What counties are included in the Greater Philadelphia Region?

Eleven counties in three states comprise Greater Philadelphia. They include New Castle County in Delaware; Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Mercer and Salem counties in New Jersey; Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties in Pennsylvania

What are the total population, income, and employment totals for the region?

Total population as of July 1, 2006 (the most recent estimates available from the Census Bureau) was 6,094,841 persons, yielding a population density of 1,352 persons per square mile.  The largest county based on population was Philadelphia County, PA, with 1,448,394 persons, and the smallest was Salem County, NJ, with only 66,595 persons.

Greater Philadelphia's total personal income in 2006 was $265.9 billion, 5th highest among the nation's metros, resulting in per capita personal income of $43,472. Per capita personal income varied substantially across the region, ranging from $56,564 and $55,996 respectively in Montgomery and Chester counties to $32,073 and $30,904 in Salem and Philadelphia counties.

Philadelphia's total non-farm or payroll employment in 2006 was 2,988,400 jobs. The table below presents the distribution by major economic sector:

Who are the largest employers?

Visit our Leading Employers page to find the largest employers in Greater Philadelphia.

What is the distribution of employment by major economic growth?

See the table below whixh presents employment distribution by occupation.  

How has the structure of our economy changed over time? What sectors have declined and which have become more important?

The table below shows the change in the structure of the Greater Philadelphia economy, as indicated by employment shares by major economic sector, between 1990 and 2006.  This period includes two recessions and two recoveries in the U.S. economy, or two business cycles, so it captures the economic changes that occurred since 1990.

The most dramatic change was the large loss of of 135,700 jobs in the manufacturing sector, and a loss of 8,500 job s in the Information sector following the "dot.com" collapse in 2001 and 2002.

Broadly viewed, virtually all of the increase in employment occurred in the private, services providing sectors (Trade, Transportation & Utilities; Information; Financial Activities; Professional & Business Services; Education & Health Services; Leisure & Hospitality Services; and Other Services), where 439,800 jobs were added during this period.

By contrast, employment in the goods-producing sectors (Natural Resources and Mining; Construction; and Manufacturing) fell by 121,600 jobs.

Adding in the increase of 34,600 jobs in the Government sectors yields the net change in employment of 352,800 jobs. The average annual growth rate in total employment over the 16-year period was 0.8%, 1.4% in the private, service-providing sectors and -1.8% in the goods producing sectors.

How does the costs of living in the GRP compare with other metro areas?

Visit our Personal Income page.

How does the cost of housing in the GRP compare with other metro areas?

Visit our Residential Real Estate page.

What are the most important economic sectors in the region?

The most important private sectors, based on their 2006 employment shares, are: Trade, Transportation and & Utilities at 18.9%; Education and Health Services at 18.2%; and Professional and Business Services at 15%. When the Government sector is included, with a 13.9% share, these four sectors account for 66% of the region's total employment.

When compared to the structure of the U.S. economy, Greater Philadelphia has above-average employment shares in Education and Health Services; Financial Activities; and Professional & Business Services. By contrast, the Region's 7.7% share of employment in Manufacturing is well below the U.S. share.   

What are the average levels of per capita income and per household income and how do they compare to other metros?

How different are housing prices at the municipal level across the region?

Housing prices vary widely across the region; please see the table of current housing prices by municipality on our web site.

How different are local property tax levels across the region?

Local real property tax rates by municipality and school district vary widely across the region. The total local real property tax rate in the region has three components: county tax rate, the municipal tax rate, and the school district tax rate, with the school rate usually accounting for about 2/3rd of the total local, real property tax rate.

Please see the table of real property tax rates on our web site. Select gathered the nominal real property tax rates by municipality and school district and then converted them to effective property tax rates correcting for differences in assessment ratios in our 11 counties; this enables tax rates and tax levels to be fairly compared across county boundaries. We then estimated the total real property tax payments by municipality, including the school district, for a single family home with an assessed value of $250,000.

Municipalities and school districts in Pennsylvania can impose local earned income taxes (EITs), such as the City of Philadelphia's wage tax. The table on our web site presenting the real property tax rates by municipality also presents the EIT rates on non-resident workers.

What local school districts have the highest SAT scores and highest scores on state assessments?

Visit our Top SAT Scores page for the highest SAT scores, by district and county.

What are the differences in state-level tax structures across the 3 states located in the GPR?

Visit our section on Taxes to compare the tax structures across Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.