Demographics of Philadelphia - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

As of the census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 1,517,550 people, 590,071 households, and 352,272 families residing in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. The population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

was 4,337.3/km² (11,233.6/mi²). There were 661,958 housing units at an average density of 1,891.9/km² (4,900.1/mi²).

The racial makeup of the city as of 2010 was:

44.2% Black
39.0% White
White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
5.4% Asian
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
4.7% from other races
3.2% Mixed Race
Multiracial American
Multiracial Americans, US residents who identify themselves as of "two or more races", were numbered at around 9 million, or 2.9% of the population, in the census of 2010. However there is considerable evidence that the real number is far higher. Prior to the mid-20th century many people hid their...
0.2% Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
0.05% Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander American
Pacific Islander Americans, also known as Oceanian Americans, are residents of the United States with original ancestry from Oceania. They represent the smallest racial group counted in the United States census of 2000. They numbered 874,000 people or 0.3 percent of the United States population...
12.5% of the population were Hispanic and Latino
Hispanic and Latino Americans
Hispanic or Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.1990 Census of Population and Housing: A self-designated classification for people whose origins...

.

Of the 590,071 households, 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.1% were married couples

Marriage

Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

living together, 22.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.3% were non-families. 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.22.

The population was spread out with 25.3% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,746, and the median income for a family was $37,036. Males had a median income of $34,199 versus $28,477 for females. The per capita income

Per capita income

Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

for the city was $16,509. 22.9% of the population and 18.4% of families were below the poverty line. 31.3% of those under the age of 18 and 16.9% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

The male-female ratio was 86.8 to 100, with 46.5% of the population male

Male

Male refers to the biological sex of an organism, or part of an organism, which produces small mobile gametes, called spermatozoa. Each spermatozoon can fuse with a larger female gamete or ovum, in the process of fertilization...

and 53.5% female

Female

Female is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces non-mobile ova .- Defining characteristics :The ova are defined as the larger gametes in a heterogamous reproduction system, while the smaller, usually motile gamete, the spermatozoon, is produced by the male...

. Of places with 100,000 or more people, this was the third lowest in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Only Gary, Indiana

Gary, Indiana

Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city is in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area and is 25 miles from downtown Chicago. The population is 80,294 at the 2010 census, making it the seventh-largest city in the state. It borders Lake Michigan and is known...

and Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...

had a higher proportion of women.http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2001/cb01cn181.html

Of housing units, 590,071 (89.1%) were occupied and 71,887 (10.9%) were vacant. Of occupied housing units, 349,633 (59.3%) were owner-occupied and 240,438 (40.7%) were renter-occupied.

The mean travel time to work

Commuting

Commuting is regular travel between one's place of residence and place of work or full time study. It sometimes refers to any regular or often repeated traveling between locations when not work related.- History :...

was 32.0 minutes for workers 16 years of age and older. Residents of Center City, however, had much shorter commutes. Center City has the third largest downtown residential population in the country, and most walk to work.

63.97% of Philadelphians drove an automobile to work (including carpools), 25.93% commuted by public transit, 9.22% walked to work, and 0.88% commuted by bicycle

Bicycle

A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....

. 35.74% of households did not have an automobile. The proportion of Philadelphians who do not commute by auto is high compared to most other American cities, although lower than the proportions in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

and Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

Population history

From its founding through the early 19th century, the City of Philadelphia was considered the area between the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers and between Vine and South Streets. In 1854, the Act of Consolidation

Act of Consolidation, 1854

The Act of Consolidation, more formally known as the act of February 2, 1854 , was enacted by General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and approved February 2, 1854 by Governor William Bigler...

incorporated the rest of Philadelphia County and created Philadelphia's modern border. This resulted in a large population increase, evident in the 1860 census.

Philadelphia experienced steady growth between 1860 and 1950, except for a brief lull in 1930, which was due in part to the Great Depression. Its population peaked at 2,071,605 in 1950. Between 1950 and 2000, the city lost 554,055 people, or 26.7% of its population. To put this into perspective, Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

lost 20.0% of its population during the same era, and Baltimore

Baltimore

Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

lost 31.4%, according to US Census data. This nationwide trend is often referred to as "white flight

White flight

White flight has been a term that originated in the United States, starting in the mid-20th century, and applied to the large-scale migration of whites of various European ancestries from racially mixed urban regions to more racially homogeneous suburban or exurban regions. It was first seen as...

