Three Pennsylvania cities make top 10 “undervalued” list

Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Allentown all were named to the top 10 undervalued cities in America by SmartAsset.

Pittsburgh landed in first for the second year in a row, followed by Philadelphia in fourth and Allentown in 10th. The site analyzed data on unemployment rates, price per square foot, high school graduation rates, percentage of residents with a college degree, crime rate, entertainment establishment density, average days with precipitation, average number of days with bad weather and walk score.

Thanks to Pittsburgh’s highly educated residents – the high school graduation rate is 93% and 37% of adult residents have a bachelor’s degree – and low cost of living, the city maintained its top place on the list again. The median list price in the area is just under $190,000, compared to the average median list place for the U.S., which is $315,000. However, Pittsburgh’s walkability scored the lowest in the top 10.

Philadelphia, which was second last year, dropped two spots, but was also applauded for the affordable housing. The median list price in the city is $241,000, or $117.17 per square foot. Unlike Pittsburgh, Philadelphia’s walkability was praised, having the second-highest score in the top 10 and the sixth-highest overall.

Nabbing the last spot on the top-10 list was Allentown, thanks to a lower rate of crime per resident (the second-lowest on the top 10 list), and a huge variety of entertainment and restaurant options. Allentown also has affordable property prices. According to the report, the actual cost per square foot in Allentown is $92.17. The median list price there is just under $170,000.