In addition, Pittsburgh also has a very large population of students, making it a major college town. As often the case, having so many students around has a strong influence on the local culture. In fact, Pittsburgh is one of only a few big cities that are also major college towns, making it one of the nation's prominent intellectual centers. In addition, the presence of thousands of college students gives Pittsburgh a sophisticated style, and provides lots of diversions and entertainment for students. Being a big "college town" not only means that Pittsburgh has a burgeoning arts, music, and nightclub scene, but the innovation sector of the local economy receives a great boost from both the intellectual output of the faculty and the thousands of enthusiastic students who graduate every spring.
Not only is Pittsburgh a city with many college students, but it also retains many recent graduates who are looking to start new careers, creating a very large population of people who are young, single, educated, and upwardly-mobile. That’s because Pittsburgh is full of single people in their 20s and 30s and who have undergraduate or graduate degrees and are starting careers in professional occupations. This makes Pittsburgh a great place for young, educated career starters looking to find many people like themselves, with good opportunities for friendships, socializing, romance, and fun. In fact, Pittsburgh is one of the top larger cities in America for educated single professionals to flock.
Pittsburgh is a big city, and with that comes lots of benefits. One benefit is that most big cities have public transit, but Pittsburgh really shines when it comes to the extensiveness and use of its public transit system. More than most large American cities, Pittsburgh citizens use public transit daily to get to and from work. And while there are transportation options, most people in Pittsburgh ride the bus. Whereas in some cities one is destined to sit in traffic every morning to get to work and every evening to get home, in Pittsburgh a lot leave their cars at home (if they even choose to own one), and hop a ride on the bus.
The education level of Pittsburgh ranks among the highest in the nation. Of the 25-and-older adult population in Pittsburgh, 46.75% have at least a bachelor's degree. The typical US community has just 21.84% of its adults holding a bachelor's degree or graduate degree.
The per capita income in Pittsburgh in 2022 was $41,146, which is upper middle income relative to Pennsylvania and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $164,584 for a family of four. However, Pittsburgh contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Pittsburgh is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Pittsburgh home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Pittsburgh residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Pittsburgh include German, Irish, Italian, Polish, and English.
The most common language spoken in Pittsburgh is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.
