According to a study conducted by Stanford University, Philadelphia is the third most financially segregated metropolitan area in the country.
While the study found that mixed income neighborhoods are much rarer than they were 40 years ago and that socioeconomic polarization has become more common across America in general, Philadelphia experienced the largest change in income segregation since 1970, jumping from the 43rd most segregated area as many blue collar industrial and production jobs left the region.
According to census data, 43 percent of Philadelphia families lived in either poor or affluent areas in 2007 versus 16 percent in 1970. That means that the city’s middle class barely constitutes a majority and seemingly continues to shrink.
Unsurprisingly, the majority of wealth in Philadelphia is concentrated in the outlying suburbs, while the city’s core is home to the poorest, save a few gentrified spots like Northern Liberties.
