8 Best Neighborhoods for Pitt Students: Apartments Near the University of Pittsburgh

Go South Oakland if walking to the Cathedral of Learning beats everything else on your list. That's the short answer for anyone hunting apartments near the University of Pittsburgh, and the rest of this comes down to how much rent you'll trade for how many minutes of commute. Find My Place has 36 student places listed across Pittsburgh right now, with 80 verified reviews spread over 16 of them.

Full disclosure: that's our own data, and it's the reason we can put real August 2026 prices next to real addresses instead of a citywide average. The spread is enormous. A shared bedroom on McKee Place goes for $384/mo; a loft on Railroad Street asks $1,681.

Key Takeaways

• South Oakland is the default, and it's also the one that vanishes first. Popular row houses get signed by January for the following August.
• $384/mo. That's a shared bedroom at University Commons, 308 McKee Place, and it's the cheapest per-person price anywhere in our Pittsburgh set.
• Skip the car. Eligible Pitt students ride Pittsburgh Regional Transit buses, light rail, and the inclines across Allegheny County for free, which turns Oakland's parking nightmare into somebody else's problem.
• Reviews swing block to block, not neighborhood to neighborhood. University Commons sits at 5.0 out of 5. HERE Pittsburgh sits at 1.9. Two tenths of a mile apart.
• Cheapest whole unit on the board is a $505 studio at Allegheny Commons on East Ohio Street. The 2.7 review score comes bundled in.
• Shadyside and Squirrel Hill look pricier per unit, but they're quoted per unit, so divide before you dismiss them.

1. South Oakland: Closest to Class, Gone the Soonest

Pick South Oakland if you want the shortest walk and the lowest per-person rent. Junior year is when most of Pitt's off-campus crowd lands here, in older row houses split into student units, plus a few purpose-built buildings mixed in. University Commons at 308 McKee Place is the value play: shared bedrooms from $384/mo, private bedrooms in a four-bed two-bath from $574, and a 5.0 across five verified reviews.

Prefer glass and elevators? SkyVue, 3333 Forbes Ave, opens private rooms at $849/mo and scores a lukewarm 3.8. Now the warning. HERE Pittsburgh is a fifth of a mile from University Commons and carries a 1.9. Read reviews by building, never by block.

2. North Oakland: Same Commute, Fewer Neighbors Yelling

North Oakland gets you Oakland's walkability without living inside the party. Above campus, the stock shifts toward mid-rises and older buildings along Centre Avenue and North Craig Street instead of shared houses. One on Centre, 4500 Centre Ave, opens private bedrooms in a three-bed three-bath at $1,275/mo, whole three-bedrooms at $1,355, and holds a 3.4.

The one I'd tour first is Cathedral Mansions at 4716 Ellsworth Ave, sitting right on the North Oakland-Shadyside seam. Studios start at $1,200, one-bedrooms at $1,500, two-bedrooms at $2,150. It's ranked number one in Pittsburgh for quality, management, and social life simultaneously, which basically never happens, and a reviewer named Faith called it out specifically for Pitt and CMU students.

3. Shadyside: The Grown-Up Option

Shadyside is the trade where fifteen minutes on a bus buys you tree cover and a real commercial strip. Prices here are whole-unit, which makes them look brutal next to Oakland's per-bed numbers until you actually divide. Shadyside STAY starts at $1,900/mo. Highland Plaza Apartments starts at $1,580. Split either one two ways and you're near or under what a private bedroom costs in a South Oakland tower. Nobody talks about that.

4. Squirrel Hill: Where the Grad Students Quietly Went

Squirrel Hill is the pick if you're writing a thesis and not going out four nights a week. Our own Pittsburgh guide names it a favorite among graduate students, and the reasons are walkability, green space, and buses that show up. 5710 Phillips Ave, over in the 15217, runs one-bedrooms from $1,295 to $1,525/mo and two-bedrooms from $1,500 to $1,695. Zero reviews on it so far, which means tour it in person and don't trust the photo set.

5. The Strip District: Riverfront Lofts, Premium Ask

The Strip is a splurge and makes no apology for it. At 2645 Railroad Street, The Yards at 3 Crossings runs one-bedrooms from $1,681 up to $2,134/mo and two-bedrooms from $2,917 to $3,027. It scores 4.6. Residents keep praising three things: cleanliness, fast maintenance, and, repeatedly and a little hilariously, the dog park.

