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Philadelphia must Grow and Diversify its Middle Income Population. And how we can make it happen.
Philadelphia is the nation’s 6th largest city, and it's known for many things. It's the birthplace of America. It's the city of firsts and it's rich with history. The city is vibrant with attractions and urban amenities, and its neighborhoods and communities have long given the city its character and personality.
But Philadelphia is also a big city with big city problems. Residents are often quick to voice that one or a combination of the following—crime, poverty, and the quality of its schools—are the main issues facing the city. It doesn't help that Philly's high poverty rate has earned it the unflattering title of "America's Poorest Big City".
The city’s problems are not unique for a large American city, but what seems to be unique is how profound and intractable these challenges are for a city with so much to offer.
There is an underlying factor that has had a universal impact in driving the city's main challenges, and another that fuels them. The first, the city’s long standing demographic imbalance, and the second, the city’s limited capacity to draw in newcomers.
At the start of the 1970s, middle-income residents comprised almost 60% of the city's population of almost 2 million people. By 2010, and with around 400,000 fewer residents, only 42% of the city’s residents qualified as middle-income. This seismic shift produced a demographic imbalance that continues to adversely impact the city’s socioeconomic diversity, and further solidifies the already obstacle-ridden terrain to access greater social and economic mobility for those living in Philly’s low income communities.
For decades, diverse segments of the US population have been spreading out across the country in search of a new city to call home and one where they believe they can thrive both financially and socially. Playing a significant role are immigrants, and first and second generation families but Philly's story has been quite different.
According to a Pew Report, in the latter half of the 20th century, Philadelphia was considered by immigration scholars as a "low-immigration city". There has been visible growth since the early 2000s, but the reality of the designation must be paired with another reality; Philly's overall growth pattern since the 2000's does not mirror that of peer cities in terms of sheer numbers, socioeconomic diversity, diverse and ethnic groups, and in the inflow of first- and second-generation families.
For example, Hispanics are America's largest minority group, yet in Philadelphia, the Latino population is relatively small (see chart below), and unlike every other top 10 city in America where its largest Latino subgroup originates from immigrants, Philly's largest Latino subgroup is that of Puerto Ricans, natural-born American citizens.
U.S. CITIES
by Overall Population Rank
1 - New York
2 - Los Angeles
3 - Chicago
4 - Houston
5 - Phoenix
6 - Philadelphia
7 - San Antonio
8 - San Diego
9 - Dallas
10 - Austin
Source: US Census, 2020 Estimates
OVERALL
POPULATION
8,804,190
3,898,747
2,746,388
2,316,120
1,680,992
1,584,064
1,547,253
1,423,851
1,343,266
974,447
HISPANIC
POPULATION
2,417,676
1,910,196
776,290
1,044,120
725,394
241,425
998,698
431,477
553,420
311,823
HISPANIC PERCENTAGE
OF OVERALL POPULATION
27%
48%
28%
45%
43%
16%
65%
30%
41%
31%
Some cities are more fortunate as they experience a steadier influx of people often because of the influence and power of their individual city's brand. Industry and job concentrations, a city's social vibrancy, the individual composition of diverse communities, and the cost of living contribute greatly to a city's brand.
Despite Philadelphia's reasonable cost of living for a large city located along the US northeast corridor, the city struggles to garner greater attention and consideration in drawing in new people, especially diverse middle-income individuals. This is primarily due to a lack of major brand awareness, combined with a deeper affinity and connection that many diverse individuals feel with other US cities with which they identify both socially and culturally.
Live Work Philadelphia aims to enhance Philly's brand with diverse young professionals and families via its mission to grow and to diversify Philadelphia's middle-income population. The organization joins other organizations around the country who serve as resident attraction marketing programs. No longer just an instrument for population expansion, U.S. communities are now using resident attraction tactics to create more synergy with current efforts aimed at improving resident quality of life, and addressing their city's changing demographics.
When Philly's brand was not well understood or lacked connection to certain domestic populations, attraction strategies have served the city well; consider Visit Philadelphia, who’s individual marketing campaign’s target specific groups in their efforts to attract tourists to the city. Campus Philly not only helps to retain bright minds our colleges and universities educate, it also helps to attract and connect talent to local employers.
According to the Pew Charitable Trusts, "A vibrant and substantial middle class is widely considered essential for economic health and social stability in any community." A larger middle-income population can also contribute to the restoration of crucial rungs on the social and economic ladder that have eroded over time in Philadelphia and prevented many in low-income communities from accessing greater social and economic mobility.
Live Work Philadelphia aims to do its work by offering young diverse individuals and families a viable choice for relocation away from high-cost cities like Boston, New York and DC. Philly is poised to offer them what they want, job and career advancement, and the ability to keep more of what they earn while being an active participant in the communities they can join.
Philadelphia, in turn, can benefit from social, cultural, and economic energy the city needs, the ability to attract more talent employers seek, the growth of the city's tax base, and the retention of residents. All of this can result in greater stability, vibrancy, and resilience throughout all communities in the City of Brotherly Love.