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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 1,567,258 people and 409 constituent neighborhoods, Philadelphia is the largest community in Pennsylvania. Much of the housing stock in Philadelphia was built prior to World War II, 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.

A relatively large number of people in Philadelphia telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 10.75% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. 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 33.26 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.

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 overall education level of Philadelphia citizens is substantially higher than the typical US community, as 32.52% of adults in Philadelphia have at least a bachelor's degree, and the average American community has 21.84%.

The per capita income in Philadelphia in 2018 was $32,344, which is middle income relative to Pennsylvania, and upper middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $129,376 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 15.40% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Philadelphia include Irish, Italian, German, Polish, and English.

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