A small but mighty lakeside city of immigrants and entrepreneurs
Situated along Lake Erie and about the same distance from Cleveland, Buffalo and Pittsburgh, Erie is a lakeside city that attracts people with its beaches, marinas and lakefront activities. “Presque Isle State Park has 13 miles of beaches, and it’s minutes away from almost any part of town,” says Dee Caruana, born and raised in Erie with almost 30 years’ experience as a local Realtor. Often referred to as “the Peninsula,” Presque Isle juts out into the lake and provides a natural harbor for the city with miles of public beaches, wetlands and fishing sites.
The city is also proud of its strong immigrant population and independent entertainment and media outlets. “We have food festivals that celebrate our Irish, Greek and Italian communities,” says 35-year real estate veteran Thomas NeCastro, an associate broker with Coldwell Banker Select and an Erie native. “We’re not the biggest city, but we have our own theaters and music venues. Our baseball and hockey teams are semi-pro. Erie is also far enough from Cleveland and Pittsburgh to have our own newspaper, television and radio stations. While the rest of the country is homogenizing, Erie is still very independent.”
Erie’s largest employers include Erie Insurance, a Fortune 500 company; Wabtec, a locomotive manufacturer that supports many households with welding, assembly and maintenance jobs; UPMC Hamot and St. Vincent’s Hospital, both large health-care providers; and Gannon and Mercyhurst, two of the city’s top universities. “Erie is also seeing a resurgence of small businesses,” NeCastro says. “Many are food-related, like bakeries and coffee shops. New South Asian, Thai and Indian restaurants add to the local flavor. As with decades ago, these businesses have been started by recent immigrants.”
The waterfront in Erie PA is beautiful any time of year.
UPMC Hospital is in close proximity to the Frontier neighborhood.
Wabtech supports Fairmont-McClelland residents with welding, assembly and maintenance jobs.
Avonia Beach is a fisherman's dream near Little Italy.
1/4
Waterfront homes and classic suburban dwellings
When Erieites speak about their city, it’s often in terms of quadrants, with “lower sides” being closest to the waterfront and “upper sides” farther inland. Homes on the city’s Lower West Side, for example, are among its most desirable, from luxury condos and single-family homes on the bayfront, which start at $350,000, to historic Victorian, Second Empire and Italian Renaissance houses on West 6th Street, often called Millionaire’s Row, which list for as much as $1.6 million. Lower East Side homes also attract buyers with waterfront views and boat launches, but prices are much lower, especially near downtown where residential communities suffer from lower incomes and urban blight. Buyers can expect to pay $13,000 for properties needing total restoration to $240,000 for move-in-ready homes
The city’s central radius features thousands of three- and four-bedroom colonial-style houses built around 1900, many of which have been converted to multi-family homes. Cape Cods and ranch-style dwellings constructed in the 1950s line neighborhoods outside the city center, such as Greengarden on the Upper West Side or Fairmont-McClelland on the city’s Upper East Side. Most of these middle- and working-class homes are priced from $30,000 to $300,000, with an average home price less than half the national average.
Buyers will also notice that homes in Frontier on the Upper West Side and Glenwood on the Lower West Side are among the highest priced in the city, apart from the bayfront and West 6th Street. Frontier offers an eclectic mix of vintage and newer homes within walking distance of Frontier Park, one of the city’s most popular green spaces. Glenwood features classic Tudor, colonial and ranch-style homes on up to an acre of land near Glenwood Park and the J.C. Martin Golf Course, both developed by Glenwood’s neighborhood association. Homes in these areas can sell for as much as $550,000.
Rows of homes are found overlooking Lake Erie in the Lakeside section of town.
This Cape Cod-style home can be found in the picturesque neighborhood of Frontier.
Ranch houses in Glendwood is perfect for first time homeowners.
East Bayfront homes vary in size from large older Victorians to small Cape Cod style homes.
1/4
Lakefront parks, attractions and lake-effect weather
Presque Isle State Park’s 3,200-acre sandy peninsula begins within 2 miles of the city’s western edge and is popular for swimming, fishing, hiking and biking. Naturalists also flock here to spot migrating, rare and endangered bird species. At the foot of the peninsula, Waldameer Park and Water World is one of the oldest amusement parks in the country with several rides, a wave pool and water slides. The city also maintains parks where residents can enjoy the lake or bay views, such as Liberty Park, which extends into Presque Isle Bay and offers summer concerts at its outdoor amphitheater. Those who love boating or fishing have four public boat launches along the coast, or they can dock their watercraft at marinas like the Erie Yacht Club, which has slips, dry stall spaces and a sailing school.
