Winter Home Emergency Index · 2026 edition
Pittsburgh, PA: 1st of 100 for winter heat and burst-pipe searches
Pittsburgh has 54.4 typical December–February searches for furnace, frozen-pipe and emergency plumber help per 1,000 households, 4.4x the median city (12.3). That's 3.18x what its normal winter cold predicts, 1st of 99 cities on this measure.
Ranking check: Confirmed. Pittsburgh ranks 1st on households inside city limits and 15th on metro population: top 25 on both. How the check works
Winter in Pittsburgh
- Search demand typically peaks in January, when it runs 2.60x the city's yearly average.
- 13% of winter searches are for urgent problems: burst or frozen pipes, no heat, emergency furnace repair.
- Emergency plumber searches add up to about 20.7 per 1,000 households a year.
- A normal December–February brings 3,033 heating degree days at Pittsburgh International Airport.
Homes in Pittsburgh
- The median home was built in 1942.
- 83% of homes were built before 1980.
- 75% of households heat with gas and 20% with electricity.
- 47% of households own their home.
- 137,593 households in city limits (ACS 2023).
Pittsburgh ranks 35th in the Summer AC Emergency Index. See Pittsburgh's summer page.
About these numbers
Search demand from Google Ads, Oct 2022 to Sep 2026, for 30 heating and plumbing terms. Each month uses the median of that calendar month across four years. "Pittsburgh" is the location as Google Ads defines it; households are city limits. This measures searches, not breakdowns or claims. Full methodology.
Cite: Home Stats Data, "Pittsburgh, PA ranks 1st of 100 for winter heat and burst-pipe searches," October 24, 2026, https://homestatsdata.com/plumbing/frozen-pipe-statistics/pittsburgh-pa/