Nixon

Nixon is a city suburb in Butler County, located 26 miles north of Pittsburgh and home to the Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport. “It is a nice, quiet bedroom suburb of Pittsburgh,” says Geoff Smathers, a Realtor with Howard Hanna Real Estate Services with 30-plus years of experience in the market. “You get some fresh air and more space away from the city, with access to nice golf courses and the Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport.” Corey Weber of RE/MAX NEXT adds, “It’s super tiny — it only has a couple of streets.” Nixon has a population of roughly 1,500 residents. Situated in Western Pennsylvania, home inventory includes brick ranch-style homes, Cape Cods and craftsman-style bungalows lined closely together. The community also has brick-split levels that sit on multiple acres — home costs range between $206,000 and $792,000. Buyers can expect a four-bedroom, three-bathroom on an acre to go for around $300,000, while a three-bedroom, one-bathroom split-level on five acres to sell for almost $600,000. “The market has started to normalize again after the post-pandemic craziness. If houses are clean, move-in and ready, they move quickly, but I have seen them linger if they need some work or are not priced right. The Pittsburgh market really doesn’t have a ton of inventory, so that also keeps increasing home values,” Smathers says. The CAP Index crime score for the area is 1 out of 10. Children can attend schools in the Knoch School District, which scores a B on Niche and changed its name to Knoch from the South Butler School District before the 2022-23 school year. The school district has a student-teacher ratio of 15 to 1. Knoch Primary Elementary is where kids can go for kindergarten through third grade, while Knoch Intermediate Elementary serves students in fourth and fifth grades. Teens move on to Knoch Middle and Knoch High School. Both elementary schools, which also followed the same name change in 2022, scored B-pluses, while the middle and high schools were graded a B by Niche. The high school has between 1,000 and 1,200 students enrolled. Knoch High’s building and athletic stadium were both renovated before 2022, and the high school offers a fully online option for interested students. The football program has had recent success, sharing a conference championship in 2007 and finishing 12-1 in 2011. There are four colleges and universities nearby, including Slippery Rock University and Butler County Community College (BC3). The Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport, formerly the Butler County Airport, is a one-runway public airport that dates back to 1929. It originally featured three runways, including two grass runways. The airport is used for private flights only but does have a flight school for those interested in aviation. Amelia Earhart, who obtained her instrument flight certificate there in preparation for her historic solo flight over the Atlantic Ocean in 1932, was one illustrious trainee. State Route 8 cuts through the middle of Nixon and leads to Butler, Pa. to the north and Pittsburgh to the south. Nixon doesn't have public transit, but surrounding areas do. The Butler Transit Authority (BTA) has numerous fixed routes around Nixon in Butler. BTA offers Butler-Pittsburgh commuter services. Succop Nature Park is a 50-acre wooded retreat that features woodlands, fields, ponds and walking trails. Once a farm and considered a birder’s paradise, the park is a popular venue for homecoming photos, private events and weddings. Animal lovers will want to visit Spring Valley Park. The 868-acre green space is home to horse shows, dog training, fishing and hunting. The park also has 12 miles of trails. Residents have local shops for grocery options. Freedom Farms - Local Market is a popular store for local produce. Butler Farm Market also carries local produce and has a deli and fresh meat. Residents can head to Freedom Farms, where something is always going on, for their daily Farmers Market that offers fresh and local produce. Farm-to-Fork Kitchen is where residents can get a Pork Schnitzel sandwich or a juicy burger and a side of freedom fries. There are more traditional grocery stores and big box options along Pittsburgh Road, like Giant Eagle, Aldi, Target and Walmart.