Pittsburgh's Neighborhood Income Gap Is Wider Than You Think

Did you know that aggregate household income can vary by a factor of 91 between Pittsburgh neighborhoods — even ones just miles apart?

New data from the U.S. Census Bureau, published on Data.gov, reveals a striking disparity in neighborhood-level household income across Pittsburgh. When you rank neighborhoods by their aggregate household income (adjusted to 2015 dollars), Windgap sits at the top of one end of the spectrum while Allegheny Center anchors the other — and the ID-indexed ratio between them is a staggering 91 to 1.

But the raw dollar figures tell an even more nuanced story. Allegheny Center actually reports nearly $40 million in aggregate household income, while Westwood leads the pack at over $91 million. Meanwhile, smaller neighborhoods like West End ($3.6 million) and Arlington Heights ($2.4 million) highlight just how uneven the economic landscape is across a single city.

These gaps aren't just numbers on a spreadsheet. They translate into real differences in school funding, infrastructure investment, access to groceries, and quality of public services. A resident in one neighborhood can face an entirely different economic reality than someone living a 10-minute drive away.

What makes this data especially important is the margin of error column — some neighborhoods show uncertainty ranges in the millions, reminding us that even our best estimates of community wealth are approximations.

The takeaway: Pittsburgh, like many American cities, contains multitudes. One zip code's prosperity can exist right alongside another's struggle.

Source: High School Graduation Rate dataset, Data.gov