What it's like to live in Baldwin
Baldwin is a small city in Pennsylvania with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, crime rates well below the national average, and schools with smaller class sizes than the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Baldwin deals with air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, a population that has been shrinking, and cold winters.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Affordable home prices
- Low crime rates
- Low student-teacher ratio
The not so good
- Air quality concerns
- Shrinking population
- Cold winters
How Baldwin compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Baldwin
Based on Baldwin's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$2,132
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $42,640 a year
- 40% of Baldwin renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$41,680
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $20,840
- Homes cost 2.6× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▼ 25% below US
$1,066/mo median rent
Cost of living works in this city's favor. Median rent sits around $1,066 a month, nothing that raises eyebrows. Solid value overall. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $208,400. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.
Median home value $208,400 · 40% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
4.0% county unemployment
Unemployment in Allegheny County is 4.0%, close to the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Allegheny County (county-wide)
Safety▼ 84% below US
53 violent crimes per 100k
Pretty safe, all things considered. Violent crime sits below the national average, nothing alarming, just ordinary city-life awareness.
Property crime 1470/100k · Baldwin Township Police Department · 2025 data
Getting aroundNear US average
26 min average commute
Commutes run about average, at 26.2 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 16% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are warm, with highs around 81°F, and winters are cold, with lows around 25°F and snow a regular occurrence. Rainfall is regular throughout the year.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforceNear US average
33% bachelor's degree or higher
Education levels run about average, with 33% college-educated. It's a mix of white-collar and blue-collar work, which can be an asset or a limitation depending on the field.
Schools
1 public school inside the boundary
There is 1 public school inside the boundary and 1 private school. The student-to-teacher ratio is 10:1, well below the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Friendship Hill National Historic Site (41 miles away). There are 6 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Baldwin's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are air quality that falls short of national benchmarks and a population that has been shrinking. A year of median rent ($1,066/mo) equals 16% of the median household income here, less than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget, anyone prioritizing low crime, and remote workers (16% of workers here already work from home).
Other places near Baldwin
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