" because upper- and middle-class families, enabled by nationwide improvements to infrastructure, left cities in favor of their surrounding suburbs.
Estimates predict that the city will experience population growth

Population growth

Population growth is the change in a population over time, and can be quantified as the change in the number of individuals of any species in a population using "per unit time" for measurement....

slightly before or after 2010. These estimates and the reasons behind them are sources of great debate. Possible reasons for the turnaround include increases in immigration from foreign countries (especially from countries like India, South Korea and Mexico) and migration from more expensive cities in the Northeast Corridor

Northeast Corridor

The Northeast Corridor is a fully electrified railway line owned primarily by Amtrak serving the Northeast megalopolis of the United States from Boston in the north, via New York to Washington, D.C. in the south, with branches serving other cities...

. Both wealthy transplants and Asian American

Asian American

Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...

investors from New York City

New York City

have received media attention for setting their sights on Philadelphia. The ten-year tax abatement, a historically undervalued housing market, improvements to the waterfront, and continuing redevelopment throughout the city are thought to be factors drawing people to the area.

Ethnography

The largest concentrations of native-born blacks

Black people

The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...

are in Germantown

Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Germantown is a neighborhood in the northwest section of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, about 7–8 miles northwest from the center of the city...

, the central, northern, and western neighborhoods of North Philadelphia, the Point Breeze

Point Breeze, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Point Breeze is a neighborhood in the South Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is generally bound by 25th Street to the west, Washington Avenue to the north, Broad Street to the east, and Mifflin Street to the south, although the sections between 18th Street and...

neighborhood of South Philadelphia

South Philadelphia

South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west.-History:...

, parts of Southwest Philadelphia

Southwest Philadelphia

Southwest Philadelphia is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The section can be described as extending from the western side of the Schuylkill River to the city line, with the SEPTA Media/Elwyn Line serving as the northern border...

, and most of West Philadelphia

West Philadelphia

West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Though there is no official definition of its boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Line Avenue to the northwest, Cobbs Creek to the southwest, and...

. Together these neighborhoods have a population of about 610,000 and are roughly 82% black; making it the fourth largest predominantly black area in the United States after Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn

Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn

Bedford-Stuyvesant is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Formed in 1930, the neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 3, Brooklyn Community Board 8 and Brooklyn Community Board 16. The neighborhood is patrolled by the NYPD's 79th and 81st...

, Detroit, and South Side Chicago. http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFFacts?_event=ChangeGeoContext&geo_id=86000US19132&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US42%7C05000US42101&_street=&_county=&_cityTown=&_state=04000US42&_zip=19132&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010&_submenuId=factsheet_1&ds_name=DEC_2000_SAFF&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null®=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry= Large concentrations of non-Hispanic whites

White people

White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...

live in Center City, Northeast Philadelphia

Northeast Philadelphia

Northeast Philadelphia, nicknamed Northeast Philly, the Northeast and the Great Northeast, is a section of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to the 2000 Census, the Northeast has a sizable percentage of the city's 1.547 million people — a population of between 300,000 and 450,000,...

, and Northwest Philadelphia

Northwest Philadelphia

Northwest Philadelphia is a section of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The official boundary is Stenton Avenue to the north, the Schuylkill river to the south, Spring Ln to the west, and Wister Street to the east. The area is divided by Wissahickon Creek into two subsections...

(although this is changing). Gentrification

Gentrification

Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...

is altering the racial demographics of predominantly black neighborhoods close to Center City.

Compared to its immigrant

Immigration

Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...

-magnet peers in the Northeast

Northeastern United States

The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...

, Philadelphia has long been considered a "black and white" city of mostly native born African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

s and White

White people

White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...

s. However the number of Hispanics

Hispanic and Latino Americans

Hispanic or Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.1990 Census of Population and Housing: A self-designated classification for people whose origins...

and Asian American

Asian American

s has increased over the past 20 years and continues to accelerate. The number of foreign-born residents increased by 34,000 between 1990 and 2000. Of foreign-born Philadelphians, 38.5% were from Asia, 30.3% were from Europe, 23.4% were from Latin America

Latin America

Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...

, and 6.7% were from Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

Increases in Latino immigration and migration have fueled the growth of El Centro de Oro

El Centro de Oro

El Centro de Oro is a Latino area in the east side of North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.El Centro de Oro is located in "5th & Lehigh" district of the city. Cultural rhythms, businesses and restaurants abound here...

in Fairhill

Fairhill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Fairhill is a neighborhood on the east side of the North Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Fairhill is located in an area between Kensington Avenue and 6th Street ranging from York Street to Gurney Street/Clearfield Street...

