Pew Report Examines Attitudes and Experiences of Philadelphia’s Poor

PHILADELPHIA—A new analysis by The Pew Charitable Trusts examines the attitudes and personal experiences of poor Philadelphians, exploring several key aspects of their lives that are affected by, and potentially helping to perpetuate, poverty—including health outcomes, employment prospects, exposure to crime, and access to quality schools.

The study, “Philadelphia’s Poor: Experiences From Below the Poverty Line,” also sheds light on the extent to which poverty is an intergenerational phenomenon for some Philadelphians and the degree to which others have had upward or downward mobility. The research is predominantly based on five sources: analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data, administrative data from government agencies, focus groups of poor Philadelphians, interviews with experts who provide services for them, and results from Pew’s latest citywide public opinion poll, which probed the experience of poverty in a number of ways.

Following are some key findings of the research:

• According to census data, about 30 percent of poor Philadelphians ages 16 and older worked in 2016, most in jobs such as cashiers, personal care aides, and laborers. But only about 1 in 5 of these working poor had year-round, full-time positions. At the same time, 61 percent of the city’s working-age poor were neither employed nor looking for a job in 2016, one of the highest rates among the nation’s 10 most populous and 10 poorest large cities.

• In a 2015 survey conducted by the Public Health Management Corp., Philadelphians in poverty were twice as likely as other residents of the city to describe their general health as poor or fair, and they had higher levels of chronic illness, including asthma and diabetes. Life expectancy was lower in poor ZIP codes than in wealthier ones. And according to Pew’s poll, twice as many Philadelphians who lived in poverty as children reported having experienced neglect or abuse, compared with those who grew up in better financial situations.

• 4 out of 5 poor households in Philadelphia lived in private-market housing with no rent subsidies in 2013, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Housing Survey. Of those households, nearly all were spending more than 30 percent of their income on rent, mortgage, and utility payments, and 80 percent were devoting at least 50 percent to such expenses.

• In 2016, 76 percent of all violent crimes reported in Philadelphia occurred in neighborhoods where at least 20 percent of the population was poor. In areas where the poverty rate was at least 40 percent, violent crime was nearly three times more prevalent than in those where it was less than 20 percent.

• Poor families send their children to public schools operated by the School District of Philadelphia more frequently than do other city residents. In the Pew poll, 70 percent of poor Philadelphians said their children attended district-run schools rather than public charter schools or private schools; for the nonpoor, the figure was 46 percent. According to the district, only 2 percent of all poor students in the public schools attended elementary or middle schools with high achievement ratings.

• In the Pew poll, which surveyed a sample of all Philadelphians, more than half of the respondents who qualified as poor said they remembered growing up in or near poverty, while nearly half said they recalled being better off financially as children.

“Pew’s poll results and focus group conversations reveal that Philadelphia’s poor share many of the same concerns as the city’s other residents—including crime, education, and jobs—but they face unique obstacles,” said Octavia Howell, a researcher with Pew’s Philadelphia research initiative and author of the report. “Even as the city is on an upswing, with growth in household incomes and new investment, more than a quarter of residents continue to struggle with life below the poverty line. Finding ways to address this disparity and meet the needs of those most affected remains a key challenge.”

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To read the full report, which includes numerous graphics and maps, visit pewtrusts.org/philadelphiapoverty.

The Pew Charitable Trusts is driven by the power of knowledge to solve today’s most challenging problems. Pew’s Philadelphia research initiative provides timely, impartial research and analysis on key issues facing Philadelphia for the benefit of the city’s residents and leaders. Learn more at pewtrusts.org/philaresearch.