City of Philadelphia Kenneth Erhart SOC 101

City of Philadelphia
Kenneth Erhart
SOC 101
Instructor: Megan Reid
July 07, 2015

City of Philadelphia

The locality chosen is the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the following is the
general socio-economic information on the location as per the 2010 United States Census.
The population at the time was estimated to be around 1,526,006 people who
comprised 590,071 households, and an aggregate of 352,272 families that was permanently
living in the consolidated city-county of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The population density
for the city was around 4,337.3/km² (11,233.6/mi²). The male population was 731,161 while
the female population was estimated to be 813,388.The percentage change observed in the
population since the year 2001 was 31.1%, this decreased to 1.1% in since the year 2010
(U.S. Census Bureau, 2001).
The racial constitution of the city as at the year 2013 when the census was being
conducted comprised 45.5% White which translates to about 637,842, 44.2% Black which
represents a figure of about 665,332 , 6.9% Asian which in numbers is equivalent to 99,962,
88,827 which in percentage form is 2.3% were from other races, 38,949 which in percentage
form is 2.4% constituted of the Mixed Race, 0.8% Native American which is 4,433 and
194,714 which in percentage form is 13.3% of the population were Hispanic or Latino
(Fields, 2004).
The average number of housing units at an average density of 1,891.9/km²
(4,900.1/mi²) was estimated to be were 661,958.Among the 590071 housing units that were
profiled in the survey, at least 27.6% had children under the age of eighteen that were
cohabiting with them. Among this 32.1% were legally married couples that were still sharing
a home. It was observed that at least 22.3% of the housing units had a female occupant that
was yet to be married and 40.3% were non-families.3.8% of this housing units comprised
solely of individuals and 11.9% had a solitary occupant who averaged in age over 65 years.

City of Philadelphia
The mean household size was 2.48, and the average family size was 3.22 (National Research
Council U.S. Et al, 2010).
The income per household in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania averaged at $30,746 and the
median income for a family was $37,036.The males in the society had a higher median
income of $34,199 while the women had $28,477. The city has a relatively high per capita
income of $16, 509, considering the population. The population consisted of at least 22.9% of
individuals and 18.4 family units that ranked below the poverty line. In terms of age groups
that wee under the poverty line, it was estimated that 31.3% of the individuals under the age
of eighteen and 16.9% for the senior citizens above 65years old, lived primarily under the
poverty line (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011).
The population disparity concerning age was 25.3% under the age of 18, 11.1% were
in the age group 18 to 24, 29.3% aged between 25 to 44, 20.3% were found to be 45 to 64,
and 14.1% consisted of the senior citizens that were 65 years of age or older. The median age
was rightly approximated at 34 years. The females outnumbered the males as for every 86.8
men there were 100 women (Ennis Et al, 2011).This could be further proved y zoning down
into those aged 18 and over whom for every 100 women, 81.8 males were observed. The
gender disparity in the population of the city was astounding as the male to female ratio was
86.8 to 100.If these figures were to be changed into percentages, males would be 46.5% of
the population while females were 53.5%.Amongst all the regions in the country that were
profiled at the same time with Philadelphia, Pennsylvania city that averaged an excess of a
hundred thousand people, this was the third lowest in the United States. Only Indiana,
Alabama. Gary and Birmingham had a high proportion of women abiding in the city
(Fronczek, 2009).

City of Philadelphia
The housing units that were profiled in the census comprised of those that were
currently occupied and those that were vacant. Those that had people living in them were
590,071 which when converted into a percentage was 89.1%, and those that were considered
vacant were 71,887 which when converted into a percentage was 10.9%.The houses that were
occupied could be divided into those that were owner occupied and those that were tenant
occupied. Those, where the occupant was the landlord, were 349,633 which in percentage
form were 59.3% and where rent had to be paid 240,438 which in percentage form were
40.7% (Ennis Et al, 2011).
The population is divided in the means they use in getting to work. Most of those that
lived near the workplaces preferred just to walk to work. This was especially the case for
Centre City residents. Overall, the population that walked to walked was approximately
9.22%.Of the population that commuted to work, at least 63.97% of all Philadelphians were
observed to drive an automobile or carpool to work while at least 25.93% preferred to use the
public service vehicles to commute to work (National Research Council U.S. Et al, 2010). A
negligible number got to work by riding a bicycle. Of the households that were profiled at
least 35.74 of these did not have automobiles for one reason or another. In comparison to
other major cities in the United States of America, the proportion of Philadelphians that do
not commute by automobiles is relatively higher. But cities like New York and Washington
have higher percentages of those that do not commute by automobile as compared to
Philadelphia. The survey carried out in the city, came to the revelation that the average time it
took an individual that was at least sixteen years of age or older to get to work was
approximately thirty-two minutes. However in comparison to residents that lived away from
the city centre, those that were from the centre city had much shorter commutes thus shorter
arrival times to work. Amongst all the cities that were profiled, Philadelphia was ranked as
the city with the most individuals that lived in downtown areas, this was especially the case

City of Philadelphia
in Centre City, which was ranked number three overall for largest downtown residential
population in the country (Fields, 2004).
The education attainment rate for high school level students or higher is put at
81.2%.In relation to other cities, Philadelphia city has a relatively higher figures when it
comes to school enrolment; These figures are observed across all age groups. The city of
Philadelphia is endowed with massive resources that are geared toward the provision of
quality education facilities for all the students. The leadership in the city is committed
towards the constant improvement of their education systems. The city is ranked the 8th
largest school district in America with at least 300000 college students, numerous parochial
and private high schools (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011).
The city of Philadelphia is a multicultural society that consists of the Hispanic, white
majority and the black people among other peoples. The education system is robust, and
systems are continually being introduced to ensure improvement. These education institutions
cater for all the races and cultures that are present in the city. The housing sector is
continually under pressure to grow due to the growing population. The housing sector in the
city is manned by the city council of Philadelphia. The dominant age group as observed from
the statistics above consists mostly of the senior youth who are above 33.6 years. The income
patterns of the city residents indicate a robust and steadily growing economy.

City of Philadelphia
References
Ennis, S. R., Ríos-Vargas, M., & Albert, N. G. (2011). The hispanic population: 2010. US
Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, US Census
Bureau.
Fields, J. M. (2004). America’s families and living arrangements: 2003. US Department of
Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, US Census Bureau.
Fronczek, P. (2009). Income, earnings, and poverty from the 2004 American Community
Survey. DIANE Publishing.
National Research Council (U.S.)., In Schirm, A. L., & In Kirkendall, N. J.
(2010).Developing and evaluating methods for using American Community Survey
data to support the school meals programs: Interim report.
U.S. Census Bureau,. (2011). American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2006-2010:
Population and housing characteristics: ACS DVD (2006-2010).
U.S. Census Bureau. (2001). Meeting 21st century demographic data needs: Implementing
the American Community Survey. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Commerce,
Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Census Bureau.