What you're buying is the riverfront trails and the produce-terminal food, not proximity to campus. Fine if a stipend covers rent. Hard to defend on loans.

6. Uptown and the Fifth Avenue Corridor: Split the Difference

Uptown is the compromise nobody plans for and plenty of Pitt students end up liking. You're on Fifth Avenue between Oakland and downtown, meaning frequent buses in both directions. Union on 5th opens at $1,105/mo and holds a 4.0. Union on 5th Avenue is a separate listing entirely and starts at $1,245.

Over at 112 Washington Place, The Washington at Chatham lists one-bedrooms at $1,609 and $1,650, plus a two-bedroom at $2,513. And Crawford Square, up in the Hill District from $1,416/mo, holds a 4.8, the strongest score in this whole price band.

7. Downtown: Small, Furnished, Cheaper Than It Looks

Downtown is the sleeper if you want a newer building and don't need square footage. Keystone Flats at 319 3rd Ave opens shared bedrooms and one-bedroom whole units both at $859/mo, two-bedrooms at $993, and caps out at $1,444 for its biggest one-bedroom. It's a 5.0.

A parent named Shannon left a review saying her daughter spent four years there and described the units as clean, modern, and furnished. The catch writes itself: you're riding into Oakland every morning instead of rolling out of bed ten minutes before class.

8. The North Side: The Cheapest Rent Near Pitt, Period

The North Side is purely a money decision, and the money is loud. Allegheny Commons, 255 East Ohio Street, lists a studio at $505/mo, a one-bedroom at $585, a two-bedroom at $734, and a three-bedroom at $889. Nothing else in our Pittsburgh inventory is close on whole-unit rent.

The reviews explain why: 2.7 out of 5 across five verified renters. Still, three roommates splitting that $889 three-bedroom pay under $300 each, and for some students that's the line between borrowing and not.

How to Read a Pittsburgh Price Before You Compare Anything

Find out whether a number is per bed or per unit before you compare two buildings, because Pittsburgh mixes both freely. Most of our Pittsburgh listings quote whole-unit base rent, and the giveaway is the curve. Cathedral Mansions climbs from $1,200 for a studio to $2,150 for a two-bedroom. Allegheny Commons climbs from $505 to $889 as bedrooms stack up. Rent going up with bedroom count means whole unit, full stop.

A few buildings publish real per-person tiers instead, labeled private room or shared room, and those are the only numbers that describe one person's share. University Commons and SkyVue both do it that way. One more thing: everything on the site is base rent, so fees, utilities, and parking pile on top.

Want a per-person benchmark instead of doing your own arithmetic? A room in a shared South or North Oakland house typically runs about $700 to $1,050 a month per person.

Frequently Asked Questions About Apartments Near the University of Pittsburgh

How much do apartments near the University of Pittsburgh cost?

Roughly $700 to $1,050 per person per month for a room in a shared South or North Oakland house. Whole units are separate math: studios and one-bedrooms around Oakland and Shadyside currently list from about $1,200 to $1,900/mo, while the North Side floor is $505. Almost everyone gets their share down by splitting something bigger.

Which Pittsburgh neighborhood is best for Pitt students?

South Oakland when walking distance decides it, North Oakland when you want that same walk minus the noise. Grad students and anyone burned out on shared houses should look at Squirrel Hill and Shadyside first. Downtown and the North Side only pay off if price outranks commute, and both come with a daily bus ride.

When should I start looking for an apartment near Pitt?

Fall, for the following August. Not an exaggeration. Oakland landlords start showing and signing nearly a year ahead, and the best South Oakland houses are usually claimed by January. Wait until spring and you're shopping Shadyside and points east, which is a perfectly good search, just not the one you meant to run.

Do I need a car at the University of Pittsburgh?

No. Eligible Pitt students, faculty, and staff ride Pittsburgh Regional Transit buses, light rail, and the inclines across Allegheny County at no cost, a benefit Pitt's Panther Central office confirms covers all three modes. Oakland is also one of the best-connected neighborhoods in the city for transit. Parking on the student blocks is scarce and frequently permit-only. The hills don't help. Bring a car only if you've got a specific reason it earns its keep.

Ready to compare places for real? Browse every open unit in Pittsburgh, filter by neighborhood and budget, and read what students who actually lived there said before you sign a thing.