\n From 1990 through 2022, Philadelphia’s racial and ethnic composition changed dramatically. For instance, White, non-Hispanic residents accounted for only 33% of all Philadelphians in 2022, down from 52.1% in 1990. The share of Asian and Hispanic residents nearly tripled over the same period, with the Hispanic population increasing from 5.6% to 16.1% and the Asian population increasing from 2.7% to 7.8%. The size of the African American population, the city’s largest racial or ethnic group, has been more constant, although African Americans represented a notably smaller share of the city’s overall population in 2022 than in 2010.\n

\n In 2022, the share of Philadelphians over age 25 with at least a bachelor’s degree continued to grow, reaching 36.3%, up 12 percentage points from a decade earlier, and the highest percentage ever recorded. Much of this change was driven by the youngest people in this category, those ages 25-34. More than half of them have at least a bachelor’s degree.\n

\n In 2022, Philadelphia’s share of adults ages 25 and older with a college degree was roughly the same as the national average—36.3% for Philadelphia, and 35.7% for the nation as a whole. Philadelphia still lagged Washington, Boston, and Pittsburgh—where the corresponding percentages exceeded 50%—as well as Chicago, at 43.7%. In Washington, nearly 39% of those over age 25 also had a graduate or professional degree.\n

\n Although it has long been known as a city of homeowners, Philadelphia had nearly as many renting households as homeowning households in 2022, according to the Census Bureau. Whether this turns out to be a one-year blip in the data or the start of a trend remains to be seen.\n

\n In 2023, there were 15,617 home sales in Philadelphia, a 39% decline from a year earlier. Driven by low interest rates and pandemic-related trends such as an increase in people working from home, 2022 was an exceptional year for home sales. But with rising interest rates, the residential market returned to a more traditional number of sales in 2023.\n

\n In 2023, Philadelphia had a 4.2% unemployment rate, down 1.7% from 2022. All of the comparable cities had rates below 5% except Detroit, at 7.5%. Boston and Baltimore each had rates below 3%.\n

\n In 2022, Philadelphia’s median household income continued to increase, growing 7% from 2021, to $56,517. For the first time in the 16 years that Pew has published “State of the City” reports, Philadelphia’s median income was higher than that of Baltimore, although it remained lower than those in most of the comparison cities as well as the national average of $74,755.\n

\n In 2022, median household income varied markedly by race and ethnicity in Philadelphia. White, non-Hispanic households and Asian households earned more than the citywide median, while Black or African American and Hispanic households made less.\n

\n The city reported an estimated 1,300 unintentional drug overdose deaths in 2023, a decrease of 8% from the previous year’s total. If confirmed when official figures become available in May, this would be the city’s second-highest total on record, after the 1,413 deaths reported in 2022. Unintentional overdose deaths have exceeded 1,100 in each of the past seven years in Philadelphia.\n

\n In 2022, Philadelphia reported 78.9 deaths per 100,000 residents from unintentional drug overdoses, the highest figure among the comparable cities and counties. In 2022, 75% of the people who died of an unintentional overdose in Philadelphia were ages 35‑64, with the greatest number of deaths among those ages 55‑64.\n

\n In 2023, some 774,058 Philadelphians—nearly half of the city’s population—were enrolled in Medical Assistance, also known as Medicaid. The figure was slightly higher than it had been in 2022, despite the April 2023 expiration of expanded eligibility for benefits. By December, the number of enrollees declined by 8% compared with the start of the year. The number of people receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) decreased slightly from 2013 to 2022, the latest year for which that data was available. Some 94,072 Philadelphians were enrolled in SSI in 2022, accounting for about 29% of all recipients in Pennsylvania.\n

\n The percentage of Philadelphians without health insurance continued to decrease in 2022, dropping to 6.8%. Of the comparison cities, Houston had the highest percentage of residents without health insurance, and it is the only comparison city located in a state that has not expanded Medicaid access under the Affordable Care Act.\n

\n In 2022, the city’s poverty rate was 21.7%, down about 1 percentage point from the previous year and the lowest rate the city had recorded since the 1990s. The deep poverty rate, the share of residents with incomes at 50% or less of the federal poverty level, dropped to 9.7%, representing about 148,000 Philadelphians. A Philadelphia household of four was considered to be living in poverty in 2023 if its income was $31,200 or less, and in deep poverty with an income of $15,600 or less.\n

\n While nearly 22% of Philadelphians lived in poverty in 2022, the percentage varied widely among demographic groups. For instance, nearly 29% of children under age 18 in the city were living below the poverty line. Groups with poverty rates of more than 30% included individuals who did not work, those without high school diplomas, Philadelphians of Hispanic origin, and members of racial groups other than White, Black, or Asian. Additionally, 3.2% of Philadelphians who worked full time lived in poverty.\n

\n In 2023, mass transit ridership in and around Philadelphia continued to climb but remained well below pre-pandemic levels. Compared with 2019, the last pre-COVID year, total ridership was down 29% for SEPTA City Transit, 43% for SEPTA Regional Rail, and 51% for the PATCO high-speed line. With COVID-19 federal relief funding soon to expire, SEPTA warned of an impending fiscal cliff that could result in reduced service and higher fares. In his state budget proposal, which is being considered by the General Assembly, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has proposed boosting state funding to support the agency’s operations.\n

\n Philadelphia had only three days with unhealthy air in 2023, a relatively low figure compared with previous years. Those three days coincided with the Canadian wildfires in summer 2023 that prompted code‑red alerts throughout much of the eastern United States. Generally, the number of days in which Philadelphia has had unhealthy air has been dropping since 2019, when the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery closed.\n

\n The number of homicides dropped to 410 in Philadelphia in 2023, down 20% from 2022. Even so, homicides remained historically high in Philadelphia. On her first day in office, Mayor Cherelle Parker signed an executive order declaring a public safety emergency, which requires the city government to establish a strategy for addressing and reducing violent crime.\n

\n In 2023, many cities—including Philadelphia—saw a reduction in homicide rates from the previous year. Other cities with declining rates were Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Phoenix, and Pittsburgh. The rate in Cleveland remained flat, while Washington recorded a 10‑percentage‑point increase.\n

\n While there was a decline in violent crimes in 2023, property crimes continued the steep rise they have recorded in the past several years, reaching 78,823 and bringing the total number of major crimes—which include both violent crimes and property crimes—to 93,009, the highest level in more than 20 years. In a single year, retail thefts increased by 28% and stolen vehicles by an astounding 70%; in 2023, stolen vehicles accounted for 25% of all major crimes in Philadelphia. At the same time, thefts from automobiles were down 17%, thefts from individuals dropped by 15%, and commercial burglaries were down 15%. The number of violent crimes was the lowest in a decade.\n

\n In 2022, 15.7% of Philadelphia’s population was born outside the U.S., higher than the national level of 13.9% and placing Philadelphia fifth among the comparison cities in terms of its share of foreign-born residents. At the high end of the range, more than a quarter of Houston and Boston residents were born outside the U.S.; at the lower end, only 6% of Cleveland and Detroit residents were born abroad.\n