Erie city parks are designed for anyone who enjoys sports, nature or community events. Frontier Park, for example, has sports facilities and an arboretum with over 1,000 trees. Perry Square in the heart of downtown hosts a farmers market on Friday afternoons from July to October, and Glenwood Park on the south side of the city is part of a green space that includes the Erie Zoo, the 9-hole J.C. Martin Golf Course, the Glenwood Park YMCA and the Flo Fabrizio Ice Center for hockey and public skating. “You can hear the lions roaring if you live near the zoo,” NeCastro says. You’ll also see people cross-country skiing in the parks and on the golf course in the winter. Everything in Erie feels nearby and on a human scale.”
Erie also experiences lake-effect snow like other Great Lake cities, including Cleveland and Buffalo. Yet Erie’s lakefront location also helps temper the heat, producing milder summers. Overall, residents enjoy all four seasons and a full range of weather. “Though the latest cold blast has snowed us under 5 feet with 50-mile-an-hour winds, the rest of the year truly is beautiful here,” Caruana says.
Residents love the slides at Frontier Park.
The J.C. Martin Golf Course in Arbor Heights is a popular 9-hole course.
Your kids will have so much fun at Waldameer Park & Water World.
The Perry Monument is a popular place to visit in Millcreek.
1/4
Public and private schools in Erie
Public schools in Erie belong to the Erie City School District, which receives a C-plus from Niche. Over 12,000 PK-12 students are enrolled in the public school system, which includes 23 schools, from elementary to high school. In 2024, Erie High School, a C-rated school, completed a $6 million renovation to its football stadium named after Pro Football Hall of Famer Fred Biletnikoff, an alum. Nearby, Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy, an A-plus high school, boasts a 100% four-year college acceptance rate and ranks in the top 1% of American public high schools. Students must apply to attend this academy.
The city also has over 40 private schools including Cathedral Preparatory School, an all-boys, Catholic high school affiliated with St. Peter Cathedral, and Mercyhurst Preparatory School, a 9-12 Catholic boarding school on the campus of Mercyhurst University. Both high schools score an A-minus from Niche.
Colleges like Mercyhurst University and Gannon University call Erie home as well. Both are Catholic co-ed institutions. In the city’s southwest corner, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) is the largest and most applied-to medical school in the United States. Penn State Behrend southeast of town occupies 850 acres of former farmland with 1,900 students living on campus.
Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy is a public school.
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine is a mile north of Millcreek.
Gannon University is a private Catholic university located near Frontier.
Cathedral Preparatory School is a private Catholic school.
1/4
Downtown museums, theaters and sporting events
The Erie Art Museum houses a collection of local and regional art and work by some of the world’s greatest masters. Housed in a former coal-fired power plant on the bayfront, the Erie Maritime Museum tells the story of Erie’s role in the War of 1812. Docked beside the museum is a modern recreation of the U.S.S. Niagara, a ship used during the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813.
Along State Street, theatergoers will find the Erie Playhouse, one of the oldest and most highly rated community theaters in the U.S., and the Warmer Theater, an elegant structure built in 1929 by the world-famous Warner Brothers and home to the Erie Philharmonic, the Lake Erie Ballet and the Erie Broadway Series. Down the street, Kellar’s Modern Magic and Comedy Club features entertainers who have appeared on America’s Got Talent, The Tonight Show and other televised variety programs. Nearby, the Performing Artist Collective Alliance, also known as PACA, is a progressive theater and gallery space whose mission is to revitalize the downtown by telling the stories of its artistic and cultural communities.
Erie has over 75 public murals around town, many downtown and within blocks of UPMC Park, where the Erie SeaWolves baseball team plays. Erie Insurance Arena, home to the Erie Otters hockey team, is next door. “Conner McDavid got his start on the Erie Otters,” Caruana says. “We’ve had big names come out of Erie hockey. Winter sports draw big crowds here.”
The Erie Library and Maritime Museum are located on the waterfront by East Bayfront.
There are plenty of colorful murals all around Arbor Heights.
The Erie Fine Art Museum is a few blocks from Trinity Park.
The Warner Theater is home to the Erie Philharmonic and the Lake Erie Ballet.
1/4
A small city with many ways to get around
“Erie’s not that big — we call it the 20-minute town,” says Realtor Kristy Markel with Agresti Real Estate. Only 6 miles by 3 miles, Erie relies on major thoroughfares like 12th, 26th and 38th streets to move traffic east and west. The Bayfront Connector and Parkway bring drivers from the Upper East Side to the bayfront and downtown. Interstate 79 on the west side of town connects drivers with Pittsburgh, 120 miles south. U.S. Highway 19/Peach Street and routes 97 and 8 also bring drivers south out of the city to Interstate 90 where attractions like Millcreek Mall, Splash Lagoon, and Presque Isle Downs and Casino are located. I-90 connects Erie to Buffalo, 80 miles east, and Clevland, 90 miles west.
