Economy of Philadelphia
Philadelphia is the center of economic activity in both Pennsylvania and the four-state Delaware Valley metropolitan region of the United States. Philadelphia's close geographical and transportation connections to other large metropolitan economies along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States have been cited as offering a significant competitive advantage for business creation and entrepreneurship.[1] Five Fortune 500 companies are headquartered in the city. As of 2021[update], the Philadelphia metropolitan area was estimated to produce a gross metropolitan product (GMP) of US$479 billion,[2] an increase from the $445 billion calculated by the Bureau of Economic Analysis for 2017,[3] representing the ninth largest U.S. metropolitan economy. Philadelphia was rated by the GaWC as a 'Beta' city in its 2016 ranking of world cities.[4]
Philadelphia has shifted to an
Economic sectors
Philadelphia's economic sectors include higher education, manufacturing, oil refining, food processing, health care and biotechnology, telecommunications, tourism and financial services.
Federal presence
The federal government has several institutions in Philadelphia. The city served as the capital city of the United States, before the construction of Washington, D.C. Today, the East Coast operations of the United States Mint are based near the historic district, and the Federal Reserve Bank's Philadelphia division is based there as well. Philadelphia is also home to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Fortune 500 corporations
The Delaware Valley contains the headquarters of twelve Fortune 500 corporations, four of which are in Philadelphia proper.[9]
The
Rail transit
With the historic presence of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and the large ridership at 30th Street Station, Amtrak maintains a significant presence in the city. These jobs include customer service representatives and ticket processing and other behind-the-scenes personnel, in addition to the normal functions of the railroad.
Legal sector
The city is home to the law schools of
The headquarters of the
Ten of the 100 largest law firms in the US have their headquarters or largest office[citation needed] in Philadelphia.
Medical facilities
Philadelphia is an important center for medicine, a distinction that it has held since the colonial period. The city is home to the first hospital in the British North American colonies,
With Philadelphia's importance as a medical research center, the region supports the
Tourism
Tourism is a major industry in Philadelphia, which was the 11th-most-visited city in the United States in 2008. It welcomed 710,000 visitors from foreign countries in 2008, up 29% from the previous year.[11]
Shopping
Shopping options in
Philadelphia has a few eclectic neighborhood shopping districts, which generally consist of a few blocks along a major neighborhood thoroughfare, such as in
There are several large shopping malls and strip malls in the region, including Philadelphia Mills in Northeast Philadelphia, and many in the suburbs, most notably the King of Prussia mall in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, 19 miles (31 km) from the heart of the city. The King of Prussia mall is the largest shopping mall on the U.S. East Coast[12] and the largest in the country in terms of leasable retail space.
Innovation
During the 20th century, the city and its suburbs were a focal point of retail innovation. Suburban Square in Ardmore, is sometimes considered the first modern shopping center in the world. Built in stages from 1927 to 1931, it was one of the first institutions to define the Philadelphia Main Line in the 1920s.[relevant?] Since then, large malls such as Cherry Hill Mall and King of Prussia have opened nearby.
Some of the first modern
Philadelphia was the home of many pioneering supermarket chains during the same period, many of which had trademark architecture. The longest-running of these is
Innovation firsts
Philadelphia was the location of the first examples in the United States of a number of institutions, including:[13][14]
- Advertising agency
- Art school & museum
- Botanical garden
- Cancer hospital
- De Facto Central Bank, Chartered by the Congress of the Confederation
- Central Bank, Chartered by the United States Congress
- Electronic computer
- Eye hospital
- Hospital
- Fire company
- Fire insurance company
- Labor union
- Medical school
- Mint
- Municipal water system
- Pediatric hospital
- Penitentiary
- Pharmacy school
- Post office
- Public library
- Savings bank
- Stock exchange
- Title insurance company
- University
- Zoo
See also
- Outline of Philadelphia – Economy of Philadelphia
- Economy of Pennsylvania
References
- ^ "Why You Should Start a Business in Philadelphia". Fransmart News. 8 November 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
- ^ "Gross domestic product (GDP) by metropolitan area". U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
- ^ "Gross domestic product (GDP) by metropolitan area". U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. September 18, 2018. Archived from the original on December 1, 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
- ^ "The World According to GaWC 2016". Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
- ^ Eramian, Daniel (November 2, 2020). "Is Philadelphia's biotech cluster faltering? Experts say no". STAT. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
- ^ "Q1 2023". PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor. April 12, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- ^ Park Statistics, National Park Service.
- ^ "The Big 6 Media Companies". Retrieved November 5, 2022.
- ^ "Fortune 500". CNN Money. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
- ^ Lucas Downey and Somer Anderson (May 19, 2022). "Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX)". Dotdash Meredith. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
- ^ The Earthtimes (May 18, 2009). "Philadelphia Achieves Greatest Increase in U.S. International Visitation – 11th Most-Visited City". Earthtimes.org. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
- ^ "Philadelphia Inquirer | 26 September 2004 | Put on your shopping shoes to hit a wide variety of stores". February 18, 2007. Archived from the original on February 18, 2007. Retrieved July 25, 2009.
- ^ Philadelphia Firsts 1681–1899, ushistory.org
- ^ Philadelphia Firsts Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine, about.com