The museums, stadiums, theaters, restaurants, and night spots of downtown Pittsburgh are only a short 20 minute commute away.
The Penn Hills School District has a rich and proud tradition of academic excellence and varied extra-curricular offerings. Penn Hills is the only public school district in Pennsylvania to offer "Schools of Choice," where parents can choose the elementary school their child attends. The high school features a broad range of academic offerings and state-of-the-art facilities. It also offers diverse vocational opportunities, including training in automotive repair, horticulture, cosmetology, and computers. Penn Hills' athletic programs are some of the finest in the region. The district recently completed construction on the Bill Fralic Athletic Center, which houses training facilities for the sports teams. The Penn Hills Varsity Football Team was the 1995 AAAA State Champions.
In addition to having great schools, Penn Hills boasts safe neighborhoods. In 1996, Penn Hills earned the ranking of 5th lowest crime rate in the nation for communities with a population above 50,000. The ranking, which was compiled by USA Today from the Uniform Crime Reports, showed that Penn Hills had only 20.4 crime incidents per 1000 people in 1994 -- lower than all but four similarly populated areas. Click here to read more about safety in Penn Hills.
Finally, Penn Hills is a true value for any prospective home buyer. The community has a housing stock of over 20,000 single family homes that have an average value of nearly $80,000. The homes are located in quiet, tree-lined subdivisions with average lot sizes of between 1/4 acre and 1/3 acre. A home buyer in Penn Hills gets a lot of house for the money -- a fact that becomes evident when similar-sized homes are compared in neighboring municipalities. Penn Hills also has many parks and recreational facilities in and around its neighborhoods and a vibrant list of athletic and community organizations with which to get involved.
To learn more about Penn Hills, please browse the other sections of this web site. For more information about the Penn Hills School District, please call (412) 793-7000. For more information about the Penn Hills Chamber of Commerce, please call (412) 795-8741.