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ZipVitals

ZIP code

15215

in Fox Chapel, PennsylvaniaPopulation 11,907

59.45/ 100

Ranked #5,246 of 32,066 US ZIPs (top 16%)

Ranked #231 of 1,748 Pennsylvania ZIPs (top 13.3%)

Ranked #61 of 376 Pittsburgh, PA ZIPs (top 16%)

Ranks are modeled estimates — ZIPs a few hundred places apart are effectively tied.

Some domains have limited local data — read this Score as directional

What defines this ZIP

Metrics where this ZIP sits in the tails of the national distribution — the ones that most set it apart. Select any tile for its definition and methodology.

Lithium in drinking water

9 µg/L

at the national minimum

Lower is healthier

ST1st
US1st
Definition & source ›

The average detected level of lithium — a natural trace metal with no federal drinking-water limit yet — across the public water systems serving this ZIP, in micrograms per liter.

Measured from EPA records for the public water systems that serve this ZIP. Households on private wells — roughly 30% of the US population — are not covered by this measure, and this figure says nothing about their water.

Full methodology ›

Loud transportation noise

3.1%

in the top 3.6% nationally

Lower is healthier

ST96th
US96th
Definition & source ›

The modeled share of residents exposed to average road, rail, and aviation noise at or above 65 decibels — around the volume of normal conversation.

Full methodology ›

Physician access

2.6 per 1,000 residents

in the top 4.4% nationally

Higher is healthier

ST95th
US96th
Definition & source ›

The number of physicians’ offices located inside this ZIP’s boundary, per 1,000 residents.

Counted from establishments located inside this ZIP’s boundary, so one just across the line is not counted. Where a ZIP has too few residents for the density to be reliable, no value is published rather than an unreliable one.

Full methodology ›

Air-toxics cancer risk

40 per million

in the top 4.5% nationally

Lower is healthier

ST95th
US96th
Definition & source ›

The EPA’s modeled estimate of added lifetime cancer risk from breathing outdoor air toxics, in cases per million people exposed over a lifetime.

Full methodology ›

Transit access

4.8 per 1,000 residents

in the top 5.4% nationally

Higher is healthier

ST90th
US95th
Definition & source ›

The number of public-transit stops inside this ZIP’s boundary, per 1,000 residents.

Counted from establishments located inside this ZIP’s boundary, so one just across the line is not counted. Where a ZIP has too few residents for the density to be reliable, no value is published rather than an unreliable one.

Full methodology ›

Transportation noise

13.0%

in the top 5.6% nationally

Lower is healthier

ST92nd
US94th
Definition & source ›

The modeled share of residents exposed to average road, rail, and aviation noise at or above 55 decibels — a noticeable background presence.

Full methodology ›

Dental provider access

0.88 per 1,000 residents

in the top 9.0% nationally

Higher is healthier

ST91st
US91st
Definition & source ›

The number of dental offices located inside this ZIP’s boundary, per 1,000 residents.

Counted from establishments located inside this ZIP’s boundary, so one just across the line is not counted. Where a ZIP has too few residents for the density to be reliable, no value is published rather than an unreliable one.

Full methodology ›

Elder-services access

0.16 per 1,000 residents

in the top 9.3% nationally

Higher is healthier

ST91st
US91st
Definition & source ›

The number of services for older adults and people with disabilities inside this ZIP’s boundary, per 1,000 residents.

Counted from establishments located inside this ZIP’s boundary, so one just across the line is not counted. Where a ZIP has too few residents for the density to be reliable, no value is published rather than an unreliable one.

Full methodology ›

Fiber broadband

93.9%

in the top 11.8% nationally

Higher is healthier

ST91st
US88th
Definition & source ›

The share of homes where fiber-optic internet service is available.

Full methodology ›

Subsidized affordable housing

138 units

in the top 15% nationally

Higher is healthier

ST95th
US85th
Definition & source ›

The number of affordable rental units in this ZIP supported by the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program.

Full methodology ›

The read

With only some of the sources reporting, ZIP 15215, one of several in Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania lands in the top 16% healthiest ZIPs nationally (5,246th) and the top 13.3% of Pennsylvania (231st), based on limited data; treat as directional.

continue reading

This area's available measures are set out plainly: lithium in drinking water sits at the national minimum, and physicians lands in the top 4.4% nationally. Distance to an emergency room lies at the national minimum, shared with about 11% of ZIPs. Transit stands in the top 5.4% nationally, and dental providers rests in the top 9.0% nationally. Elder services registers in the top 9.3% nationally, and grocery resides in the top 10.5% nationally. Against that, modeled loud transportation noise settles in the top 3.6% nationally, and air-toxics cancer risk is in the top 4.5% nationally. Modeled transportation noise sits in the top 5.6% nationally.

Against the wider neighborhood, park land runs far higher than the surrounding ZIPs on this measure. Put simply, lithium in drinking water is a natural metal that dissolves into some groundwater and has no federal drinking-water limit yet. Air-toxics cancer risk is a modeled EPA estimate of added lifetime cancer risk from breathing outdoor air, per million people. Loud transportation noise is the modeled share of an area exposed to road, rail, and air noise at or above 65 decibels, near conversation volume. On the overall standing, ZIP 15116, just across the boundary, ranks healthier.

What’s driving this score

Nine domains make up the ZipVitals Score — here is how this ZIP does on each, and how much each one counts.

Compared with the ZIP codes measured across all nine scoring domains — not with all US ZIP codes.

