The Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metro Area, also known as Delaware Valley, is the largest city in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and is located towards the southern end of the Northeast megalopolis extending from Boston to Washington, D.C.

According to the 2010 census Philadelphia posted its first population increase in over fifty years at 0.6%. Each subsequent year has seen an increase in the overall population. Current projection show a consistent increase in the population over the next ten years. Philadelphia is home to many different people groups, and the immigrant population is currently increasing at a greater rate than the overall population each year. Recent city redevelopment, and an improved waterfront have attracted many wealthy foreign investors to relocate to Philadelphia.

Although numerically the city itself contains the largest population of immigrants, the population increase among immigrants is greater in the suburban area. This had led to a greater isolation of people groups in the metro area.

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Total Population: 6,228,601

Census Data

• Foreign Born - 393,290
• Language Spoken at Home - 561,218

[Source: American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Foreign Born and Language Spoken at Home]

Quick Facts

• Immigrants currently comprise approximately 10.9% of the total population of Philadelphia.


• Approximately 60% of all foreign-born people living in Philadelphia arrived after 1990.


• Philadelphia is home to the second largest Italian, Irish and Jamaican-American populations in the country.


• People Groups of Bangladesh descent grew the fastest among all ethnic groups, more than quadrupling between 2000 and 2010.


• The Chinese people makeup the largest people group with a population of nearly 33,000 including Chinese, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Taiwanese.


• At least 1/3 of people groups from Myanmar, Cambodia, and Bangledesh are youth.


• Between 2000 and 2010, both Asian American and Native Hawaiian Pacific Islanders populations grew significantly, increasing 43% and 32%, respectively. In contrast, the city's total population grew just 1% over the same period.


• The largest ancestry groups in Philadelphia, according to the 2010 census, were: Irish (13.6%), Italian (9.2%), German (8.1%), Polish (4.3%) and English (2.9%)


• 7% of the foreign-born population are from Africa, most of which come from Nigeria, Liberia, Ethiopia, and Ghana


• Since the late 1990's an estimated 3,300 refugees have come to Philadelphia from Liberia, which is more than from any other country.