Braddock Hills is located northwest of Braddock's Field, the site of General Edward Braddock's 1755 defeat during the French and Indian War. The main road which winds through the borough, Brinton Road, was originally an Indian trail, used by the area's indigenous people to keep watch for their enemies. The other main road in the borough, Braddock Road, was the main link between Braddock Hills and Braddock used by farmers and coal miners. The first area of the borough to be settled was along Brinton Road, first settled as Hannatown.

First settled in 1753, the area was part of Wilkins Township until 1885, when Braddock Township was incorporated. On May 2, 1946, after Braddock Township had already been broken up into the boroughs of Swissvale, North Braddock, and Rankin, the remaining area incorporated itself as Braddock Hills.

Braddock Hills experienced a housing boom following World War II. Many GIs used their VA loans to acquire newly built homes. Most of the new homes were built on Illinois Ave, Park Ave, Columbia Ave, Circle Drive, McKelvey Ave, and Kings Road. These homes were generally small brick Cape Cods, colonials, or brick ranches. While much of the borough has new housing, there are many older structures. Miners built shotgun-style homes. Many of these homes were located on Indiana Avenue. Some are still in use.

Many older residents can recall when the Braddock Hills Shopping Center on Yost Boulevard was the location of a drive-in movie theater. The Ardmore Drive-In operated from 1959 to 1976; it was then torn down and was replaced with a shopping center. During the 1980s the shopping center's parking lot hosted a Sunday flea market and the Braddock Hills Days Festival.

Like many Western Pennsylvania communities, Braddock Hills was a coal town. There are many abandoned coal mines located throughout the town. This has resulted in sinkholes in an area that has been called the "coal fields". The coal fields are located in the center of the community.

Another prominent historical feature of the borough is the Braddock Catholic Cemetery. It served as the burying ground for many mill workers in the surrounding communities.

Braddock Hills was the home of Leonard A. Funk, a Medal of Honor recipient. A monument dedicated to his exemplary service is located on Brinton Road in front of the senior citizens' building. It was also home to prominent residents, Kingsley and Velma Carey. Kingsley Carey was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. In 2012, he was honored by the Veterans Leadership Program of Western Pennsylvania at Carnegie Hall. Velma Carey, wife of Kingsley Carey, was a popular jazz singer in Pittsburgh in the 1940s and 1950s. Velma Carey is believed to have been the first African American woman to appear on Pittsburgh television. She made an appearance on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts television program.

The area along Brinton Road, Hannatown, had its own one-room schoolhouse, which eventually became a small brick elementary school known as Braddock Hills Elementary, on land donated by the Hanna family, that grew until 1966, when a court mandate combined the educational system of Braddock Hills with that of the neighboring borough of Swissvale. Braddock Hills Elementary closed its doors in 1978. It would soon be converted into a community center that would house the police department and a daycare center. In 1981, the Swissvale Area School District combined, after court ordered desegregation, even further to form the Woodland Hills School District that serves Braddock Hills today.