. As of 2010, Philadelphia has the second largest Puerto Rican community in the United States, after New York City

New York City

. Puerto Ricans constitute over 75% of the Latino population in the city and most live in the area that straddles the border between the North and Northeast

Northeast Philadelphia

sections of the city. Philadelphia has also seen strong increases among its Dominican

Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...

and Mexican

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

populations.

Mexican immigrants have drastically changed the Italian Market area in South Philadelphia

South Philadelphia

and have set up a small community in and around the market. Today Mexicans are the third largest Hispanic community, after Puerto Ricans and Dominicans

Dominican Republic

, both of who mainly reside in North Philadelphia.

The Asian American community has long been established in the city's bustling Chinatown

Chinatown, Philadelphia

Philadelphia Chinatown is a predominantly Asian American neighborhood located within the Center City district in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States...

district, but recent Vietnamese

Vietnamese people

The Vietnamese people are an ethnic group originating from present-day northern Vietnam and southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the population as of the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam...

immigrants have also forged neighborhoods and bazaars alongside the venerable Italian market. Korean

Korean people

The Korean people are an ethnic group originating in the Korean peninsula and Manchuria. Koreans are one of the most ethnically and linguistically homogeneous groups in the world.-Names:...

immigrants have notably added to the melting pot

Melting pot

The melting pot is a metaphor for a heterogeneous society becoming more homogeneous, the different elements "melting together" into a harmonious whole with a common culture...

of Olney

Olney, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Olney is a neighborhood in the North Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is roughly bounded by the Roosevelt Boulevard to the south, Tacony Creek to the east, Godfrey Avenue to the north, and the railroad right-of-way west of Sixth Street to the west.Although...

.

Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

immigrants and the Irish Americans are associated in the North and Northeast Philadelphia neighborhoods, including Fishtown, Kensington

Kensington, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Kensington is a neighborhood in the United States city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is between the Lower Northeast section of Philadelphia and North Philadelphia. Not to be confused with the former Kensington District, now commonly referred to as Fishtown, the area modernly referred to as...

, Mayfair

Mayfair, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Mayfair is a neighborhood located in the Lower Northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania centered on the intersection of Cottman and Frankford Avenues...

, Frankford

Frankford, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Frankford is a large and important neighborhood in the lower Northeast section of Philadelphia situated about six miles northeast of Center City. Although its borders are vaguely defined, the neighborhood is bounded roughly by the original course of Frankford Creek, now roughly Adams to Aramingo...

, Port Richmond

Port Richmond, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Port Richmond, also referred to as simply Richmond, is a neighborhood in the Northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is notable for its extremely large Polish immigrant and Polish American community. The neighborhood is also home to sizable Irish, German and Italian communities as...

, Holmesburg

Holmesburg, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Holmesburg is a neighborhood in the Northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Holmesburg was named for the descendants of John Holme who immigrated to Philadelphia in the 1680s and had no known relation to Surveyor General Thomas Holme. John Holme's descendants acquired land in Lower...

, Harrowgate

Harrowgate, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Harrowgate is a neighborhood in the Northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Harrowgate is located northeast of Kensington adjacent to Kensington Avenue. It is south of Juniata and northwest of Port Richmond. Its boundary with Kensington is not clear, although it is thought...

, and Juniata

Juniata, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Juniata is a neighborhood in Northeast Philadelphia, which is a section of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; however, it is sometimes said to be in North Philadelphia because it lies west of Frankford Creek. Juniata is located south of the Juniata Golf Club in Tacony Creek Park...

, as well as Devil's Pocket

Devil's Pocket, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Devil's Pocket is a neighborhood in the South Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is south of Lombard Street, east of 27th Street and north of Washington Avenue, on the western edge of Southwest Center City....

, Whitman

Whitman, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Whitman is a neighborhood in the South Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is bounded on the west by Sixth Street, on the east by Front Street, on the south by Bigler Street, and on the north by Snyder Avenue...

, and Pennsport

Pennsport, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Pennsport is a neighborhood in the South Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.Pennsport is home to a large working Irish American population and many Mummer clubs. It was also the site of a controversial push for casinos along the Philadelphia waterfront...

in South Philly in addition to many other areas.

Italian

Italian people

The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...

immigrants and the Italian American

Italian American

An Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...

community are frequently associated with South Philadelphia

South Philadelphia

as well as Bella Vista

Bella Vista, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Bella Vista, Italian for "beautiful sight", is a neighborhood in the South Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.It is bounded by 6th Street, 11th Street, South Street, and Washington Avenue....

