Five years after COVID-19 reshaped how society functions, what a post-pandemic Philadelphia looks like is becoming more clear with every passing year. Though the disease is no longer the leading cause for filling up hospital beds and shuttering businesses, health and economic challenges still persist in different ways.
The annual state of the city report, released by the Pew Charitable Trusts on Monday afternoon, helps paint that picture by analyzing public data and information from the Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor on a wide range of topics.
Looking through the 113-page report, here are five takeaways:
1. Population increases for first time since the pandemic
Philly showed growth in population every year from 2006 to 2020, but that trend came to a halt when the pandemic hit. Like many other large U.S. cities, Philly's population declined as the ability to work remotely, among other factors, led people to move to the suburbs. But people may be coming back to urban living.
After sliding for three straight years, there was a growth of about 10,000 people from 2023 to 2024. Still, there's a ways to go to get back to pre-pandemic levels as the city's population (1,573,916) is 1.9% lower than in 2020 (1,603,794).
2. About 1 in 7 residents were born outside the U.S.
One factor that could stymie the city's population growth reversal is the Trump administration's immigration policies, with 15.1% of Philly residents being born outside the United States in 2023. Though that percentage decreased slightly from the previous year, it's up 2 percentage points since 2015 (13.1%) and more than 6 percentage points since 2000 (9%). Compared with other major U.S. cities, Philly has a larger share of foreign-born residents than Washington, D.C. (14.1%), Pittsburgh (9.9%) and Baltimore (9.1%), but a smaller percentage than Chicago (21%), Boston (26.6%) and Houston (29.3%).
As for where these residents are emigrating from, it's mostly Asia and the Americas. China tops the countries of origin list at 25,930 residents, followed by the Dominican Republic (21,600), India (12,360) and Vietnam (12,060). The only European country in the top 10 is Ukraine, with 6,420 residents.
3. Life expectancy of Black men and Asian women differ by 25 years
Philly's overall life expectancy was up to 76.2 years in 2023, roughly matching where it was before the pandemic. Although, like previous years, the discrepancies between gender and ethnicity are huge, with the biggest gap being a 25-year difference between Black men (67.5) and Asian women (92.3). Citywide, there was an eight-year difference between men (72.1) and women (80.2).
As for the leading causes of death, COVID has dropped outside the top 10 and ranked No. 13 in 2023, and the top three are the same as before the pandemic: heart disease (3,219), cancer (2,745) and unintentional drug overdose (1,122).
4. Poverty rate declines, but homelessness jumps
While the poverty rate was down to 20.3% in 2023 — its lowest since 2000 — there are still more than 300,000 people living below the poverty line, which was defined that year as an individual making $14,580 annually or less or a family of four making $30,000 or less. About 25% of children under 18 lived in poverty, which is down from the previous year but remains much higher than the national average (16%).
Meanwhile, more Philly residents have experienced homelessness than ever before. On Jan. 24, 2024, the city conducted its annual point-in-time count and found 5,191 people experiencing homelessness, with and without shelter — a 10% increase from 2023. Housing affordability continues to be a problem, with nearly half of renters spending 30% or more of their income on housing. In 2023, the median cost for a two-bedroom apartment in Philly was $1,475.
5. Neighborhoods have a $100,000 range in median household income
From 2019 to 2023, the neighborhood with the highest median household income — Center City-Society Hill ($129,779) — was nearly $100,000 above the lowest-earning area — North Philadelphia-West ($30,974). There was also a huge racial disparity among median incomes in 2023, with Black households ($45,483) earning around $37,000 less than white households ($82,940).
The top employers of the city in 2024 were mostly public sector entities, with the University of Pennsylvania topping the list, followed by the U.S. government, city of Philadelphia, School District of Philadelphia and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.