Nearly 400,000 Philadelphia residents—roughly 26 percent of the city’s population—lived below the poverty line in 2017. And that percentage, which is among the highest for any American city, has not changed substantially in recent years, even as the national rate has fallen.
As highlighted in Pew’s 2018 report “Philadelphia’s Poor: Experiences From Below the Poverty Line,” this is about more than money. It affects health outcomes, employment prospects, exposure to crime, and access to quality schools.