New arrivals moving to Mount Pleasant will find themselves in a small Pennsylvania borough about 45 miles (72km) southeast of Pittsburgh, at the base of Chestnut Ridge on the western edge of the Laurel Highlands. Around 4,000 people live in this welcoming, tight-knit community.
Mount Pleasant was a glass town for more than a century. Bryce Brothers blew crystal here until 1965, and L.E. Smith, one of the last hand-moulded glasshouses in the country, kept its furnaces lit until 2004. Although the product has changed, manufacturing is still a big local employer. Hitachi Energy builds high-voltage switchgear at its plant in the borough and has been expanding it.
Cost of living in Mount Pleasant
The cost of living in Mount Pleasant is low by American standards, and housing is the main reason. Utilities are the exception. Winters here are long, and heating an older house through one is not cheap.
Running a car is the other real expense, since almost everyone here needs one. Fuel and insurance are a bigger share of the budget than they would be in a city with a proper bus network.
Healthcare is a little cheaper here than the national average, although American medical bills are steep wherever you live. Proper health insurance is still the most important line in your budget, whether your employer provides it or you buy your own.
Pennsylvania charges a flat state income tax of 3.07 percent, and it has been the same rate since 2004. The state does not tax pension or retirement income at all, so retirees do noticeably better here than in most of the country.
See Cost of Living in Pittsburgh to learn more about regional living costs.
Getting around in Mount Pleasant
Getting around in Mount Pleasant means driving, and the road links are good for a town this size. US Route 119 is an expressway along the western edge of town, and PA Route 31 is Main Street. The Pennsylvania Turnpike is a few minutes north at the New Stanton interchange, and Pittsburgh International Airport is roughly 60 miles (100km) west.
Buses are the main form of public transport, and they’re run by Westmoreland Transit Authority. There are commuter services north to Greensburg, the county seat, about 10 miles (16km) away, and into downtown Pittsburgh. Anyone aged 65 and over travels free on the fixed-route buses. The authority also runs GO Westmoreland, a door-to-door shared-ride service for older residents and people with disabilities.
The whole borough is one square mile (2.6km²), so you can walk most of it in half an hour. There are no protected bike lanes, and the hills are steeper than a flat map might suggest.
Getting Around in Pittsburgh has more information on the city’s public transport.
Useful links
- Westmoreland Transit Authority
- GO Westmoreland: Shared-Ride Service
- 511PA: Road Conditions and Traffic
Healthcare in Mount Pleasant
Healthcare in Mount Pleasant is unusually good for a town this size, because the borough has its own hospital. Frick Hospital has served southern Westmoreland County since the early 1900s and covers emergency care and surgery, along with a range of outpatient clinics. It is small, and patients rate it well. Frick’s owner, Independence Health System, agreed in 2026 to join the West Virginia University Health System, so expect to see the WVU Medicine name on signage and paperwork.
The borough also has a paediatric practice run by UPMC Children's Community Pediatrics, part of the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh network. Harmon House provides skilled nursing and post-hospital rehabilitation, and it has an assisted living site on the same campus. For anything complex or elective, you are looking at the larger hospitals in Greensburg or the teaching hospitals in Pittsburgh.
Read Understanding Health Insurance in the USA to learn about the national health insurance system.
Useful links
- Independence Health: Frick Hospital
- UPMC Children's Community Pediatrics: Mount Pleasant
- Harmon House Health and Rehab Center
Schools in Mount Pleasant
The schools in Mount Pleasant are run by a single authority, Mount Pleasant Area School District, which covers the borough along with Donegal borough and both surrounding townships. Every child in the borough follows the same path through the system, so there is no catchment to weigh up when you choose a street. The junior and senior high schools are just outside the borough, in Mount Pleasant Township.
The district has five schools and around 1,900 pupils. Children with special educational needs are covered by federal law and by the state’s own rules. Pennsylvania is also one of the few states that mandates provision for gifted pupils by law rather than leaving it to individual districts.
Three small private schools operate in and around the borough, and between them they teach fewer than 200 children. All of them are religiously affiliated. Mt. Carmel Christian School has been running since 1974 and covers kindergarten through twelfth grade, and surrounding districts bus pupils in for free. Verna Montessori School serves children from Pre-K to eighth grade and is affiliated with the Association Montessori Internationale, which will be familiar to families who have used Montessori schools elsewhere.
There are no international schools in Mount Pleasant. The nearest International Baccalaureate provision is the Barack Obama Academy of International Studies in Pittsburgh, a Pittsburgh Public Schools magnet that admits city residents through an application process, and the long school run alone rules it out for most. Families who need an IB pathway tend to look at housing much closer to the city. The nearest colleges and universities are around Greensburg.
Our Education and Schools in Pittsburgh page has more on the city’s education system and local schools.
Useful links
- Mount Pleasant Area School District
- Mt. Carmel Christian School
- Verna Montessori School
- Future Ready PA Index: School Performance Data
Accommodation in Mount Pleasant
Most of the accommodation in Mount Pleasant is older single-family housing, and it is cheap by the standards of anywhere within an hour of a major city. Around two-thirds of residents own their homes, and there is very little new build.
Smaller places exist but are thin on the ground, mostly converted apartments and a few duplexes. Victorian and American Foursquare houses are the norm on the older streets, and post-war ranches are more common towards the edges.
The historic centre is the most sought-after address, and the antique shops and independent restaurants are strung along Main Street or just off it. The Mount Pleasant Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998, so expect period detail and the upkeep that comes with it. Families often settle on Ramsay Terrace, a few streets from the elementary school. Most of the housing there is pre-war or from the two decades after it.
One thing to sort out before you search for a home is that Mount Pleasant borough and Mount Pleasant Township are separate municipalities, and they levy separate tax bills, even though addresses in both use the same ZIP code.
You will also see Acme in property searches for Mount Pleasant, but it is a separate place again. Acme is an unincorporated community about seven miles (11km) east, up on Chestnut Ridge and outside the borough entirely. Plots are larger, and the setting is rural, so it suits buyers who want land and do not mind driving further for a supermarket. Children there attend different schools from the borough children.
See Accommodation in Pittsburgh to find out more about regional housing practices.
Useful links
Lifestyle in Mount Pleasant
The lifestyle in Mount Pleasant is an outdoor one, and the Laurel Highlands are the reason. Seven Springs and Hidden Valley are the nearest ski resorts, about half an hour east over the ridge. Ohiopyle State Park is south of town and has whitewater rafting on the Youghiogheny River, along with miles of hiking trails. Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright’s house over the waterfall, is close enough for an afternoon.
Frick Park is the only real green space inside the borough, and it is small. Local leagues use the ball field through the summer, and there is a walking track and a playground. Veterans Park in the centre of town is the borough’s memorial to veterans of every branch of the services.
Organisers have run the Mt. Pleasant Glass and Ethnic Festival every year since 1987. It is a three-day street festival on the last weekend of September, admission is free, and there are glassblowing demonstrations and a parade down Main Street on Saturday. The Library of Congress recognised it in its Local Legacies project. Former glassworkers often lead the tours at the town's glass museum.
For eating out, you are looking at Main Street. The restaurants there are independent and family run. Several keep a decent craft beer list.
Christmas is the borough's set piece. A volunteer committee has put up a full-size nativity scene in the centre of town every December since 1957, and the light-up ceremony that switches it on is the unofficial start of the season. The borough closes the streets for a Christmas parade the same month, and the Memorial Day parade in May is the other annual fixture.
For a list of the best sights and attractions in Pittsburgh, check out our Lifestyle in Pittsburgh page.