Despite local population size decreasing to levels unseen in nearly a century, Philadelphians can expect economic change and development to shift the city in the right direction.
According to census data released last week, Phoenix, Ariz. recently took Philadelphia's place as the fifth largest U.S. city. Philadelphia now comes in sixth with 1.4 million citizens.
The city's rate of population loss, measuring at 4.5-percent between 2000 and 2007, is second only to New Orleans, which saw a dramatic 50-percent decrease following Hurricane Katrina.
Although the net population change over that time period in Philadelphia involves some 68,000 individuals, the rate of loss has been slowing consistently. Last year's rate of loss hovered at -0.25-percent, compared to -0.97-percent in 2001.
According to a recent article in The Philadelphia Inquirer, concurrent population growth in the metropolitan region suggests that people have not left the area altogether. Since birth rates still exceed death rates, population changes must result from migration.
While Philadelphia's 80-some colleges draw a large youth constituency to the city, the job market is not diverse enough to keep graduates from leaving.
Career Services director Patricia Rose explained that while Philadelphia is a great place to find work in health care or medicine, for the 30-percent of Penn undergraduates who enter financial services after graduation, finding a job may be easier in cities like New York.
According to a Career Services survey for the class of 2007, 114 College graduates remained in Pennsylvania, while 225 left for New York. Yet only 24 Wharton graduates stayed in Pennsylvania, while 288 ended up in New York.
The continuous exodus has prompted Mayor Michael Nutter to set an ambitious goal of increasing the city's net population by 75,000 people in the next five years.
In an interview with MarketWatch, Nutter explained that to achieve this goal, he will cut taxes, create more jobs and prioritize education.
Already the Philadelphia wage tax on residence and employment in the city was cut from 4.3 to 3.9-percent for residents and 3.7 to 3.5-percent for non-residents at the end of last month.
Philadelphia immigration helps absorb some of the urban exodus, explained urban studies professor Peter Angelides. However, he added that Philadelphia doesn't attract as many immigrants as other cities do.
Overall, a decreasing population does not necessarily dampen prospects of future growth for Philadelphia.
"The city has a strong pedestrian character, is well served by an extensive, if somewhat under-appreciated, transit system and is relatively affordable by big Eastern city standards," said Angelides. "My sense is that Philadelphia offers much of what young graduates are looking for."
