AnswerIn Philadelphia, the median household income is $57,537. To rank in the top 20%, you need to earn more than $135,000. Top 5%: $275,000.
Median: $57,537 · Top 20%: $135,000 · Top 5%: $275,000
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5-Year Estimates
Philadelphia Income Percentile Calculator [2026]
Where Philadelphia, Pennsylvaniahouseholds rank by income — sourced from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey 2023 5-year estimates, covering roughly 1,550,542 residents.
AI engineer building pSEO financial tools. Data sourced from the Federal Reserve (SCF), US Census Bureau (ACS), and Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Quick answer: In Philadelphia, PA, the median household income is $57,537. The bottom 20% earns under $19,500; the top 20% threshold is $135,000; the top 5% starts at $275,000. Median rent is $1,220/month and the median home value is $220,400. A $100,000 household income ranks at roughly the 68th percentile locally.
Key stats for Philadelphia
Income percentile breakpoints — Philadelphia
- 20th percentile (bottom quintile)
- $19,500
- 40th percentile
- $40,000
- Median (≈ 50th–60th percentile)
- $76,000
- 80th percentile (top 20%)
- $135,000
- 95th percentile (top 5%)
- $275,000
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2023 5-Year Estimates. City-level p60 is used as the "median-ish" row because ACS quintile upper limits bracket the household median near p60 for most big US cities.
Local economic context — Philadelphia
Philadelphia has a peculiar income topology: a dense, high-paying medical-academic core wrapped in a working-class city and suburbs that range from wealthy (the Main Line) to genuinely struggling. The University of Pennsylvania and its hospital system (Penn Medicine plus CHOP) are the single largest private employer in the region. Comcast's twin Center City towers anchor a media and telecom cluster. Independence Blue Cross, Vanguard in Malvern, and the financial services spine along the Schuylkill keep the top quartile fed. Pharma presence in the suburbs — GSK, Merck's West Point campus, and Spark Therapeutics — pushes scientist and engineer comp into top-10% territory. The Navy Yard redevelopment has brought a slice of life sciences and defense contracting (L3Harris, Boeing Rotorcraft in Ridley Park). The housing story is the best-value proposition of any major Northeast city: a rowhouse in Graduate Hospital or Fishtown runs $450K-$750K, and Mt. Airy or West Philly starter homes list below $400K. The catch is the Philadelphia City Wage Tax — 3.75% for residents, 3.44% for non-residents who work in the city — which makes suburban residency meaningfully cheaper. Commute reality is SEPTA's Regional Rail (Paoli/Thorndale, Trenton, West Trenton lines) for Main Line and suburban commuters, plus the Market-Frankford El and Broad Street Line for in-city transit. I-76 Schuylkill Expressway congestion is its own genre of suffering. Cost-of-living caveat: BEA RPP for Philly metro is roughly 102% of national, but city-proper is affordable compared to NYC, Boston, or DC on housing — Philadelphia is the rare coastal-corridor city where a top-20% household can buy a single-family without a trust fund.
What this income feels like in Philadelphia
Top 20% in Philadelphia buys you a renovated rowhouse in Fishtown, Passyunk, or Graduate Hospital — solo, no roommates, no help from parents. You Wawa-hoagie your lunches, pay the 3.75% city wage tax with a grimace, and argue about which BYOB is actually worth it. Groceries are reasonable. Childcare runs $1,700-$2,200/month, a genuine win versus NYC or DC. The downsides are honest: SEPTA Regional Rail schedules are a rolling joke, property taxes on a fully reassessed rowhouse can jump 30% in a single OPA cycle, and crime and schools are zip-code lottery variables you actually have to think about.
Top 20% reality check — Philadelphia
- You can buy a renovated rowhouse in Rittenhouse or Fitler Square on a single top-20% income — the best urban single-family deal in the Northeast Corridor at this tier.
- Your 3.75% Philadelphia City Wage Tax plus Pennsylvania's 3.07% flat state tax stack up quietly; a Main Line suburban address saves you the city portion instantly.
- A $150K household income clears top 20% in Philly but feels middle-of-the-pack on the Main Line (Bryn Mawr, Gladwyne), where $1.5M-$3M single-families are the local standard.
Cost-of-living reality — Philadelphia
The median gross rent in Philadelphia is $1,220/month, or roughly 25.4% of the median household income on an annualized basis. The national rent-burden average is about 30%, and anything north of that is treated as rent-burdened by HUD. Philadelphia's median home value is $220,400, a price-to-income ratio of 3.8× — healthy markets run 3–4×, expensive coastal markets routinely exceed 6×. Mean one-way commute is 32.2 minutes, which compounds the real cost of living here for anyone not working remote.
Nearby cities
Other nearby places: Camden, Wilmington, Trenton (benchmark pages coming soon).
Philadelphia community discussions
Local subreddits where cost-of-living and income questions get answered by residents. External links, opens in new tab.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good income in Philadelphia?
In Philadelphia, PA, the median household income is $57,537. Earning above $76,000 puts you in the top 40%, and clearing $135,000 places you in the top 20%. A "good" income depends on household size and housing choice, but $135,000 is a useful upper-middle-class threshold for this city.
How does Philadelphia's median income compare to the US?
Philadelphia's median household income of $57,537 is about 22.9% lower than the US median of $74,580 (ACS 2023). Raw comparisons understate local cost-of-living; Philadelphia's median rent of $1,220 and median home value of $220,400 are the relevant offsets.
What percentile is $100K in Philadelphia?
A household income of $100,000 ranks at roughly the 68th percentile in Philadelphia. That is interpolated from the local ACS quintile breakpoints: p20 $19,500, p40 $40,000, p60 $76,000, p80 $135,000, p95 $275,000.
Is Philadelphia expensive to live in?
Median gross rent in Philadelphia is $1,220/month, which is 25.4% of the median household income on an annualized basis — compared to the national rent-burden average of about 30%. The median home value is $220,400, a price-to-income ratio of 3.8× (healthy markets run 3-4×, expensive markets 6×+).
How is this calculated?
Figures come from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 2023 5-year estimates for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Income percentiles are city-level approximations derived from ACS B19080 household income quintile upper limits, interpolated from the local median and distribution. Rent burden uses B25071 (median gross rent as % of household income) and mean commute uses B08303.
Methodology & data sources
Calculations on this page use published benchmarks from US federal statistical agencies. Percentile breakpoints are interpolated linearly between published cells. Figures are in current-year USD unless noted. Numbers are educational estimates, not personalized financial advice.