| West Mifflin, Pennsylvania | |
| Settlement Type: | Borough |
| Mapsize: | 260px |
| Coordinates: | 40.3681°N -79.8975°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Allegheny |
| Established Title: | Incorporated |
| Established Date: | 1788 (Mifflin Township) |
| Established Title2: | |
| Established Date2: | Dec. 11, 1942[1] (Borough) |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Chris Kelly |
| Leader Title1: | Council |
| Leader Name1: | John Inglis Karen Santoro Michael Moses Robert Kostelnik Joyce Kushner Steve Marone Scott Stephenson |
| Leader Title2: | Borough Manager |
| Leader Name2: | Brian Kamauf |
| Leader Title3: | Police Chief |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Total Km2: | 37.56 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 14.50 |
| Area Land Km2: | 36.79 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 14.21 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.76 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.29 |
| Area Water Percent: | 1.8 |
| Population Total: | 19589 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Density Km2: | 535.38 |
| Timezone: | EST |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 15122[2] |
| Area Code: | 878 |
| Pop Est As Of: | 2019 |
| Population Est: | 19699 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 42-83512 |
| Area Footnotes: | [3] |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 1386.67 |
West Mifflin is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, located southeast of downtown Pittsburgh. The population was 19,589 at the 2020 census.[4] It is named after Thomas Mifflin, 1st Governor of Pennsylvania, signer of the United States Constitution, and 1st Quartermaster General of the United States Army.[5]
Although the borough is heavily residential, it is home to one of America's oldest traditional amusement parks, Kennywood Park. Other employers include advanced naval nuclear propulsion technology research and development facility, Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory; monorail manufacturer Bombardier; US Steel's Mon Valley Works–Irvin Plant; Community College of Allegheny County's South Campus; and the Allegheny County Airport.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of, of which is land and, or 1.80%, is water. The landscape is largely hilly and wooded, and the borough's eastern boundary is contiguous with the Monongahela River three separate times. Much of the original landscape has been altered as a result of the historic dumping of steel mill byproducts such as slag and fly ash.
West Mifflin has ten land borders, including the Pittsburgh neighborhoods of Lincoln Place and Hays as well as Munhall and Whitaker, to the north, Duquesne to the east, Dravosburg to the southeast, Jefferson Hills and Pleasant Hills to the south, Baldwin to the west and also a short border with Clairton to the south.
Three segments of West Mifflin run along the Monongahela River. Adjacent to these areas across the river are Braddock, North Braddock, McKeesport and Glassport.
As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 22,464 people, 9,509 households, and 6,475 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1586.2sp=usNaNsp=us. There were 9,966 housing units at an average density of 703.7sp=usNaNsp=us. The racial makeup of the borough was 89.64% White, 8.85% African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.25% from other races, and 0.84% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.57% of the population.
There were 9,509 households, out of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.6% were married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.9% were non-families. 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.89.
In the borough the population was spread out, with 21.5% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 21.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.3 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $36,130, and the median income for a family was $46,192. Males had a median income of $36,984 versus $26,529 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $18,140. About 8.8% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.6% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over. The unemployment rate is just over 6%.[7]
Coal mining in the area has affected the flow and water quality of small streams. Land developers have produced more level ground by clean-filling ravines and other small parcels of land to improve the land usage Toxic waste dump areas[8] [9] are monitored with water quality improvement with bioremediation successfully implemented. West Mifflin operates its own sewage treatment facility. The Environmental Protection agency regulates 78 facilities for environmental compliance.[10] Asbestos waste and radioactive waste and controls were addressed in 1991.[11]
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third Parties | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 48% 5,397 | 50% 5,703 | 1% 126 | |
| 2016 | 49% 4,896 | 50% 4,930 | 1% 117 | |
| 2012 | 42% 4,171 | 56% 5,568 | 2% 120 |
Seven schools exist in West Mifflin: four public schools and three private schools. West Mifflin public schools belong to one district-West Mifflin Area School District. School students in the neighboring boroughs of Whitaker and Duquesne also attend school in the West Mifflin School District.
There are two West Mifflin elementary schools, one West Mifflin middle school, one West Mifflin High School, and 13 West Mifflin preschools.
| Calvary Baptist Preschool & Kindergarten | Day Care through K | 120 Anborn Drive | 7 | Private | |
| Clara Barton Elementary School | K-3 | 764 Beverly Drive | 222 | Public | |
| Cornerstone Christian Preparatory Academy | Pre-K–12 | 1900 Clairton Road | 251 | Private | |
| Homeville Elementary School | K-3 | 4315 Eliza Street | 395 | Public | |
| Walnut Grove Christian School | Pre-K-6 | 44 Adams Avenue | 251 | Private | |
| West Mifflin Middle School | 4–8 | 91 Commonwealth Avenue | 641 | Public | |
| West Mifflin Area High School | 9–12 | 91 Commonwealth Avenue | 1162 | Public[15] [16] |
New England Elementary has been closed since June 2012. Saint Agnes School has been closed since June 2019. New Emerson has been closed since 2020. Prior to July 2016, Wilson Christian Academy existed at 1900 Clairton Road. It was merged into Cornerstone Christian Preparatory Academy, which is currently at that location.
West Mifflin school administrators' use of school credit cards for meals has been called into question.[17] The West Mifflin School District charges tuition for nearby Duquesne students to attend.[18]
Community College of Allegheny County also has its South Campus in the borough, at 1750 Clairton Road.
West Mifflin is accessible primarily by road, though no Interstate highways pass through the area. The main road passing through most of the area is Pennsylvania Route 885, which intersects with Pennsylvania Route 51 nearby in the borough of Whitehall.
West Mifflin is the location of Allegheny County Airport, a general aviation airport; as a result, most of West Mifflin is in Class D airspace. The nearest airports with commercial service are Pittsburgh International Airport and Arnold Palmer Regional Airport.