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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 1,550,542 people and 409 associated neighborhoods, Philadelphia is the largest community in Pennsylvania. Philadelphia has a large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic cities in the country.

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: 16.41% 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.

One thing noticeable about Philadelphia, is that it has a large population of people who are young, single, educated, and upwardly-mobile career starters. That’s because Philadelphia is full of single people in their 20s and 30s and who have undergraduate or graduate degrees and are starting careers in professional occupations. This makes Philadelphia a great place for young, educated career starters looking to find many people like themselves, with good opportunities for friendships, socializing, romance, and fun. In fact, Philadelphia is one of the top larger cities in America for educated single professionals to flock.

One downside of living in Philadelphia, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 32.55 minutes every day commuting to work. It is, however, a pedestrian-friendly city. Many of its neighborhoods are dense enough and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot. In addition, local public transit is widely used. For those who would prefer to avoid driving entirely and leave their car at home, it may be an option to use the transit instead.

One of the benefits of being a big city like Philadelphia is having a public transportation system, but in Philadelphia the transit system is the mode of choice for lots of people getting to and from work every day. You will find many people using the bus for their daily commute, even though other transportation options exist. If you ask these commuters, many will tell you that not having to drive in the snarl of big city traffic is one of main reasons for leaving the car at home, or even not owning a car at all. With so many people taking the bus Philadelphia benefits from a reduction in air pollution and traffic.

The education level of Philadelphia citizens is very high relative to the national average among all cities (21.84%): 34.64% of adults in Philadelphia have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree.

The per capita income in Philadelphia in 2022 was $37,669, which is upper middle income relative to Pennsylvania and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $150,676 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 15.20% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Philadelphia include Irish, German, Italian, English, and Polish.

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