PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A combination of crime and COVID-19 was responsible for driving residents out of Philadelphia last year, researchers say. U.S. Census Bureau data shows the city lost more than 16,000 residents in 2023 — the third year in a row that Philly's population shrunk.
The start of the pandemic in 2020, followed by civil unrest over police brutality, kicked off the first exodus of people from the city. Affluent baby boomers and empty nesters traded their high-rise condos for more space.
The second wave of people to swap city life for the suburbs were millennials and Gen Z-ers, who took advantage of the shift to working from home during the pandemic.
While 16,000 people left Philly in 2023, Dr. Kevin Gillen, an economist with Drexel University's Lindy Institute of Innovation, said that number has been the smallest loss since 2020.
"We're starting to see some encouraging signs that if we haven't hit bottom and start to come back up, we're at least close to that turning point," he said.
Reports of violent crime offenses are down 13% from this time last year, and Mayor Cherelle Parker is calling on businesses to bring workers back full-time. Gillen expects millennials and Gen Zers who purchased a home in Philly's neighboring counties within the last three years to put up a fight.
"What I hear from senior partners and office managers these days is trying to lure them back has been very challenging, but the rate at which they are leaving has also slowed," he said.
Philadelphia's population stood at more than 1.5 million as of last summer.
In all, the Census Bureau estimated more than 50,000 residents have moved out of the city since 2020.
