Philadelphia Research and Policy

Single-Family Home Sales in Philadelphia

For decades, Philadelphia has had a reputation for being a relatively affordable place to buy a home—at least when compared with New York, Boston, Washington, and some other major cities—a reputation that has held steady even in an era of rising home prices nationwide.

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.