Charlene Welch jokes that her neighborhood of Homeville is the unofficial capital of West Mifflin. Six generations of Ms. Welch's family have lived there, from her great-great grandmother to her 30-year-old son.

She describes West Mifflin as a close-knit town whose residents are attached to the area, much the same way her family is. "We're rooted here more than the old buckeye tree in my front yard," she said.

Still, she was surprised to learn that Money magazine recently ranked West Mifflin as the fifth most affordable town in America. Also on the list were Penn Hills in the East suburbs and Brentwood in the South Hills at ninth and 10th place, respectively. The newspaper profiled Brentwood in an article published last week.

To generate the list, Money magazine divided median family income by median home price. The towns are ranked in order of their home-to-income ratio. The median family income in West Mifflin is $52,771 and the median home price is $81,113. West Mifflin is a large suburb at 14.2 square miles, with a population of approximately 21,200.

The Money article points out that the communities on its list are clustered predominantly in America's industrial heartland. Arthur Cox, the director of the Real Estate Education Program at the University of Northern Iowa, said that while affordability is generally a positive for a community, pinpointing the exact causes behind the trend is difficult.

West Mifflin's affordability, though, may likely be linked to its place in the Mon Valley, a hub of Pittsburgh's historic steel industry.

It's hard to find a longtime resident who didn't work in a steel mill or have a family member who did. Ms. Welch explains that in her family, both her uncle (who lives across the street) and her grandfather worked in the nearby Homestead Works.

Ed Manfredi, a resident and one-time council member, worked as a furnace operator for Jones & Laughlin Steel -- later LTV Steel -- for 37 years. Mr. Manfredi recalls that many of his neighbors also worked in the local mills, including US Steel's Irvin Works, built in West Mifflin around 1937.

But, as all Pittsburgh residents understand, the robust days of the steel industry would not last forever. Nearby Clairton works shut its doors in 1984. By the late 1980s, the Homestead, Duquesne, and McKeesport plants of U.S. Steel were closed permanently. The old Jones & Laughlin mills in Pittsburgh were being torn down.

Ms. Welch, a teacher in the West Mifflin schools, said the mills closings "devastated us." She recalls 36 to 40 teachers being furloughed. During this population loss, West Mifflin went from two high schools to one.

Mary Catherine Bell, owner of Kaybrook Real Estate, in West Mifflin, said that the local real estate market mirrored the rise and fall of the steel industry. Ms. Bell, a West Mifflin resident of 38 years who had five brothers who worked in the Homestead Works, said that much of the housing in West Mifflin was built to accommodate the mill workers.

According to U.S. Census Bureau data, approximately 16 percent of the homes in West Mifflin were built in 1939 or earlier, when the steel industry was strong. Building was steady over the years, with over half of West Mifflin homes being built between 1940 and 1959, as the steel industry continued to flourish. Only about 7 percent of the homes in West Mifflin were built after 1979, when steel jobs dried up.

Ms. Bell recalls that when the local mills closed, there was a noticeable drop in housing prices. Houses built for steel workers were empty and difficult to sell. Ms. Bell said in the years since the mills closed, home prices in West Mifflin have gradually rebounded.

While longtime residents agree that the loss of the steel industry was devastating, they also boast about the large and small businesses operating there today. These businesses not only provide job opportunities to residents, explained Mayor John Andzelik, but they keep the tax base strong.

According to 2000 census data, the leading category of employment of West Mifflin residents was in management, professional, and related occupations, followed by jobs in sales and other office jobs. Only 13.5 percent of West Mifflin's workforce reported employment in production, transportation, and material moving jobs, which include steel workers.

Among the larger companies that conduct business in West Mifflin are the Allegheny County Airport, Bombardier Transportation, General Motors Fisher Body, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, and, of course, Kennywood. Community College of Allegheny County also operates a 200-acre site near Century III Mall, located in West Mifflin. Bechtel Bettis Laboratory, operated for the Department of Energy, operates one of its three facilities in West Mifflin. USX's Irvin Works is still open, with a workforce of approximately 700.

Construction companies P.J. Dick and Trumbull have been headquartered in West Mifflin for more than 25 years. Jennifer Howe, a Human Resource Specialist with the companies since 1998, said that West Mifflin is a convenient place to work and that employees have access to many stores and businesses close by.

Residents as well as businesses enjoy being just 9 miles south of the city of Pittsburgh. Warren Bland, a geography professor at California State University, Northridge, who ranked Pittsburgh as the second-best place for retirees seeking a big-city life on a budget in his book "Retire in Style: 60 Outstanding Places Across the USA and Canada," agrees that living in an affordable town near a larger city provides increased opportunity for its residents.

West Mifflin residents like the hilly and wooded landscape of their neighborhood streets. They have confidence in their police, emergency medical services, and four volunteer fire companies. They brag about the recent $6 million renovation to the West Mifflin Area High School. Teachers and administrators at the high school are getting ready to welcome 131 high school students from nearby Duquesne.

Mayor Andzelik said he was "astounded" to learn of West Mifflin's high ranking. He's proud of this "neighborly place to live'' with residents that have strong roots in the community. Two of Mayor Andzelik's three grown children live in West Mifflin. The third lives nearby.

Mr. Manfredi also touts the atmosphere. He remembers a time when he came home from the hospital and was surprised to see his neighbors shoveling snow from the driveway. "A lot of people don't know how good they have it here,'' he said.