, Central South Philadelphia

Central South Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Central South Philadelphia, commonly known as either just South Philadelphia or "South Philly," is a neighborhood in South Philadelphia. It is generally bounded by Broad to 9th Streets and Mifflin to Shunk . The entire neighborhood falls under the 19148 zip code...

, Girard Estates

Girard Estate, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Girard Estate, also known as Girard Estates, is part of South Philadelphia. Its boundaries stretch from Mifflin Street on the north to the south side of Pollock Street on the south, and from the west side of Broad Street on the east to 22nd Street on the west...

, Marconi Plaza

Marconi Plaza, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Marconi Plaza is a neighborhood located in South Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.An Italian-American enclave, Marconi Plaza has two main halves, East and West, which are divided in the middle by Broad Street. It is located at the most southern end of the city and within the northern...

, Packer Park

Packer Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Packer Park is a neighborhood in the South Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States that includes 1,200 homes built in two unique builder developments of Packer Park 1950s and Brinton Estates 1990s. It is one of four residential communities that form Philadelphia's Sports...

, the Italian Market area, and Tacony

Tacony, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Tacony is a historic neighborhood in Northeast Philadelphia, about from downtown Philadelphia. It is the oldest continuously occupied neighborhood in Philadelphia. It is bounded by Frankford Avenue on the northwest, Cottman Avenue on the northeast, Levick Street on the southwest, and the...

, among others.
Poles

Poles

thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...

and Polish Americans have a rich history in the Port Richmond

Port Richmond, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

-Bridesburg

Bridesburg, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Bridesburg is the last river-front neighborhood before the Northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States begins. Bridesburg has a significant Polish community and continues to be a destination from incoming immigrants from Poland to live...

area, as well as areas of Kensington

Kensington, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

and the Northeast. Many other cultures can also be found throughout the city, including West Indians in the Cedar Park

Cedar Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Cedar Park is a neighborhood located in the West Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was built as a streetcar suburb for Center City between 1850 and 1910. It is a racially and ethnically diverse part of the city, with much of the historic architecture preserved...

neighborhood, and many Russian

Russians

The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....

, Greek

Greeks

The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....

and Ukrainian

Ukrainians

Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...

immigrants in the Near Northeast

Northeast Philadelphia

.

Recent immigrants from Asia are mainly of India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n, Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

n, Chinese

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, Vietnamese

Vietnamese people

, Laotian, Hmong

Hmong people

The Hmong , are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Hmong are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao ethnicity in southern China...

, Filipino

Filipino American

Filipino Americans are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipino Americans, often shortened to "Fil-Ams", or "Pinoy",Filipinos in what is now the United States were first documented in the 16th century, with small settlements beginning in the 18th century...

, Cambodia

Cambodia

Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...

n, Thai

Thai people

The Thai people, or Siamese, are the main ethnic group of Thailand and are part of the larger Tai ethnolinguistic peoples found in Thailand and adjacent countries in Southeast Asia as well as southern China. Their language is the Thai language, which is classified as part of the Kradai family of...

, Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

i and Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

i backgrounds. In addition, the Latino population continues to grow, as Dominican

Dominican Republic

, Mexican

Mexico

, Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

n, Salvadoran

El Salvador

El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...

, Guatemala

Guatemala

Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...

n, Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

n, and Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

ian immigrants, as well as Puerto Rican citizens emigrate to the city. There are also a number of recent Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

n, Somali

Somali people

Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...

, and Sudan

Sudan

Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...

ese immigrants from Northeast Africa

Horn of Africa

The Horn of Africa is a peninsula in East Africa that juts hundreds of kilometers into the Arabian Sea and lies along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. It is the easternmost projection of the African continent...

.

Philadelphia has one of the most notable West Africa

West Africa

West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...

n populations in the United States; the city counts many Liberian American

Liberian American

Liberian Americans are American citizens who are of Liberian descent. This includes Liberians who are of African American descent. It also includes the descendants of Americo-Liberian people in America. Immigration to the United States by Liberians began after the First Liberian Civil War in the...

s and Nigerian American

Nigerian American

Nigerian Americans are citizens of the United States of America who are or descend from immigrants from Nigeria. Since the late 1960s and early 1970s, approximately one million Nigerians have immigrated in to the United States....

s among its residents. By 2008 about 15,000 Liberians had immigrated to Philadelphia; the Liberians left their native country due to two civil wars and the destruction of Liberian infrastructure. There is also a sizable community of Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

ns and Haiti

Haiti

Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...

ans.

