Why Philadelphia must Grow and Diversify
its Middle Income Population
its Middle Income Population
Middle-income residents comprised 59 percent of Philadelphia's 1,948,609 population at the start of the 1970s. By 2010, with around 400,000 fewer residents, only 42 percent of the city's people qualified as middle-income.
|
This seismic shift produced a demographic imbalance and it greatly impacted the city’s level of socioeconomic diversity. Today, among key socioeconomic indicators, Philadelphia has the highest poverty rate among major U.S. cities and is ranked 27th for annual household income among the top 30 U.S. populated cities. (see chart to the right)
Initiatives by elected officials, city stakeholders and local nonprofit organizations are underway to address the key challenges affecting our city and its residents as well as programs to create a more equitable and inclusive workforce environment that can provide residents greater access to social and economic mobility but, additional strategies are needed to address the state of our workforce, the needs of residents and the communities in which they live. These additional strategies can aid the city as population shifts, patterns and trends continue to transform American cities. Over the last few decades, peer cities have attracted new residents with greater pace, diversity, higher educational attainment and income levels compared to Philly. The arrival of new residents benefit cities with increased tax revenue, talent for local employers, small businesses, neighborhood revitalization, and greater economic stability for residents. New arrivials also help to address labor and workforce needs. In the 2022 Economic Outlook Survey Report issued by the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia and the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, over 50% of member employer respondents answered they had difficulty hiring workers, primarily because of a lack of qualified applicants. When asked what is the biggest problem they would be facing for 2022, 34% responded that labor availability was their biggest problem. Over the last few decades, as many cities and metro areas across America grew, their citizens also became significantly more diverse. However, Philadelphia and its metro was unable to fully capitalize on this dynamic, particularly by those from diverse communities, immigrants, and those who later migrated away from traditional immigrant U.S. point of entry cities seeking new locales in search of where they believe they can thrive. For instance, over the last decade, 10 million Latinos were added to the U.S. population. Hispanics now number over 62 million people and account for 19% of the US population. The chart below highlights how Philadelphia fares with the Latino segment when compared with other major American cities.
|
Household Income *
(30 Largest U.S. Cities) Listed from Highest to Lowest
* Annual Household Income
Source: US Census Bureau |
|
LARGEST
U.S. CITIES 1 - New York 2 - Los Angeles 3 - Chicago 4 - Houston 5 - Phoenix 6 - Philadelphia 7 - San Antonio 8 - San Diego 9 - Dallas 10 - San Jose |
TOTAL
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 1,021,795 |
HISPANIC
POPULATION 2,417,676 1,910,196 776,290 1,044,120 725,394 241,425 998,698 431,477 553,420 312,762 |
HISPANICS
% OF POPULATION 27% 48% 28% 45% 43% 16% 65% 30% 41% 31% |
HISPANIC
POVERTY RATE 25% 16% 22% 19% 31% 30% 22% 22% 21% 14% |
Source: US Census, Pew Charitable Trusts
Simply put, Philadelphia's Latino population and its growth has not paralleled with U.S. demographic trends for most large American cities. Furthermore, unlike every other top 10 city in America where its largest Latino subgroup is fueled by immigrants from a combination of various Latin American countries, Philadelphia's largest Latino subgroup is that of Puerto Ricans who are natural-born American citizens.
The size, economic standing, and limited level of diversity within the Latino community for a city the size of Philadelphia has its consequences for the economy and resident psyche in ways that often go unnoticed. Below, you can see one of many examples. Here you see the 2021-22 tour schedule for two of the Latin music world’s top music artists who are also Puerto Rican. Philadelphia's largest Latino subgroup is comprised of Puerto Ricans yet, the artists pictured were not scheduled to be here for their next tour. In fact, they haven’t performed in Philly for years.
The size, economic standing, and limited level of diversity within the Latino community for a city the size of Philadelphia has its consequences for the economy and resident psyche in ways that often go unnoticed. Below, you can see one of many examples. Here you see the 2021-22 tour schedule for two of the Latin music world’s top music artists who are also Puerto Rican. Philadelphia's largest Latino subgroup is comprised of Puerto Ricans yet, the artists pictured were not scheduled to be here for their next tour. In fact, they haven’t performed in Philly for years.
|
|
National and regional tours often bypass Philadelphia to the outer areas of the region like Atlantic City or Reading, PA where promoters have greater confidence of sell-outs at lower production costs. Most major U.S. venues average more Latino concerts in a month than Philly does all year. Think about the lost economic benefits to the city, the inability for local residents to see their favorite atists and how this affects our city's brand.
Why Does Philadelphia Struggle to Attract New Residents?
The future of America is increasingly diverse as minorities are the only populations that are growing in the U.S. Though Philly is the 6th largest city in the U.S., and one that can offer a reasonable cost of living as a competitive edge to young professionals and families in comparison to cities such as New York, Boston, and Washington DC, many from diverse groups and their sub-groups, tend to have less familiarity with Philadelphia while having greater affinity with other U.S. cities often because of family connections and the existing brands of those cities that have captured their attention for years.
