Philadelphia must Grow and Diversify
its Middle Income Population
its Middle Income Population
At the start of the 1970s, middle-income residents comprised 59 percent of Philadelphia's population of almost two million people. By 2010, with around 400,000 fewer residents, only 42 percent of the city's people qualified as middle-income. Since then, the city's socioeconomic diversity has continued to be adversely affected by this large population shift and demographic imbalance. Today, Philadelphia is often labeled as "America's Poorest Big City", and among the top 30 US-populated cities, Philadelphia is ranked near the bottom for annual median household income.
Despite a noticeable inflow of new residents since the early 2000's, Philly's gains are offset by the city's ongoing exodus of citizens. During that same time, many mid-to-large sized US cities have experienced population expansion as well as a notable increase in diversity. Immigrants have played a big part in the population growth of these cities as well as the movement of internal migrants by first and second generation families who are spreading out across the country.
Philly's story has been different. According to a 2023 Pew Report, in the latter half of the 20th century, Philadelphia was considered a "low-immigration city". Things have improved notably since the early 2000s, but the city's growth pattern does not parallel peer cities in sheer numbers, demographic characteristics, and in the inflow of 1st and 2nd generation families.
For example, Hispanics are America's largest minority group, yet in Philadelphia, the Latino population is relatively small for a top 10 US city (see chart below), and unlike every other top 10 city in America where its largest Latino subgroup has its origins via immigrants, Philly's largest Latino subgroup is that of Puerto Ricans who are natural-born American citizens.
Despite a noticeable inflow of new residents since the early 2000's, Philly's gains are offset by the city's ongoing exodus of citizens. During that same time, many mid-to-large sized US cities have experienced population expansion as well as a notable increase in diversity. Immigrants have played a big part in the population growth of these cities as well as the movement of internal migrants by first and second generation families who are spreading out across the country.
Philly's story has been different. According to a 2023 Pew Report, in the latter half of the 20th century, Philadelphia was considered a "low-immigration city". Things have improved notably since the early 2000s, but the city's growth pattern does not parallel peer cities in sheer numbers, demographic characteristics, and in the inflow of 1st and 2nd generation families.
For example, Hispanics are America's largest minority group, yet in Philadelphia, the Latino population is relatively small for a top 10 US city (see chart below), and unlike every other top 10 city in America where its largest Latino subgroup has its origins via immigrants, Philly's largest Latino subgroup is that of Puerto Ricans who are natural-born American citizens.
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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% |
So why aren't there more first- and second-generation families and individuals moving to the city? In short, brand—or the lack of it. The historic significance of Philadelphia, as well as its vast big city amenities, are just a few notable features that diverse populations outside of the region are unfamiliar with. This, combined with an affinity that diverse populations can have with US cities with which they identify both culturally and socially, limits the consideration of our city for relocation.
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 and Campus Philly. The latter not only helps to retain bright minds our colleges and universities educate, it also helps to attract and connect talent to local employers. Visit Philadelphia's efforts not only attract tourists to the city, our hospitality industry is now a major driver for Philly's economy.
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". Bruce Katz at the Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation at Drexel adds, "Urban neighborhoods function best when they contain families with a broad mix of incomes. Economic integration sets in motion a virtuous cycle of functioning markets, attractive amenities, quality schools, and other essentials of community life." A larger middle-income population also contributes to the restoration of crucial rungs on the social and economic ladder that have eroded over time and prevented many in low-income communities from accessing greater social and economic mobility.
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 and Campus Philly. The latter not only helps to retain bright minds our colleges and universities educate, it also helps to attract and connect talent to local employers. Visit Philadelphia's efforts not only attract tourists to the city, our hospitality industry is now a major driver for Philly's economy.
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". Bruce Katz at the Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation at Drexel adds, "Urban neighborhoods function best when they contain families with a broad mix of incomes. Economic integration sets in motion a virtuous cycle of functioning markets, attractive amenities, quality schools, and other essentials of community life." A larger middle-income population also contributes to the restoration of crucial rungs on the social and economic ladder that have eroded over time and prevented many in low-income communities from accessing greater social and economic mobility.
Javier Suarez is Executive Director at Live Work Philadelphia, a domestic Resident Attraction marketing program.