Plum, Pennsylvania

House explosions

Plum has a history of house explosions beginning in 1996, when one person was killed and one person injured; the explosion was caused by failure of gas pipes. Another explosion on March 5, 2008, which killed one and injured one, was also caused by failure of gas pipes.^[7] On April 22, 2022, an explosion happened which injured five, and the cause has yet to be determined.^[8][9] An explosion on August 12, 2023, killed six and injured two, and the cause is being investigated.^[10][11]

Streams

• Pucketa Creek joins the Allegheny River where the creek forms the boundary between the borough of Plum and the city of Lower Burrell.^[13]
• Abers Creek
• Plum Creek rises in the borough.^[14]
  • Little Plum Creek

Surrounding communities

• Monroeville (south)
• Penn Hills (west)
• Oakmont (west)
• Harmar Township (north across Allegheny River)
• Cheswick (north across Allegheny River)
• Springdale (north across Allegheny River)
• Lower Burrell (north, in Westmoreland County)
• New Kensington (north, in Westmoreland County)
• Upper Burrell Township (northeast, in Westmoreland County)
• Murrysville (east, in Westmoreland County)

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Plum had a population of 27,144. The median age was 44.3 years. 19.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 21.6% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.3 males age 18 and over.^[19][20]

95.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 5.0% lived in rural areas.^[21]

There were 11,312 households in Plum, of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 53.9% were married-couple households, 15.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 24.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.^[19]

There were 11,869 housing units, of which 4.7% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.4%.^[19]

2010 census

At the 2010 census there were 27,126 people, 10,528 households, and 7,431 families living in the borough. The population density was 935.4 people per square mile. There were 10,528 housing units at an average density of 363.0 per square mile. The racial makeup of the borough was 93.9% White, 3.6% African American, 0.1% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.2% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.9%.^[17]

There were 10,528 households, 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.6% were married couples living together and 29.4% were non-families. 24.5% of households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.09.

The age distribution was 24.2% under the age of 20, 2.5% from 20 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 29.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% 65 or older. The median age was 42.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.6 males.

The median household income was $66,680 and the median family income was $74,941. Males had a median income of $54,119 versus $40,625 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $30,474. About 3.8% of families and 4.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.3% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.