Lifting this score

Social Need / SDOH

healthier than 81%

19%

Preventive CarePartial

healthier than 93%

15%

Climate / Disaster Risk

healthier than 66%

6%

Healthcare Access

healthier than 76%

6%

Holding it back

Environmental Hazard

healthier than 4%

16%

Not placed: Chronic Disease Burden and Risk Behavior — too little of each is measured here to compare reliably. They still count toward the score (together 38% of it); we just will not publish a standing we cannot stand behind.

No data: Mental Health and Disability — not measured in this ZIP, so it is left out of the score entirely rather than estimated.

“Share” is how much of this ZIP’s score the domain accounts for. Percentages are rounded; higher is healthier in every domain. How the score works, and who it compares you with ›

Findings that name this ZIP

One of our published findings lists this ZIP code. Each finding compares one published measure against a stated benchmark, and names only the ZIP codes whose estimates are reliable enough to rank. See all surprising findings.

  • Highest-risk tenth

    Air toxics and the years between the two ends of the risk scale

    Modeled air-toxics cancer risk is 40.0 cases per million — among the tenth of compared ZIP codes with the most. Estimated life expectancy is 78.8 ± 1.5 years.

    Ranked #504 of the 4,173 ZIP codes this finding names, ordered by modeled air-toxics risk, highest first.

Nearby & similar ZIPs

Editorially selected — see how this ZIP compares to nearby and similar places.

How these were chosen: only ZIPs with a published Score appear — a nearby ZIP with too little data to score won’t. Nearby means closest by distance between ZIP boundaries, which can cross state lines. A similar health profile is a close match across the nine Score domains, not similar demographics. Distances are measured between ZIP boundaries — ZIPs that touch share a border. How distance is measured

Evidence

Every measure this page draws on, by source. Collapsed by default — the full data stays in the page for search engines either way.

Health OutcomesCDC PLACES 2022 · BRFSS
MeasureCrude prevalence95% CI
All teeth lost among adults aged >=65 years11.4%9.4–13.6
PreventionCDC PLACES 2022 · BRFSS
MeasureCrude prevalence95% CI
Colorectal cancer screening among adults aged 45–75 years68.9%64.9–72.7
Visited dentist or dental clinic in the past year among adults71.2%68.3–73.9
Mammography use among women aged 50-74 years80.0%74.2–84.9
Health Risk BehaviorsCDC PLACES 2022 · BRFSS
MeasureCrude prevalence95% CI
Short sleep duration among adults32.1%28.3–36.0
Community & economyCensus ACS 5-Year · 2024 release · observed
MeasureValueUS median (p10–p90)PA median (p10–p90)
Poverty rate7.5%10.6% (3.1–25.8%) n=32,3649.3% (2.1–21.6%) n=1,759
Uninsured 18–643.9%9.0% (1.5–24.3%) n=32,2866.3% (0.0–16.6%) n=1,753
No HS diploma (25+)5.6%7.9% (1.8–20.7%) n=32,5057.0% (1.5–16.1%) n=1,762
Bachelor's or higher (25+)59.0%23.3% (9.2–53.6%) n=32,50521.9% (8.9–50.4%) n=1,762
Unemployment rate (16+)4.8%3.9% (0.0–9.8%) n=32,2743.9% (0.0–9.6%) n=1,755
Households without a vehicle11.2%3.9% (0.0–12.5%) n=32,3224.8% (0.0–15.6%) n=1,758
Broadband subscription92.1%89.3% (75.1–97.1%) n=32,32288.2% (75.7–97.3%) n=1,758
Housing cost burden (≥30% income)27.1%23.7% (10.6–40.0%) n=32,32221.9% (9.9–35.3%) n=1,758
Homeownership rate73.3%78.7% (51.7–94.0%) n=32,32280.1% (57.1–94.5%) n=1,758
Crowded housing (>1 per room)0.7%1.3% (0.0–6.3%) n=32,3220.6% (0.0–3.3%) n=1,758
Foreign-born population7.4%2.6% (0.0–18.6%) n=32,5531.4% (0.0–10.2%) n=1,763
Single-parent households47.5%53.6% (37.3–74.1%) n=32,08756.3% (38.5–72.8%) n=1,744
Population 65+19.5%19.4% (10.8–33.6%) n=32,55321.1% (12.3–31.4%) n=1,763
Median age40.7 yr42.2 yr (33.0–56.3) n=32,29244.2 yr (33.9–55.5) n=1,752
Median household income$99,071$72,070 ($46,039–$118,707) n=30,318$71,250 ($50,880–$112,747) n=1,642
Median home value$311,300$222,200 ($100,300–$579,820) n=30,049$197,200 ($99,000–$382,120) n=1,649
Median gross rent$1,122$1,021 ($677–$1,912) n=25,670$983 ($701–$1,527) n=1,367
Life expectancyNCHS / RWJF USALEEP · model-based
MeasureValueUS median (p10–p90)PA median (p10–p90)
Life expectancy at birth78.8 yr ± 0.7778.9 yr (74.7–82.8) n=31,30879.2 yr (76.0–82.0) n=1,730

About the ± — it’s this estimate’s give-or-take (statisticians call it the standard error). The true life expectancy for this ZIP most likely falls within 0.77 years of 78.8, and it’s very unlikely to be off by more than twice that.

More ZIPs to explore ▾

How these lists were built: they draw only from ZIPs that have a published Score, so ZIPs with too little data to score are not listed. Distance-based lists use distance between ZIP boundaries with no state filter, so an out-of-state ZIP can appear. Statistically similar means a close match across the nine Score domains, not a demographic match: the measure is the cosine similarity between two ZIPs’ domain scores, taken over the domains both ZIPs have data for and only where that overlap covers at least six of the nine — and where no ZIP clears that minimum-overlap floor, that list is left out rather than filled with a weak match. How distance is measured