Beyond the influence of a city's brand or one's personal experience with a particular city, young professionals and families now also prioritize a city's social vibrancy and level of diversity along with their economic situation and career aspirations when considering a new city to call home. This means their search for cities to consider is also based on locales that have communities that reflect their social and cultural identities as well as representation of their specific ethnic subgroups.
Philadelphia's diverse communities and residents make significant contributions to the city, but their demographic composition has generally been significantly less diverse than that of Philadelphia's peer cities. This is most apparant in our Asian American and Latino communities, when one place of origin or country dominates their respective populations. As a result, our city's brand is less relevant and apparent to diverse people, and there are fewer cultural, social, and consumer options, as well as local businesses, in our diverse neighborhoods.
When it comes to attracting people in general and diverse people in particular, Philly can not rely on its large American city status. It must work to capture the attention of those we wish to welcome.
Let's Get To Work!
When Philly's brand was not well understood and lacked connection with certain individual groups or specific demographic US populations, attraction initiatives served the city effectively; consider Visit Philadelphia for the city's tourism strategies; and Campus Philly, which attracts and connects college students to the assets and benefits of living and working in the city upon graduation.
No longer simply for population growth, U.S. cities now use resident attraction strategies to supplement and reinforce existing initiatives that are designed to improve the lives of residents and their city’s evolving demographics. Live Work Philadelphia is focused on attracting specific segments of the U.S. population the city needs and lacks and that the city has always struggled to attract organically; diverse middle-income professionals and families.
Why focus on increasing the Middle Income Population?
Shouldn't we just focus on the poor or those who live in low income neighborhoods?
As it turns out, we have to do both. 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”. Prior to the pandemic, the city’s poverty rate for diverse communities was 40% for Hispanics, 27% for African Americans, and 23% for Asian Americans. Without a larger and more sustainable middle-income population, especially within Philadelphia’s diverse and ethnic communities, access to greater social and economic mobility will continue to be challenging.
We can use the post-pandemic period as a true reset to help raise resident quality of life across the city by leveraging diverse middle-income earners as a strategy for holistic economic growth and bring about for our city what other cities currently enjoy; a steadier influx of new residents and a renewed momentum of social, cultural and economic energy to the City of Brotherly Love.
The future of America is increasingly diverse as minorities are the only populations that are growing in the U.S. Though Philly is the 6th largest city in the U.S., and one that can offer a reasonable cost of living as a competitive edge to young professionals and families in comparison to cities such as New York, Boston, and Washington DC, many from diverse groups and their sub-groups, tend to have less familiarity with Philadelphia while having greater affinity with other U.S. cities often because of family connections and the existing brands of those cities that have captured their attention for years.
Beyond the influence of a city's brand or one's personal experience with a particular city, young professionals and families now also prioritize a city's social vibrancy and level of diversity along with their economic situation and career aspirations when considering a new city to call home. This means their search for cities to consider is also based on locales that have communities that reflect their social and cultural identities as well as representation of their specific ethnic subgroups.
Philadelphia's diverse communities and residents make significant contributions to the city, but their demographic composition has generally been significantly less diverse than that of Philadelphia's peer cities. This is most apparant in our Asian American and Latino communities, when one place of origin or country dominates their respective populations. As a result, our city's brand is less relevant and apparent to diverse people, and there are fewer cultural, social, and consumer options, as well as local businesses, in our diverse neighborhoods.
When it comes to attracting people in general and diverse people in particular, Philly can not rely on its large American city status. It must work to capture the attention of those we wish to welcome.
Let's Get To Work!
When Philly's brand was not well understood and lacked connection with certain individual groups or specific demographic US populations, attraction initiatives served the city effectively; consider Visit Philadelphia for the city's tourism strategies; and Campus Philly, which attracts and connects college students to the assets and benefits of living and working in the city upon graduation.
No longer simply for population growth, U.S. cities now use resident attraction strategies to supplement and reinforce existing initiatives that are designed to improve the lives of residents and their city’s evolving demographics. Live Work Philadelphia is focused on attracting specific segments of the U.S. population the city needs and lacks and that the city has always struggled to attract organically; diverse middle-income professionals and families.
Why focus on increasing the Middle Income Population?
Shouldn't we just focus on the poor or those who live in low income neighborhoods?
As it turns out, we have to do both. 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”. Prior to the pandemic, the city’s poverty rate for diverse communities was 40% for Hispanics, 27% for African Americans, and 23% for Asian Americans. Without a larger and more sustainable middle-income population, especially within Philadelphia’s diverse and ethnic communities, access to greater social and economic mobility will continue to be challenging.
We can use the post-pandemic period as a true reset to help raise resident quality of life across the city by leveraging diverse middle-income earners as a strategy for holistic economic growth and bring about for our city what other cities currently enjoy; a steadier influx of new residents and a renewed momentum of social, cultural and economic energy to the City of Brotherly Love.
Javier Suarez is Executive Director of Live Work Philadelphia