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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 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.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 13.84% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. 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 a popular destination for single career-starters. One thing that you will notice when you are out and about town is that there is a large population of people who are young, single, educated, and upwardly-mobile career starters out at restaurants, listening to live music, and enjoying other activities. They are a real visible part of the culture of Philadelphia. This makes Philadelphia a good place to live for young professionals. With so many people in this demographic, Philadelphia presents many opportunities for single professionals to enjoy themselves, socialize, and to create lasting relationships.

In Philadelphia, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 33.11 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average. One bright side is that local public transit is widely used, so it may be an option to avoid the headache of driving in the heavy traffic by leaving the car at home and taking transit. In addition, the city is also quite pedestrian-friendly, because many neighborhoods are very dense and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot.

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 substantially higher than the typical US community, as 33.61% of adults in Philadelphia have at least a bachelor's degree.

The per capita income in Philadelphia in 2022 was $35,553, 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 $142,212 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 15.67% 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.