Last year brought many serious challenges, chief among them the pandemic and its impacts on cities around the world, including our hometown of Philadelphia. COVID-19 affected nearly all aspects of Philadelphians’ lives, magnifying existing inequities and exposing new fault lines at a time when calls for racial justice were mounting in the city and throughout the country.
Data from our Philadelphia research and policy initiative's annual “State of the City” report documents the pandemic’s consequences, both direct and indirect.
As it grappled with the coronavirus, Philadelphia also faced spikes in gun violence and drug overdose deaths as well as questions about what lasting effects the pandemic might have on its economy and its people.
Here, we tell the city’s story, providing a snapshot of what life looks like now and how it has evolved in recent years.
Philadelphia 2024
COVID-19
A deadly pandemic stuns a city
Nearly 2,500 Philadelphians lost their lives to the coronavirus in 2020, with more than 96,000 confirmed cases.
The world wasn’t prepared for the novel coronavirus, and many Americans weren’t prepared for how rapidly it spread. But as Philadelphians learned more about how to protect themselves, the number of deaths per month in the city fell gradually from spring to summer before rising sharply in late fall.
COVID-19 Cases in Philadelphia, 2020
From March 2020 through late December 2020, Philadelphia recorded more than 96,000 cases of COVID-19. Like many other U.S. cities, Philadelphia experienced two major spikes in cases: shortly after the start of the pandemic and once more during the winter holidays.
Source: City of Philadelphia, “COVID-19 Overview,” https://www.phila.gov/programs/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/data/testing/
© 2021 The Pew Charitable Trusts
As the pandemic stretched on, the city steadily increased the availability of COVID-19 testing for residents. Although tests were relatively limited in the early months, more than 200,000 tests per month were administered in November and December.
From March through December 2020, Philadelphia recorded more than 96,000 cases of COVID-19. Like many other U.S. cities, Philadelphia experienced two major spikes in cases: in April, shortly after the start of the pandemic, and once more toward the end of the year.
COVID-19 Deaths in Philadelphia, 2020
In 2020, Philadelphia recorded nearly 2,500 deaths from COVID-19. As the public learned more about how the virus is spread, the number of deaths per month fell gradually from spring to summer before rising sharply in December.
Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer, “Cases and Deaths in Philadelphia: Daily Totals,” https://www.inquirer.com/health/coronavirus/inq/coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-numbers-pennsylvania-new-jersey-20200319.html
© 2021 The Pew Charitable Trusts
Hispanic and Black Philadelphia residents were far more likely to know someone who died from the virus than were non-Hispanic White residents, our August 2020 poll revealed.
The pandemic affected not only physical health but also mental health. In our survey, 49% of Philadelphians said that they or someone in their household felt seriously depressed or anxious.
Poll Results: Percentage of Philadelphians Who Know Someone Who Has Died From Coronavirus
As of August 2020, 58% of Philadelphians said they knew someone who had contracted the coronavirus, and nearly a quarter said they knew someone who had died from it. Hispanic and Black residents were far more likely to know someone who had died from the illness than were non-Hispanic White residents.
Source: The Pew Philadelphia Poll, 2020
© 2021 The Pew Charitable Trusts
Mask Compliance
Face coverings become the new normal
Did most people in Philadelphia wear masks?
Despite controversy around mask mandates throughout the country, a large majority of people in Philadelphia abided by the rule.
To help stem the spread of COVID-19, Mayor Jim Kenney signed an executive order on June 28, mandating that masks be worn in a number of social or public settings. The city’s Department of Public Health then began tracking the rate of mask compliance by counting the number of people seen wearing masks on security cameras throughout the city.
Compliance both outside and at retail locations was generally high and rose over time.
Mask Compliance in Philadelphia
To help stem the spread of COVID-19, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health began tracking the rates of compliance with wearing masks after Mayor Jim Kenney signed an executive order in June 2020 mandating their use in a number of situations. The department calculated compliance by counting the number of people seen wearing masks on security cameras throughout the city. Compliance both outside and at retail locations was generally high and rose over time.Â
Note: No outside observances were logged for June 2020. Â
Source: City of Philadelphia, “COVID-19 Overview,” https://​www.​phila.​gov/​programs/​coronavirus-​disease-​2019-​covid-​19/​testing-​and-​data
© 2021 The Pew Charitable Trusts
Employment
Job growth halts, unemployment spikes
The city’s unemployment rate more than triples within five months.
Before 2020, the number of jobs in Philadelphia had been rising steadily, with the city recording a historically low unemployment rate in 2019, at 5.5%.
But that progress came to an abrupt halt. The pandemic was declared a national emergency on March 13; businesses and institutions in Philadelphia and across the country had to shutter their doors, and, except for essential workers, residents were asked to remain at home.
Shortly afterward, the city’s unemployment rate jumped to levels not seen even in the worst days of the Great Recession, reaching 18.2% in June. The leisure and hospitality sector was hit the hardest: A third of its jobs disappeared in 2020.
Unemployment gradually fell as businesses started to reopen, ending the year at 9.3%. It was 6.7% nationally in December 2020.
Philadelphia’s Unemployment Rate, 2020
Philadelphia started the year with relatively low unemployment. But after the stay-at-home orders were implemented in the spring, the rate jumped to levels not seen even in the worst days of the Great Recession, reaching a high of 18.2% in June. It gradually fell as businesses started to reopen, ending 2020 at 9.3% in December.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, https://www.bls.gov/lau/
© 2021 The Pew Charitable Trusts
Although the unemployment rate began to decrease in the latter half of the year, the city’s average, 12.2%, was still the highest in decades and above the national average of 8.1%.
Unemployment Rate in Philadelphia, 2010-20
As happened in the country as a whole, Philadelphia’s unemployment rate rose sharply from 2019 to 2020, averaging 12.2% for the year. Although the rate began to decrease in the latter half of the year, the city’s average was still the highest in decades and higher than the national average of 8.1%.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, https://​www.​bls.​gov/​lau (local data); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, https://​www.​bls.​gov/​cps (national data)Â
© 2021 The Pew Charitable Trusts
The number of jobs in the city declined by more than 40,000 from 2019 to 2020, though at times that number dipped by almost 100,000.
Philadelphia underwent a 5.6% contraction in the number of jobs from 2019 to 2020, similar to the country’s 5.8% decrease. This came after years of job growth in the city, which outperformed the country as a whole in 2016, 2018, and 2019.
