2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Washington, DC vs Philadelphia, PA

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Highlights
- Household income in Philadelphia, is 44% less than it is in Washington and is 31% below the National Average.
- Washington unemployment rate is 7.0%.
- Philadelphia unemployment rate is 10.6%.
 Washington, DCPhiladelphia, PAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock10.6%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock1.2%1.6%
 Future Job Growth33.7%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes6.0%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock7.0%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$63,793  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$52,649$69,021
 Family Median Income$127,629  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Washington, DCPhiladelphia, PAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock17.1%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K2.9%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock9.4%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K5.2%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock7.6%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K5.1%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock9.1%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K11.3%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock12.4%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K10.2%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock6.3%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Washington, DCPhiladelphia, PAUnited States
 Management, business, finance29.1%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock5.8%6.5%
 Community, social services2.3%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock1.8%1.2%
 Education, library6.2%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock2.3%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology3.6%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock6.4%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement2.4%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock5.3%5.4%
 Building maintenance2.5%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock3.0%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support13.6%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.1%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair2.3%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock12.0%13.1%
Reviews for Washington    97 Reviews

Over 4 years ago

Living in DC long term brings on a kind of insidious misery. A long, slow, simmering down of any natural optimism or desire for a better future. It’s a leach of a town  More

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Over 5 years ago

Parts are beautiful but alot is rundown and ghetto. They always show the monuments and upper nw neighborhoods but never show hoods across the Anacostia River. Crime is  More

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Moved to DC 40 years ago from Mpls-St. Paul. DC is an amazing town. Downside is people are very competitive, everything is expensive. Great restaurants, foodie heaven  More

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Reviews for Philadelphia    139 Reviews

Philadelphia is a very walkable and fun city to explore (albeit be aware of where not to explore at least at night). The city has beautiful old architecture , great  More

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I’m originally from New York City, then lived in a small city in upstate New York for eight years, then moved down to Philadelphia and have lived here for many years.  More

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Now the only reason some people disagree is because MONEY. If you live in “manayunk” (which I lived for 2 years) you can’t compare … you can’t compare your out skirt  More

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