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Data on this report is based on areas within the legal city boundary, outlined in black on the map. Any additional neighborhoods shown on the map are associated with the city by name and are included for reference only.

Philadelphia, PA
Real Estate & Demographic Data





Philadelphia profile


Living in Philadelphia


Philadelphia is a very large city located in the state of Pennsylvania. With a population of 1,573,916 people and 409 associated neighborhoods, Philadelphia is the largest community in Pennsylvania. Philadelphia has an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic cities.

Also of interest is that Philadelphia has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 18.39% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Philadelphia is one of the most attractive larger cities for people who are young, single, educated, and upwardly-mobile career starters. This makes it a good place to live for young singles in their 20s and 30s and who have undergraduate or graduate degrees and are starting their professional careers. Although Philadelphia is a large city, this demographic is significant enough that young professionals will find many others like themselves here, with really good opportunities for friendships, recreation, romance, and more.

One downside of living in Philadelphia is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Philadelphia, the average commute to work is 32.37 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average. On the other hand, local public transit is widely used in the city, so leaving the car at home and taking transit is often a viable alternative. In addition, it is also a pedestrian-friendly city. Many of Philadelphia’s neighborhoods are dense enough and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot.

Philadelphia, like many big cities in America, has a public transportation system, but the citizens of Philadelphia are lucky because theirs is one of the most extensive and widely used. Many commuters choose to leave their cars at home and instead use the bus to get to and from work. In fact, for some people it is feasible to forgo car ownership entirely, avoiding the cost and headache of driving in heavy traffic. The benefits include reduced air pollution and load on the road network.

The population of Philadelphia is very well educated relative to most cities and towns in the nation, where the average community has 21.84% of its adult population holding a 4-year degree or higher: 35.40% of adults in Philadelphia have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree.

The per capita income in Philadelphia in 2022 was $38,905, which is upper middle income relative to Pennsylvania and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $155,620 for a family of four. However, Philadelphia contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Philadelphia is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Philadelphia home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Philadelphia residents report their race to be Black or African-American, followed by White. Philadelphia also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 15.57% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Philadelphia include Irish, German, Italian, English, and Polish.

Philadelphia also has a high percentage of its population that was born in another country: 15.17%.

The most common language spoken in Philadelphia is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Chinese.