Philadelphia 2013: The State of the City

Philadelphia 2013: The State of the City presents a multi-dimensional, fact-based portrait of America's fifth-largest city through 81 graphics drawn from a wide range of sources.

The study compares Philadelphia to a group of nine other major cities—chosen on the basis of size, location and makeup—on household income, crime, educational attainment, public transit use, cost of living, poverty, unemployment and foreign-born residents. In addition, the report provides a neighborhood-by-neighborhood look at income, poverty, home sales, crime and ethnic diversity in Philadelphia.

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NEW: Take the interactive State of the City quiz

Click on the chapter headings in the graphic to see a sampling of 81 charts in the report.

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Among the findings of the report:

• In Philadelphia, the number of young adults has grown by tens of thousands since 2006, according to Census estimates. And 37.5 percent of the 25- to 34-year-olds have bachelor's degrees or better, a higher percentage than in a number of other large cities and the nation as a whole—and far higher than for the rest of the city's adult population.
• In 2012, the city had 661,400 jobs, 1,900 fewer than four years ago—before the economic downturn that made thousands of jobs disappear.
• Philadelphia's unemployment rate averaged 10.7 percent in 2012, higher than in any of the 9 comparison cities except Detroit. Among the cities, only Philadelphia and Pittsburgh had higher unemployment rates last year than in the recession year of 2009, and Pittsburgh's 2012 rate, unlike Philadelphia's, was below the national average.
• The 25 civilian fire deaths recorded in the city in 2012 was the lowest total in decades. But traffic fatalities spiked to 118 last year from the historically low level of 87 the year before.
• The housing market in Philadelphia showed signs of life in 2012. Although sales rose only slightly, prices were up 18 percent over 2010 levels, and building permits were issued for 2,175 units, the most since 2005. The value of the new construction was estimated at a record $335 million.

Printed copies of Philadelphia 2013: The State of the City are available free of charge. To request a copy, e-mail pubs@pewtrusts.org with your name and address.

Notes & Sources for the Interactive Graphic:

Population
All numbers except the 2011 and 2012 population estimates come from U.S. Census Bureau, Intercensal Estimates (2000-2010), available at www.census.gov/popest/data/intercensal/county/CO-EST00INT-01.html. The 2011 and 2012 figures are from the Census population estimates, available at www.census.gov/popest/.

Household income
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2011, one-year estimate.

Foreign-born residents
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2011, one-year estimate.

Total employment
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Jobs by sector
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Unemployment rate comparison
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Violent crime map
Philadelphia Police Department, Office of Research.

Major crime comparison
Pennsylvania State Police, Uniform Crime Reports, 2002-2006, available at www.paucrs.pa.gov/UCR/Reporting/Annual/AnnualSumArrestUI.asp; data for 2007-2012 available at www.phillypolice.com/assets/Uploads/2007-2012-Crime-Analysis.pdf.

Homicides since 1992
Pennsylvania State Police, Uniform Crime Reports, 2002-2006, available at http://ucr.psp.state.pa.us/UCR/Reporting/Annual/AnnualSumArrestUI.asp; data for 2007-2012 available at https://www.phillypolice.com/crime-maps-stats/index.html.

Prison population
Philadelphia Prison System.

Enrollment by School Type
Enrollment in district-run and charter schools from the School District of Philadelphia. Catholic school enrollment from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

PSSA Scores
Pennsylvania Department of Education, available at www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/school_assessments/7442.

Who has Bachelor's degrees
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2011, one-year estimate.

City employees
City of Philadelphia, Office of Finance, Quarterly City Managers Reports, available at www.phila.gov/finance/reports-Quarterly.html.

Locally generated revenue
Philadelphia figures from City of Philadelphia Budget, Fiscal Year 2013, available at www.phila.gov/finance/reports-OperatingBudget.html. Boston figures from City of Boston Budget,
Fiscal Year 2013, available at www.cityofboston.gov/budget/. Phoenix figures from City of Phoenix Budget, 2012-2013, available at http://phoenix.gov/budget/index.html.

Home sales
Data supplied to Pew by Philadelphia real estate economist, Kevin Gillen.

Housing price changes
Data supplied to Pew by Philadelphia real estate economist, Kevin Gillen.

Mass transit
City transit and regional rail data from Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, Office of Public Information. Numbers are for unlinked rides; a trip from starting point to destination may involve more than one ride. High-speed line data from annual reports of the Delaware River Port Authority, available at www.drpa.org.

People using mass transit
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2011, one-year estimates.

Unhealthy air days
City of Philadelphia, Department of Public Health, Air Management Services, "Philadelphia's Air Quality Report 2010," available at www.phila.gov/health/pdfs/airmanagement/AQR_2010_Final.pdf.

Attendance at arts & cultural organizations
Data provided by the Cultural Data Project, www.culturaldata.org. Any interpretation of the data in this report is the work of the authors and does not reflect the views of the Cultural Data Project. In this graphic, categorization of individual organizations is based on self-description.

Financial health
Cultural data project.

Tracking the poor
Poverty numbers from U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, one-year estimates, 2004-2011. Food stamp eligibility numbers from Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, available at http://listserv.dpw.state.pa.us/ma-food-stamps-and-cash-stats.html.

Poverty by city
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2011, one-year estimate.

Infant mortality rate
Pennsylvania Department of Health, Bureau of Health Statistics and Research, "Birth, Death and Other Vital Statistics"; available at www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=590070&mode=2.