The State of Education in Philadelphia, 2019
![Teacher Rob Krauss Teacher Rob Krauss](/-/media/post-launch-images/2019/04/_dsc1205/16x9_m.jpg?h=1024&w=1820&la=fr-SC&hash=8F63E4964163CEAB16A784AD0207A686)
Overview
For years, civic leaders have been concerned about the level of education among Philadelphia residents. Twentyeight percent of Philadelphians 25 or older have at least a bachelor’s degree—a lower percentage than in many U.S. cities—and 16 percent of Philadelphians have completed some college credits but do not have a degree. Sixteen percent of the degrees awarded by Philadelphia’s colleges and universities are in STEM fields—science, technology, engineering, and math; this rate is among the lowest of our comparison cities. The vast majority of the city’s K-12 students attend schools run by the School District of Philadelphia. That number has been decreasing for a decade as more students enroll in publicly funded charter schools.
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