Bike lanes run along the Bayfront Connector and take cyclists as far west as Frontier Park, where they can pick up the bike paths that run along the peninsula in Presque Isle State Park. Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority buses stop throughout the city, and Erie’s Amtrak station is at Peach and West 14th streets. Erie International Airport is 5 miles west of the city with nonstop flights to Charlotte and Orlando.
Shopping and dining from Upper Peach Street to the bayfront
Erie’s go-to place for shopping is the Millcreek Mall Complex with over 150 stores in the Upper Peach Street area. “Pennsylvania has no sales tax on clothing, which brings people in from New York and Canada,” NeCastro says. The mall features several department stores, including Macy’s and Boscov’s, a children’s play area and dozens of restaurants, like Mi Scuzi, an upscale Italian eatery originally located in Erie’s Little Italy. Millcreek is less than 4 miles from Presque Isle Downs and Casino, a sports betting and gaming establishment on Erie’s south side.
Downtown Erie has experienced a renaissance in recent years with the opening of Flagship City Food Hall, where visitors can dine at local eateries like Dina’s Authentic Dominican Kitchen and Joe’s Brooklyn Bagel, Too. The Flagship City District is also a new concept in urban living, providing new apartments and redeveloped space for businesses, such as the Dollhouse at Pointe Foure, a women’s vintage clothing and jewelry store, and Glass Growers, an artisan gallery and gift store.
Neighborhoods throughout the city, too, offer unique shopping and dining options. In Frontier on the Lower West Side, Romolo Chocolates sells over 200 handcrafted confections that customers can watch being made. In West Bayfront, Sloppy Duck Saloon has two outdoor decks overlooking the bay. On weekends, customers can enjoy karaoke inside and live music in the restaurant’s tiki bar. Near Erie’s Little Italy, the same family has owned and operated Colao’s Ristorante since it opened in 1999, and family recipes are still used.
Romolo Choclates in Frontier makes confections with love and passion.
The Sloppy Duck Saloon is a popular waterfront restaurant and bar in West Bayfront.
Colao’s Ristorante in Arbor Heights is family operated since 1999.
The Flagship City Food Hall in Downtown Erie offers a variety of dining options.
1/4
Fighting crime with new investment
Crime statistics released by the City of Erie Police Department in 2024 show that crime has continued to decrease in the city over the last three years. The mayor attributes this decrease to crime prevention and reduction initiatives, such as a Juvenile Unit to handle youth cases, a Crisis Car to answer domestic-related calls, and outreach programs that engage youth and build cop-kid relationships.
“Crime is fairly low in the city, except for downtown,” Caruana says. “That’s why the city has been investing money to refurbish and reimagine what the downtown can do for the city.” The Flagship City District, which includes a food hall and public market, is one of these projects. “The goal is to attract high-tech firms and encourage professionals to live and work downtown,” NeCastro says. “There are also plans to convert the Renaissance Centre, Erie’s tallest building, into a boutique hotel and office space.” Erie Downtown Development Corp. has already invested over $100 million in revitalizing the area. Erie Insurance, the city’s largest employer, and its chairman, Thomas Hagen, have spearheaded many of these efforts, especially the preservation of historic buildings.
On average, homes in Erie, PA sell after 29 days on the market compared to the national average of 49 days. The median sale price for homes in Erie, PA over the last 12 months is $185,000, up 9% from the median home sale price over the previous 12 months.
My name is Don Powell and I am the former owner/broker of Powell & Associates Real Estate. My wife Candi and I sold it to Berkshire Hathaway. I completed my MBA degree at Clarion University. I graduated from Punxsutawney Area High School in 1981 and Clarion University in 1984 with a degree in Business Administration. I have been in the real estate business since 1988. I have been a husband since 1987, a published author, appraiser, avid outdoorsman and amateur magician. I have developed student rentals and storage unit complexes. I have gas, coal, & timber rights investments which provide a broad knowledge of natural resources. I take pride in having overseen land acquisitions for Eckerd Drug, Sheetz, and many more commercial sales. I have testified as an expert witness in federal and local courts. I love real estate and would like a chance to help you. My wife, Candi and I are proud of our two daughters, Taylor Nicole, and Jordyn Elizabeth. Having a full-time real estate associate broker provides you with expertise in the market. I'm committed to an aggressive marketing plan with the latest technology. Still the key to our success is getting up each morning with goals and plans and then working the old-fashioned way. So, if you want a trustworthy, hardworking real estate professional, I'll be happy to help you accomplish your goals.
Disclaimer: Certain information contained herein is derived from information provided by parties other than Homes.com. Our sources include: Accuweather, Public Records and Neustar. All information provided is deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed to be accurate and should be independently verified.
