We regularly release reports that often offer comparisons with other major U.S. cities, and we conduct polling to determine Philadelphians’ views on policy issues, elected officials, and various aspects of life in the city.
We also combine our local capacity with our state- and national-level expertise to convene city and regional stakeholders with experts and officials from around the country to discuss effective, evidence-based solutions being implemented in other jurisdictions and the impacts of those reforms.
Philadelphians Cite Safety and Finances as Top Concerns
Philadelphians’ views of their city have improved dramatically since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022, despite lingering concern about public safety and personal finances. In a Pew survey conducted from January to March 2025, nearly two-thirds of respondents cited crime as the top issue facing the city. Half of those surveyed reported hearing gunshots in their neighborhood in the previous year.
Equity in Philadelphia’s Capital Budgeting
When Philadelphians talk about their local government, the conversations often involve places where the city provides services to residents—facilities such as the parks, libraries, fire stations, and city office buildings that Philadelphia creates, maintains, and improves with funding from its capital budget.
Philadelphia 2025: The State of The City
As 2025 began, Philadelphia appeared to be entering a new and different phase after years of pandemic-related reverberations. The question is which effects from the past few years will turn out to have been temporary and which will prove more enduring. The answers are beginning to come into sharper focus.
Nonprofit Sector Is Vital Piece of Philadelphia's Economy
Nonprofit organizations play a critical role in Philadelphia and represent a major source of area employment. They accounted for 30% of the city’s private sector jobs in 2022, according to federal data. City residents rely on these organizations to provide critical services to Philadelphia’s communities.
Philadelphia's Fiscal Future
Philadelphia’s economy was performing well in the decade before the pandemic—matching and, in some years, outperforming the nation in job generation. But COVID-19 halted that progress, and the city’s recovery has lagged that of the national economy. That’s especially troubling given that Philadelphia’s pre-pandemic job growth did not extend to workers of color in the city.
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