The short version
Squirrel Hill is officially two neighborhoods, Squirrel Hill North and Squirrel Hill South, but it is almost always treated as one1. It is mostly residential, the largest city neighborhood area by population, and our directory counts 100 places to eat and drink there, 6th among the city neighborhoods we track2.
This is not a bar district: 8 listings have a full bar. Instead the count is led by Coffee and cafes (18), bakeries (10), sandwiches and delis (8) and Chinese (8)2. Squirrel Hill also has one of the larger concentrations of Chinese and Japanese listings outside Oakland. 70% of listings are independent.
Two main streets
The directory points to two corridors: Murray Avenue with 43 listings and Forbes Avenue with 342. They meet at the heart of the business district, and most of the neighborhood's cafes, bakeries and sit down restaurants are within a few blocks of that intersection. A smaller cluster sits on Browns Hill Road (6).
A 2019 Pittsburgh Magazine report described Squirrel Hill as becoming the city's new Chinatown, and the neighborhood celebrates Chinese New Year with an annual parade1. It also describes Squirrel Hill as a longtime center of Jewish life in Pittsburgh1. Both histories are visible in the directory, which lists bakeries, delis, noodle shops and dumpling counters side by side.
Locals call the Forbes and Murray business area “upstreet”, a contraction of “up the street”1. Alongside the shops it holds a Carnegie Library branch and the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh13.
From frontier houses to a streetcar suburb
The name may have come from the Native Americans who lived nearby and most likely refers to the gray squirrels that were abundant there1. The first recorded house was built in 1760 by Colonel James Burd, a soldier from Fort Pitt, and the area's first business district was the intersection of Brown's Hill Road and Beechwood Boulevard1. Around 1820, William "Killymoon" Stewart opened a tavern near that corner that operated for more than 100 years.
Squirrel Hill was part of Peebles Township until it was annexed to Pittsburgh in 18681. After the Civil War, wealthy families built houses along Woodland Road, and the women's college that became Chatham University was founded nearby in 18691.
Parks you can eat your way to
Squirrel Hill holds the two biggest parks in the city. The city's parks dataset assigns both Frick Park and Schenley Park to Squirrel Hill, along with 5 smaller properties, and lists 9 playgrounds45. There are 35 sets of city steps here with 620 steps in total; the longest, Devon Rd and Warrick Terrace from 5th Ave, has 986.
The public art inventory for the two neighborhoods includes “Cascade”, “Transform, Pollinate, & Illuminate”, and “Caves”, many of them inside Schenley Park7. The Carnegie Library's Squirrel Hill branch is here too3, and the county's farmers market list includes Squirrel Hill Farmers Market8.
Who lives here
Squirrel Hill had 27,196 residents in 2020, up from 26,473 in 2010 (+3%)9. About 78% of adults 25 and over have a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 29% of residents aged 3 and over are enrolled in college or graduate school, reflecting its location next to CMU and Pitt10. About 24% of working residents work from home10.
Because the neighborhood is large and residential, it has fewer listings per person than the nightlife districts: about 3.7 per 1,000 residents29. Most of what there is sits in a compact, walkable center.
How Squirrel Hill compares
Set against the 78 city neighborhoods and areas on this site, Squirrel Hill ranks 6th by number of listings and 23rd by listings per square mile. The typical (median) one has 6 listings and about 12 per square mile; Squirrel Hill has 100 and 26211. Its independent share, 70%, is below the median of 80%, and 8% of its listings have a full bar, against a median of 25%.
For getting around, 14% of working residents walk to work and 12% take transit; the medians across these neighborhoods are 4% and 12%10. Squirrel Hill has 146 active transit stops, 1st on this list, and about 84,486 scheduled trips a week (3rd)12.
Picks, inspections and new places
This week's Spotlight picks are Cafe Phipps (coffee & cafes), Pink Box Bakery Cafe (bakeries), Pigeon Bagels (sandwiches & delis), Everyday Noodles (Chinese), Kyo Matcha (Japanese & sushi), and Hidden Harbor (bars & pubs). Each is independent and its latest county inspection on file reads “Inspected & Permitted”13. Picks rotate every week.
We matched 70 of Squirrel Hill's 100 listings to Allegheny County Health Department records from Aug 11, 2025 to Jul 28, 202613. 6 of those have a most recent placard of “Follow Up Required”, which usually means a recheck was scheduled; it does not mean a place is closed. 5 facilities here passed a preoperational inspection in that window, including Teriyaki Express, Steel Town Tavern, and Cafe Phipps.
Getting there
Squirrel Hill has more transit stops than any other city neighborhood: 146, served by 17 route codes with about 84,486 scheduled trips a week12. The busiest single stop in the file is Forbes Ave. past Morewood Ave. (Carnegie Mellon) (2,200 weekly trips), on the CMU edge of the neighborhood.
70 Squirrel Hill listings could be matched to Allegheny County Health Department records, and each matched spot page shows the latest inspection date and placard result13. Recent preoperational inspections, often the first public sign of a new opening, are listed below13.
Squirrel Hill by the numbers
Counts from our directory2. Land area from the City's neighborhood boundaries11.
Listings by category
Main food streets: Murray Avenue (43), Forbes Avenue (34), Browns Hill Road (6), and Shady Avenue (3).
New and changing
These Squirrel Hill facilities had a preoperational inspection from the Allegheny County Health Department between Aug 11, 2025 and Jul 28, 2026. That inspection happens before a food facility opens, changes owners or reopens after major work13.
- Teriyaki ExpressInspected & Permitted
- Steel Town TavernInspected & Permitted
- Cafe PhippsInspected & Permitted
- Pre-Amp Coffee StudioInspected & Permitted
- Casa del TequilaInspected & Permitted
Things to do nearby
Parks and playgrounds
7 city park properties and 9 playgrounds.
- Davis Park
- Frick Park
- Monitor St and St Phil Islands
- Saline St Passive Area
- Schenley Park
- Vietnam Island
Public art
21 works in the City's public art inventory, including:
- Cascade · Oreen Cohen & Alison Zapata
- Transform, Pollinate, & Illuminate · Oreen Cohen & Alison Zapata
- Caves · Randi Stewart
- Grand Army of the Republic Memorial · Not Applicable
- National Woman's Relief Corps Memorial: Annie Wittenmyer · Not Applicable
Source7
City steps
35 public stairways with 620 steps in all. Longest: Devon Rd and Warrick Terrace from 5th Ave (98 steps).
Source6
Transit details
Transit
146 active stops, about 84,486 scheduled trips a week, by bus. Busiest stop: Forbes Ave. past Morewood Ave. (Carnegie Mellon) (2,200 weekly trips).
Source12 Check PRT for live times.
How working residents commute
Percent of workers 16+, 2018-2022 estimates10.