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Penn Hills is a first ring suburb immediately to Pittsburgh's east. It borders the city neighborhoods of Homewood, East Hills, and Lincoln-Lemington Belmar, along with the suburban communities of Wilkinsburg, Churchill, Wilkins Township, Monroeville, Plum, Oakmont, and Verona.
Penn Hills existed as an independent township largely in its present geographic form as far back as 1850, although it went through several name changes until it became Penn Township - a name it continued to use until 1958.
Unlike a lot of suburban municipalities, Penn Hills displayed relatively strong levels of growth throughout most of the late 19th and early 20th century (other than the 1880s when the population shrunk - likely due to loss of land to adjacent municipalities (some early maps show portions of modern Monroeville being part of Penn Hills). The earliest communities of Penn Hills appear to have been a network of relatively small agricultural and mining communities spread across what eventually became the main arterial roads of the future suburb. Population growth was steady through the following decades, with the first true suburban communities forming on the western fringes of the neighborhood during the early 20th century. This area - known as Lincoln Park - was home to some of the first truly integrated suburbs in Allegheny County, with over 30% of the population being of black descent as early as 1940 - substantially more than Homewood itself had at that time.
Penn Hills entered its boom time, like most Pittsburgh suburbs, in the immediate postwar era, with the population rising a stunning 104% in the 1950s. Population growth continued through the 1960s, but then ceased, as everything within the boundaries of the municipality had been built out and the development border moved outward to Plum and Monroeville. This development of Penn Hills, along with the later decline, were unfortunately in part due to the white flight dynamics which developed in Homewood and later in Wilkinsburg, with a cycle developing where the black middle class moved into neighborhoods, which caused racist whites to move further out, then lower-income blacks to move in, which in turn caused more white flight. That said, as the decades have passed, the process has slowed down. As of 2010, Penn Hills was around 60% white and 37% black. Individual neighborhoods vary from 80% white to 80% black, but most are fairly integrated. All too often when people talk about "Penn Hills" they're really just discussing a small section of it - the areas around Lincoln Park which declined roughly concurrently with Homewood and adjacent parts of the city - and forget about the remaining 3/4ths of the municipality. The only thing that makes many neighborhoods seem undesirable are the metrics of the school district as a whole, which is now ranked worse than the City of Pittsburgh (although this is in large part of course due to the retreat of many white families who stay in Penn Hills from the public school system).
I do expect that come the 2020 census, Penn Hills will be a bit blacker than in 2010, as black residents from the city continue to be gentrified out of the urban core and into more affordable neighborhoods. However, there is a natural limit to how far this can go. In 2010, for example, the entire upper East End of Pittsburgh had only 29,000 black residents - barely larger than the entire white population of Penn Hills. And of course the black middle class is fanning out all over the eastern suburbs. But one might think that even if you take the white flight element out of contention, Penn Hills would have somewhat of a dire future, due to the unwalkable nature of virtually all of the municipality along with the generally small dated mid-20th century housing. However, after many years of stagnation, housing values have been modestly appreciating in recent years. It seems there is still a decent market for affordable, unfashionable starter homes close to the East End. I am thus cautiously optimistic that Penn Hills will largely continue on as it has been for the foreseeable future.
The good news, I see Penn Hills now has a Rally's. I didn't know there was one in the area. I actually like their burger for fast food. Is this the only town that didn't get one reply that eschaton posted?
The more questionable news. I am not sure how things will play out in Penn Hills. Definitely more crime now than ever as it is on the news a ton more. I saw there was a home invasion that ended with someone being killed. I hope most of the crime isn't random, but the home invasion is unsettling. People need to keep an eye on crime and take appropriate measures for protection. Surveillance, alarms, guns and ammo and if crime keeps going up, bars on windows as you see in Miami and such places. We are in an amazing economy and when it turns as it does in cycles, it is better to be prepared before that happens. Stay safe!
You can still get a great home on a decent piece of land for a good price in Penn Hills. Still lots of green space.
I wouldn't hesitate at all living there.
Great price, 28 mills just for the School District, try unloading that in 10 years. By that time the PHSD will be even more in debt. I would steer clear if I had school age kids.
Yeah, don't believe the hype...there's pockets of PH that are closer to the city that are questionable, but the vast majority is great. Also, PH leadership is changing for the positive, so I believe it's trending up.
Great price, 28 mills just for the School District, try unloading that in 10 years. By that time the PHSD will be even more in debt. I would steer clear if I had school age kids.
Really that goes for any borough or school district that's failing, and I suspect a healthy percentage fall in this category (have to do some research to confirm).
Penn Hills has a lot of variation depending on where you are within the boundaries of the township. Most of it is not walkable, although there might be a few areas close to the various shopping plazas that would be semi-walkable and convenient. The housing stock, as a rule, is not particularly distinguished. However, there are some historic farmhouses, and some large mid century and Depression Era homes. The majority of the houses tend to be Post-War Ranches and Colonials, and not exceptional ones, although they would make for affordable and sturdy entry level homes. Many appear to have been well-maintained.
The safety, feel, upkeep and general conditions vary so much depending on what section of Penn Hills you are in. However, the overwhelming feeling I get whenever I am in the area is drab, depressed suburban Hell. I think nearby Verona has a lot more charm and potential, with the business district and riverfront park.
Penn Hills has so many winding roads with sharp turns that drivers speed on.
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