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Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is a mid-sized city built where three rivers meet, and it's one of the most student-heavy places in the state thanks to the University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University, Carnegie Mellon, and more. The center of gravity is Oakland, the academic heart of the city, where Pitt and CMU sit side by side; Duquesne perches on its bluff above downtown. Pittsburgh is famously a city of neighborhoods stitched together by rivers, hills, and bridges. Students get a lot of city for a manageable scale: the cultural district, the museums and Schenley Park, the riverfront trails, and a pro sports scene the city rallies around. Beyond Oakland, walkable Squirrel Hill and polished Shadyside offer leafy streets, while the South Side brings nightlife.
The academic core, home to Pitt and CMU and packed with student housing, libraries, museums, and Schenley Park, the default if you want to be in the middle of campus life.
A short ride east, prized for its walkability, green space, and reliable transit, a favorite among graduate students.
The polished option, with tree-lined streets and a boutique commercial corridor.
Here's what you need to know about getting around Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh Regional Transit runs the buses and light rail, and Oakland is one of the most transit-connected neighborhoods in the city, with frequent service linking Pitt, CMU, Duquesne, downtown, and the surrounding areas. Many students in Oakland, Squirrel Hill, or Shadyside get by without a car, relying on buses, walking, and rideshares. The frequent service in the student core makes transit a real default.
The core student neighborhoods are compact and pedestrian-friendly, so daily errands happen on foot. The terrain is hilly, so walking can mean real climbs. Biking is growing, with riverfront trails along the three rivers, though the hills make it more committed than flat cities.
A car helps for trips beyond the transit-connected core, but many students skip one given how well buses cover Oakland and the nearby neighborhoods. Parking in the dense student areas can be tight. Reserve a vehicle for destinations transit doesn't reach.
Common questions from students searching for housing.
Student rentals in Pittsburgh commonly run from about $600 to $1,200 per month, depending on the neighborhood and unit. Oakland and Shadyside trend higher, while Squirrel Hill and farther-out blocks can run lower. Sharing a house or apartment with roommates is the standard way students bring their individual share down.
Pittsburgh is home to 10 universities, each with its own student housing market.
Carlow University is a small private Catholic university in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood, steps from the Pitt medical campus and Carnegie Library. Founded by the Sisters of Mercy, Carlow is now fully coeducational, offering programs in nursing, education, business, and the arts. The campus sits at Fifth Avenue and…
View housing near Carlow UniversityCarnegie Mellon University is a top-tier private research university on Forbes Avenue in Pittsburgh's Oakland and Squirrel Hill neighborhoods. Founded in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie, CMU is recognized for programs in computer science, engineering, fine arts, drama, and public policy. The main campus covers roughly 157…
View housing near Carnegie Mellon UniversityChatham University is a small private university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, set on a wooded campus along Woodland Road in the Shadyside neighborhood near the Squirrel Hill border. Founded in 1869 as a women's college, Chatham became coeducational in 2015 and today enrolls students in arts, sciences, health…
View housing near Chatham UniversityCommunity College of Allegheny County is a large public two-year college serving Pittsburgh from its main campus on Ridge Avenue in the North Side. CCAC operates campuses across Allegheny County, including Boyce in Monroeville, South in West Mifflin, and West Hills in Oakdale, giving students a convenient commute from…
View housing near Community College of Allegheny CountyDean Institute of Technology is a small private vocational school on West Liberty Avenue in Pittsburgh's Beechview corridor, specializing in automotive service technology. The school offers focused, hands-on training that prepares students for careers as automotive technicians, with credentials from the National…
View housing near Dean Institute of TechnologyDuquesne University sits about 8,830 students on a bluff overlooking downtown Pittsburgh, a self-contained campus literally perched above the city on a hill known as the Bluff. The view does a lot of the work here: you look out over the rivers and the skyline, then walk down into the action when you want it. Pittsburgh…
View housing near DuquesnePoint Park University is a private, independent university located in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. With an undergraduate enrollment of roughly 3,000 to 4,000 students, it offers programs in business, communications, performing arts, engineering technology, education, and the natural sciences through…
View housing near Point Park UniversityThe Art Institute of Pittsburgh was a for-profit art and design college located at 1400 Penn Ave in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It offered programs in graphic design, fashion, culinary arts, and media arts. The school permanently closed in 2019 as part of the widespread collapse of Education Management…
View housing near The Art Institute of PittsburghThe University of Pittsburgh sets about 32,300 Panthers down in Oakland, the dense, hilly neighborhood that doubles as the city's academic core. The skyline here belongs to the Cathedral of Learning, a 42-story Gothic tower you can see from across the city and study inside. Pitt has no real boundary with Oakland;…
View housing near PittVet Tech Institute is a small private career college located in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, specializing in veterinary technology education for approximately 300 to 500 students. The school is accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association and prepares graduates to work as certified veterinary…
View housing near Vet Tech InstituteBrowse student housing near each Pittsburgh-area university.