European immigration is also growing, with more Irish

Irish people

, Italian

Italian people

, and Polish immigrants. Recently, thousands of Russian

Russians

The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....

and Ukrainian

Ukrainians

Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...

immigrants from Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...

(many of whom are Jewish) have arrived. There are other growing nationalities, which include Spanish

Spanish people

The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....

, Portuguese

Portuguese people

The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....

, Slovak

Slovaks

The Slovaks, Slovak people, or Slovakians are a West Slavic people that primarily inhabit Slovakia and speak the Slovak language, which is closely related to the Czech language.Most Slovaks today live within the borders of the independent Slovakia...

, Greek

Greeks

and Serbian

Serbs

The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...

.

The city's Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

ern population has tripled since 1990, with people of Palestinian

Palestinian people

The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...

, Turkish

Turkish people

Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...

, Lebanese

Lebanese people

The Lebanese people are a nation and ethnic group of Levantine people originating in what is today the country of Lebanon, including those who had inhabited Mount Lebanon prior to the creation of the modern Lebanese state....

, Iranian

Iranian peoples

The Iranian peoples are an Indo-European ethnic-linguistic group, consisting of the speakers of Iranian languages, a major branch of the Indo-European language family, as such forming a branch of Indo-European-speaking peoples...

, Egyptian

Egyptians

Egyptians are nation an ethnic group made up of Mediterranean North Africans, the indigenous people of Egypt.Egyptian identity is closely tied to geography. The population of Egypt is concentrated in the lower Nile Valley, the small strip of cultivable land stretching from the First Cataract to...

, Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

i, Saudi

Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...

, Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

n and Afghan

Demographics of Afghanistan

The population of Afghanistan is around 29,835,392 as of the year 2011, which is unclear if the refugees living outside the country are included or not. The nation is composed of a multi-ethnic and multi-lingual society, reflecting its location astride historic trade and invasion routes between...

backgrounds residing in Philadelphia.

Religion

Christianity is the dominant religion in the city of Philadelphia. The largest denomination is Roman Catholic. Philadelphia's Jewish population, the sixth largest in the nation, was estimated at 206,000 in 2001 and almost 300,000 in 2009. There is also a significant Eastern Orthodox population as well as a strong Lutheran community. In fact, the greater Philadelphia area is home to one of the largest Lutheran communities in America (The largest on the East Coast).

Many new religions have arrived, including Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

and Hinduism

Hinduism

Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

. With immigration from the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

, the Horn of Africa

Horn of Africa

, Pakistan

Pakistan

, Bangladesh

Bangladesh

and India

India

, these two religions have increased their presence. The largest concentrations of Muslims and Hindus live in the Northeast and North parts of the city, Center City, West Philadelphia

West Philadelphia

, and sprawling into the nearby suburbs.

Religions with less numerous adherents can also be found. There is Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

in Chinatown

Chinatown

A Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of overseas Chinese people, although it is often generalized to include various Southeast Asian people. Chinatowns exist throughout the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe. Binondo's Chinatown located in Manila,...

, and Caribbean and African traditional religion

African Traditional Religion

The traditional religions indigenous to Africa have, for most of their existence, been orally rather than scripturally transmitted. They are generally associated with animism. Most have ethno-based creations stories...

s in North and West Philadelphia. These numbers are also growing. Historically the city has strong connections to The Religious Society of Friends

Religious Society of Friends

The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...

, Unitarian Universalism

Unitarian Universalism

Unitarian Universalism is a religion characterized by support for a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists do not share a creed; rather, they are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth and by the understanding that an individual's theology is a...

, and Ethical Culture

Ethical Culture

The Ethical movement, also referred to as the Ethical Culture movement or simply Ethical Culture, is an ethical, educational, and religious movement that is usually traced back to Felix Adler...

, all of which continue to be represented in the city. The Friends General Conference

Friends General Conference

Friends General Conference is a North American Quaker organization primarily serving the Quaker yearly and monthly meetings in the United States and Canada that choose to be members...

is based in Philadelphia.

The Muslim African American community in Philadelphia has grown substantially over the last decade.

Sources and further reading

American Factfinder, US Census.
Philadelphia in Focus: A Profile from Census 2000, Brookings Institution
Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and...

, November 2003.; . A discussion of how Philadelphia workers found jobs and how employers found workers, including how the process was affected by race, ethnicity, origin (immigrant versus native-born), industrial sector, unionization, and other demographic differences.

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