Oakmont is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, along the Allegheny River. The population was 6,758 as of the 2020 census. It is a suburb of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.
Incorporated as a town in 1889, this Allegheny River community began in 1816 when a farmer, Michael Bright, bought a large tract of land northeast of Pittsburgh. The settlement took its name from a landmark tree, as the deed description reads, "Beginning at a black oak on the bank of the Allegheny River ..." The borough is best known for the nearby Oakmont Country Club, a premier golf course which has been the site of numerous U.S. Open golf tournaments, including the 2016 U.S. Open.
Geography
Oakmont is located at (40.519518, −79.837620).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of , of which is land and , or 8.99%, is water. The business district of town is on relatively flat land near the Allegheny River, but the main residential area is on the upward slope headed toward Oakmont Country Club and the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Plum Creek flows through the borough.
Oakmont has three land borders, including Plum to the east, and Penn Hills and Verona to the south. Across the Allegheny River to the west and northwest, Oakmont runs adjacent with O'Hara Township to the west and Harmar Township to the north (via the Hulton Bridge).
Demographics
As of the 2000 census, there were 6,911 people, 3,118 households, and 1,708 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 3,269 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 97.84% White, 0.90% African American, 0.10% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.17% from other races, and 0.49% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.62% of the population.
There were 3,118 households, out of which 21.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.3% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.2% were non-families. 39.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.08 and the average family size was 2.84.
In the borough the population was spread out, with 19.3% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 25.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 79.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.0 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $41,957, and the median income for a family was $57,821. Males had a median income of $42,152 versus $32,721 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $26,716. About 4.3% of families and 5.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.5% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.
Government and politics
Education
Oakmont is served by the Riverview School District, which includes two elementary/junior high schools that extend through 6th grade and Riverview High School, which serves Oakmont and portions of neighboring Verona for grades 7–12. Riverview High School was ranked the No. 1 Single A School in Pennsylvania and in the top 100 overall in the state, including 18th in the Pittsburgh metro area, by U.S. News & World Report in 2020 and the 2020–21 Pittsburgh Business Times High School Rankings.
Notable highlights include a 10:1 student:teacher ratio, consistently leading state/national trends on SAT, ACT, and AP performance, and 83% of students continuing education post-graduation.
Points of interest
The Oakmont Country Club is located just outside the borough limits in the neighboring borough of Plum. The course has been consistently ranked in the top five courses of the world. It has hosted nine U.S. Opens, the most of any golf course, in 1927, 1935, 1953, 1962, 1973, 1983, 1994, 2007 and 2016, and is scheduled to host a tenth in 2025. It has also hosted three PGA Championships, five U.S. Amateurs, three NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships, and two U.S. Women's Opens. The Kerr Memorial Museum, located at 402 Delaware Avenue, was originally a family home built in 1898 for the Kerr family and is now a museum which is open for tours. The Kerr Museum brings to life the story of the middle class in late nineteenth-century America, often overshadowed by that period's extremes of fabulous wealth and grinding poverty.