Census-designated place · Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

Lawson Heights, Pennsylvania

Lawson Heights is a census-designated place in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, part of the Pittsburgh, PA metro area. It has 2,213 residents. Lawson Heights, Pennsylvania has a quality-of-life score of 73 out of 100 (high), ranking #4,192 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Pennsylvania it ranks #295 of 997 cities and towns. It ranks best on uninsured residents (under 65) (low), drought exposure (low) and reading scores (high). It ranks worst on new business applications (low), effective property tax rate (high) and drug overdose deaths (high).

73High

Quality-of-life score: #4,192 of 15,651 cities and towns
Pennsylvania: #295 of 997 in PA
Population: 2,213 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,446.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 4242032

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety73#4,254/15,637
Economy34#10,328/15,631
Housing69#4,587/14,977
Health47#8,321/15,609
Healthcare83#2,585/15,650
Environment62#5,845/15,453
Education93#1,100/15,649
Infrastructure28#11,340/15,650
Community91#1,424/15,651
Leisure & amenities51#7,686/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Lawson Heights, Pennsylvania ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Westmoreland County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Uninsured residents (under 65) · low0.0%
100/100Pennsylvania 7.2%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Drought exposure · low0%
96/100Pennsylvania 26%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAWestmoreland County value
Reading scores · high3.39
94/100Pennsylvania 3.10United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWestmoreland County value
Math scores · high3.45
94/100Pennsylvania 3.12United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWestmoreland County value
Mental health care shortage · low0.0
91/100Pennsylvania 1.0United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationWestmoreland County value
Natural hazard risk · low6.6
89/100Pennsylvania 22.42025Federal Emergency Management AgencyWestmoreland County value

Weaknesses

New business applications · low8.7 /1k
12/100Pennsylvania 12.4 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauWestmoreland County value
Effective property tax rate · high1.64%
16/100Pennsylvania 1.25%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Drug overdose deaths · high24.2 /100k
18/100Pennsylvania 19.6 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataWestmoreland County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high8.7 µg/m³
22/100Pennsylvania 8.3 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyWestmoreland County value
Depression · high26.5%
27/100Pennsylvania 23.9%United States 20.7%2022Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Public transit commuters · low0.0%
27/100Pennsylvania 3.6%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationFalling
2,564 (2015-2019) → 2,213 (2020-2024)
−14%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
20.1% (2015-2019) → 34.6% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Average commute timeWorsening
16.1 min (2015-2019) → 21.9 min (2020-2024)
+36%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
6.0% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−6 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.1× (2015-2019) → 2.7× (2020-2024)
+28%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Unemployment rateWorsening
0.0% (2015-2019) → 5.5% (2020-2024)
+5.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Lawson Heights, Pennsylvania improved on 1 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 9 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Bachelor's++14 points20.1% → 34.6%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Lawson Heights, Pennsylvania between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	16.1 min2015-2019	21.9 min2020-2024	+5.8 min	Within the margin of error	8%
Bachelor's degree or higher	20.1%2015-2019	34.6%2020-2024	+14 points	Improved	97%
Broadband subscriptions	89.9%2015-2019	85.4%2020-2024	−4.6 points	Within the margin of error	2%
Effective property tax rate	1.42%2015-2019	1.64%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	2%
High school diploma or higher	100.0%2015-2019	98.5%2020-2024	−1.5 points	Within the margin of error	19%
Home price to income ratio	2.1×2015-2019	2.7×2020-2024	+0.6×	Within the margin of error	42%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3462015-2019	0.3942020-2024	+0.047	Within the margin of error	18%
Median household income	$76,7862015-2019	$64,9292020-2024	−15%	Within the margin of error	2%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	15.1%2015-2019	18.6%2020-2024	+3.5 points	Within the margin of error	30%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Lawson Heights, Pennsylvania five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Lawson Heights, Pennsylvania in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Lawson Heights, Pennsylvania itself moved −16.9 points in standing on average over the same 9 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

2,213 residents (±409)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,182 households (±273)

Lawson Heights, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Under $25k9.6%†113
$25k–50k32%†378
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,182 households (±273)

Lawson Heights, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Own78%927
Rent22%†255

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,125 workers (±229)

Lawson Heights, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Drive alone90%1,007
Carpool0.0%0
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Pittsburgh, PA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Westmoreland County, the county holding most of Lawson Heights's residents.

Westmoreland County has 8,428 employer establishments, 240 for every 10,000 residents (0.97× the US rate of 248; 1.02× Pennsylvania's), with 124,843 paid employees at an average annual pay of $51,303. The Census Bureau also counts 23,721 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 8,428; 23,721 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 240; US 248 · Pennsylvania 236
Paid employees: 124,843
Average annual pay: $51,303; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Westmoreland County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	740	21.1	1.01×About typical	7,557	$67,076	1,197
Restaurants and other eating places	586	16.7	0.91×About typical	10,982	$18,119	101
Specialty trade contractors	569	16.2	1.05×About typical	4,209	$68,715	1,973
Services to buildings and dwellings	285	8.1	1.20×About typical	1,686	$41,877	1,219
Construction of buildings	273	7.8	1.03×About typical	1,209	$56,596	701
Religious organizations	267	7.6	1.37×More than typical	1,376	$20,485	—
Offices of other health practitioners	263	7.5	1.23×About typical	1,286	$41,023	663
Full-service restaurants	261	7.4	0.97×About typical	6,035	$20,026	34
Limited-service restaurants	255	7.3	0.91×About typical	4,154	$15,382	46
Personal care services	231	6.6	1.38×More than typical	1,166	$23,936	751
Lessors of real estate	227	6.5	0.52×Fewer than typical	644	$39,742	2,372
Automotive repair and maintenance	220	6.3	1.24×About typical	1,085	$43,777	370

Rank places for an industry Open Westmoreland County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 351,233 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $282K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Lawson Heights, Pennsylvania: $127 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $282K; +455% vs FY2025
Per resident: $127; US $1,995
Sole-source: 4.9%; US 30%
Single offer: 93%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Air Force$259.8K92%
National Aeronautics and Space Administration$9,2813.3%
Department of the Navy$4,6901.7%
Department of Veterans Affairs$4,5461.6%
National Institute of Standards and Technology$2,7631.0%
Defense Logistics Agency$4750.2%
National Institutes of Health$4110.1%

Top recipients

PAVCON LLC$259.8K92%
PRODUCT EVALUATION SYSTEMS, LLC.$9,2813.3%
CHESTNUT RIDGE FOAM INC$5,1261.8%
SYNTAX INDUSTRIES, INC.$2,8381.0%
DWIGHT SHEARER$2,7631.0%
ANGEL'S STAIRLIFTS, LLC.

Spending by fiscal year

18.9KFY2017
20.2KFY2018
9.2KFY2019
8.8KFY2020
5.4KFY2021
10.3KFY2022
15.8KFY2023
13.3KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$263.1K93%
Other professional, scientific, and technical services · 5419$5,9812.1%
Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing · 3391$4,1221.5%
Household and institutional furniture and kitchen cabinet manufacturing · 3371$3,6411.3%
Other fabricated metal product manufacturing · 3329$2,7631.0%
Scientific research and development services · 5417

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Lawson Heights, Pennsylvania, so they do not add up across cities.

Lawson Heights, Pennsylvania's figures are part of those of Westmoreland County, PA ($67.9M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.4% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Lawson Heights is mostly in Westmoreland County.

See federal money in Westmoreland County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Lawson Heights, Pennsylvania is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Westmoreland County88100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Pittsburgh, PA84

Other cities and towns in Westmoreland County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/4242032

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends