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Philadelphia · image via Wikimedia Commons
Prism Geo · United States · Pennsylvania · Philadelphia

Philadelphia

Pennsylvania, United States · updated 2026-08-06

Philadelphia is a big-company, university-and-healthcare city with a broad startup bench and a visible technology-services street economy. Its civic mood is harder: 47% of news coverage reads negative, and road-safety attention is rising sharply even as crime takes a smaller share. Opportunity is strongest in healthcare, research and software, but daily life comes with persistent violence and public-safety pressure.

Philadelphia · image via Wikimedia Commons
news reported (civic)
41,424
companies + mapped places
7,999 + 103
research works (est.)
≈184,702
govt money announcements
600
The city at a glance
economic fabric

What is Philadelphia made of?

🏟 Sports
10/10
🏥 Healthcare
9/10
🛍 Retail
9/10
🏭 Manufacturing
9/10
💻 Technology
9/10
🎓 Education
8/10
🌱 Sustainability
7/10
🚛 Logistics
7/10
🛕 Religion & tourism
7/10
🌾 Agriculture
5/10

news coverage + 3×registered companies + 2×mapped places, log-scaled vs strongest sector

momentum

What the city turned toward · Jan–Apr 2026

Each topic's share of news attention, January–April 2026 against September–December 2025 — news ingestion paused in May, so this is the latest complete window.

Immigration Border

11 → 51 news reports
▲127%

Missing Persons

38 → 17 news reports
▼78%

Environment

8 → 28 news reports
▲71%

Accidents

141 → 458 news reports
▲59%

Public Safety

20 → 65 news reports
▲59%

Employment

13 → 11 news reports
▼59%

Corruption

18 → 23 news reports
▼38%

Healthcare

17 → 24 news reports
▼31%

Crime

396 → 639 news reports
▼21%

Disasters Emergencies

8 → 13 news reports
▼21%

a rising share means the city's attention is turning toward it — not necessarily more incidents

top city themes

What Philadelphia's news is about

Themes across the city's entire news coverage — ≈331.1K located reports — with each theme's momentum, its most specific keywords, and how the coverage feels. A CRITICAL badge means most of that theme's coverage is extremely negative.

Sports

▲28.4% growing
Nba Team Legends · Mlb Starting Pitchers · Mlb Player Performance · Nfl Player Stats
59% positive coverage

Football

▼19.3% declining
Nfl Player Stats · Nfl Starting Lineup · Nfl Team Lineups · Super Bowl Moments
54% positive coverage

Politics

▲164.3% growing
Multiple Victim Shooting · Gun Violence · Mass Shooting · Neighborhood Violence
75% negative coverage

Business

▲52.6% growing
Nba Expansion Teams · Nba Team Legends · Nba Salary Cap · Craft Beer Marketing
81% positive coverage

Crime

▲107.0% growing
Multiple Victim Shooting · Mass Shooting · School Homicide · Public Massacre
100% negative coverage

Entertainment

▲64.6% growing
Super Bowl Moments · Nba Team Legends · Wrestlemania Main Event · Wwe Championship
78% positive coverage

Baseball

▲8.8% growing
Mlb Starting Pitchers · Mlb Player Performance · Mlb Team Standings · Mlb Team Strategies
57% positive coverage

Government

▲150.0% growing
Election Official Misconduct · Electoral Fraud · Election Interference Probes · Voter Fraud Prosecutions
70% negative coverage

Technology

▲100.0% growing
Cable Multicast Delivery · Black Friday Offers · Cyber Monday Discounts · Retail Season Deals
87% positive coverage

momentum window: Jan–Apr 2026 vs Sep–Dec 2025 · sentiment is a property of the news coverage, not a city rating

city signals

The character of Philadelphia

  • ✓Sports-shaped attention— Sports leads sector strength at 10/10
  • ✓Healthcare heavyweight— 978 healthcare companies support a 9/10 sector strength
  • ✓University research engine— 26386 papers come from local institutions
  • ✓Active startup pipeline— 1181 companies were founded since 2018
  • ✓Tech-services street economy— Software, web design and marketing lead mapped businesses
  • ✓Large-company anchor— Aramark, Comcast, Xfinity and Cigna dominate employer size
  • ✓Serious funding bench— 992 companies have raised outside money
  • ✓Transport investment focus— Transport leads 600 city-naming government announcements
everyday life

Living in Philadelphia means…

  • ✓sharing streets with rising risk— Accident and road-safety attention rose 10.4 points
  • ✓having research hospitals nearby— Universities and health systems dominate hiring and research
  • ✓working around big institutions— Deloitte, universities, Jefferson and travel-health recruiters lead hiring
  • ✓keeping public safety in view— Crime and violence remain the largest civic problem category
  • ✓finding service-led job options— Service firms and institutions fill the top recruiter ranks
  • ✓seeing transport lead public spending— Transport leads 600 government announcements naming Philadelphia

read from the news record — not a survey

hidden depth

Things most people don't know

  • Philadelphia institutions produced 26386 papers in the available research data, and the University of Pennsylvania accounted for 12367.
  • A separate body of 11107 papers studying Philadelphia itself is led by leukemia-treatment topics.
  • Modus raised $85 million to acquire CPA firms and deploy AI tools for audits.
  • Walmart removed every self-checkout machine from its South Philadelphia Supercenter and brought cashiers back.
  • Pennsylvania awarded Rhoads Industries a $100 million contract to expand submarine fabrication.
The verdict & benchmarks — PhiladelphiaWhat the record is made of — PhiladelphiaJustice & accountability — PhiladelphiaEvents & specifics — PhiladelphiaThe civic record of PhiladelphiaWhat problems are increasing?What diseases are rising?What projects is my government investing in?What companies are hiring?What skills are in demand?Which industries dominate?The startup picture in PhiladelphiaIs this city good for manufacturing?What research is done in Philadelphia?What research studies Philadelphia?Who runs the political conversation?What is the news saying?
Safety & civic life
Civic intelligence · Prism engine

Where does Philadelphia stand against the developed world?

Six-nation developed-median report card (USA · UK · FR · DE · AU · CA) computed from the same data, like-for-like. ▼ worse than the norm, ▲ better.

Six-nation developed median (USA · UK · France · Germany · Australia · Canada) — ▼ worse than the norm, ▲ better

Fatality-linked News
22.0%here
15.3%benchmark
▼
Road-accident Accountability
4.0%here
5.8%benchmark
▼
Enforcement Action
19.7%here
20.3%benchmark
▼
Cases Concluded
5.1%here
5.5%benchmark
▼
Corruption Load
2.2%here
1.8%benchmark
▼
Communal Politics
4.0%here
3.6%benchmark
▼
Civic record homeBenchmarksThe recordJusticeEvents
Open the full data →

four chapters, plus the politics and money layers

Civic record

What problems are increasing?

accidents road safety is taking the fastest-growing slice of the city's news (up 10.4 points), with labor employment next (up 1.7). Crime still leads in volume, but its share is shrinking.

Each problem's slice of city news — change in points, 2024–26 vs 2021–23
Accidents Road SafetyAccidents Road SafetyAccidents Road Safety: +10.4 points of coverage share+10.4Labor EmploymentLabor EmploymentLabor Employment: +1.7 points of coverage share+1.7Governance PolicyGovernance PolicyGovernance Policy: +1.6 points of coverage share+1.6Infrastructure UtilitiesInfrastructure UtilitiesInfrastructure Utilities: +1.2 points of coverage share+1.2Legal JudicialLegal JudicialLegal Judicial: +0.9 points of coverage share+0.9Disasters EmergenciesDisasters EmergenciesDisasters Emergencies: -1.1 points of coverage share-1.1Policing Law EnforcementPolicing Law EnforcementPolicing Law Enforcement: -1.9 points of coverage share-1.9Public HealthPublic HealthPublic Health: -1.9 points of coverage share-1.9Crime ViolenceCrime ViolenceCrime Violence: -12.4 points of coverage share-12.4
Fastest-rising specific problems
aircraft crash +6.9 ptsstrike +1.1 ptsbuilding collapse +0.6 ptshomicide attempted +0.5 ptscampus protest +0.5 ptsparking garage collapse +0.5 ptsdefamation lawsuit +0.4 ptstraffic accident +0.4 pts
Summary

Road danger, not crime, is the clearest worsening civic signal. Accidents and road safety took a bigger slice of local news coverage, up 10.4 points, while crime and violence fell 12.4 points. Aircraft crashes were the fastest-rising specific problem.

WATCH Watch whether road-safety attention produces visible prevention and enforcement.
Open the full data →

41,424 pieces of news reported

Health

What diseases are rising?

Rising: nursing home outbreak.

SignalNews Reported2024–26 Trend
Disease Outbreak130▼ receding
Pandemic Outbreak74▼ receding
Coronavirus Outbreak19▼ receding
Viral Outbreak16— flat
Vaccine Preventable Disease Outbreak13▼ receding
Pandemic Response11▼ receding
Covid Outbreak10▼ receding
Public-health coverage by year
2026: 272017202627
Summary

Outbreak attention is fading across nearly every tracked disease category. Disease outbreaks still led with 130 items, but were receding; pandemic and coronavirus outbreaks were receding too, while viral outbreaks were flat.

WATCH Watch whether the flat viral-outbreak signal turns upward as broader outbreak attention fades.
Open the full data →

disease signals drawn from local news coverage

Money & governance
Public money

What projects is my government investing in?

transport leads 600 tracked announcements — development-authority land purchase, Smart City works and national-highway tenders anchor the money trail.

Announcement themes
Largest place-directed announcements
DateThemeLevelAmountWhat
2025-11Social WelfareNational$100 MillionThe Trump administration is processing approximately $100 million in SNAP benefits to…
2025-07Defense SecurityNational$100 MillionPennsylvania state government awarded Rhoads Industries a $100 million contract to expand submarine…
2024-05HealthLocal$100 MillionMayor Cherelle L. Parker proposed spending $100 million on new triage and wellness facilities to…
2024-05OtherState / Province$100 MillionGovernor Shapiro announced a $100 million budget allocation for public safety and armed violence in…
2023-07EducationNational$100 MillionThe Pennsylvania Senate passed a $45.5 billion spending plan including $100 million for the PASS
2023-11Urban HousingLocal$98 MillionPennsylvania allocated $98 million from federal COVID-19 stimulus funds through the Housing Options…
Summary

Transport is the clearest spending priority, leading 600 city-naming announcements with 138. Big-ticket attention also spans welfare, submarine fabrication, public health, public safety, education and housing, several at $100 million.

WATCH Watch whether announced transport and public-safety money becomes visible delivery.
Open the full data →

amounts are announcement headlines — shown, never summed

Politics

Who runs the political conversation?

9283 statements track Philadelphia politics — communal-coded rhetoric runs 3.6% (developed-world median ≈3.65%; a typical Indian city runs ≈11%).

Loudest voices
Stance mix
supports · 4071opposes · 2627condemns · 1342proposes · 732endorses · 243demands · 105
Summary

Political conversation is loud but not especially religious or communal by the comparison provided. Just 3.6% of 9283 tracked mentions carry that framing, almost identical to the developed-world median; Jim Kenney is the loudest named voice, followed by Donald Trump.

WATCH Watch whether newer city leaders displace legacy figures in the conversation.
Open the full data →

from political statements naming the city

Economy & work
Jobs

What companies are hiring?

Deloitte leads 6,702 tracked postings; top advertised role: Project Manager.

Top hiring companies · May–Jul 2026
Hiring volume by month · May–Jul 2026
Summary

Philadelphia’s hiring market is institution-heavy and service-led. Deloitte leads with 96 openings, while the University of Pennsylvania, Jefferson, travel-health recruiters and charter schools make education and healthcare highly visible among top employers.

WATCH Watch whether demand broadens beyond consulting, universities, healthcare staffing and schools.
Open the full data →

6702 job postings tagged to the city in May–Jul 2026 (a floor, not a census)

Jobs

What skills are available?

Most-demanded skills: excel, microsoft office, word.

Most-demanded skills
Summary

Employers prize office fluency before specialist technology. Excel leads with 333 mentions, while project management sits ahead of SQL and Python; the message is practical: office tools, coordination and data skills travel well across the city’s jobs.

WATCH Watch whether SQL and Python move closer to the city’s dominant office skills.
Open the full data →

demand-side signal (what employers ask for), not a resident skill census

Economy

Which industries dominate?

Registered economy: marketing and advertising, real estate, computer software lead 7,999 tracked companies · biggest tracked employer: Aramark.

Registered companies by industry
Street economy — mapped places
Summary

Philadelphia’s economy is broad rather than single-track: sports scores 10/10, while healthcare, retail, manufacturing and technology each score 9/10. Company registrations also show strong representation in marketing, real estate, software and healthcare.

WATCH Watch which broad strength converts attention into durable company growth.
Open the full data →

company registry (startup-skewed) + mapped business places

Economy

Is this city good for manufacturing?

Emerging Base (1/4 signals) — each signal below is a live threshold that can fail.

  • 132 of 7999 registered startups/companies (2%) are manufacturing-adjacent
  • infrastructure news share rising (up 1.2 points)
Summary

Manufacturing looks visible in the wider economy but thin in the registered company base. The computed rating is 1/4, with 132 of 7999 companies manufacturing-adjacent, even as infrastructure news takes a bigger share.

WATCH Watch whether the submarine-fabrication contract and rising infrastructure attention produce a thicker supplier base.
Open the full data →

computed verdict — each signal is a live threshold that can fail

Startups & capital
Startups

Is there VC activity?

992 of 7,999 tracked companies have raised outside money — #3 among its peer set.

Funded startups — peer cities
Summary

Capital reaches a meaningful minority of the company base: 992 of 7999 tracked companies have ever raised outside money. That gives Philadelphia more funded startups than Baltimore or Washington, but far fewer than Boston or Chicago.

WATCH Watch whether local founders close the funding gap with larger regional rivals.
Open the full data →

round amounts sparse for tier-3 cities — counts shown, dollar totals withheld

Startups

Is a startup ecosystem forming?

Formation is real — 1181 companies founded since 2018 — but capital progression is weak: deadpool 5.8%, and stages are dominated by Unfunded.

Companies founded by year
2026: 9200820269
Stage distribution
Unfunded · 1953Deadpooled · 505Acquired · 415Funding Raised · 316Seed · 242Private · 170
Summary

Company formation is lively, but capital is not the default. There are 1181 recently founded companies, while 1953 tracked businesses are unfunded and 505 are deadpooled; acquisitions and seed-stage firms nevertheless show several paths beyond bootstrapping.

WATCH Watch whether young companies progress from formation into seed funding and acquisitions.
Open the full data →

gate: ≥150 companies & ≥20 recent founds — passed (7999/1181)

The knowledge engine
Research · Prism stance layer

What research is done IN Philadelphia?

University of Pennsylvania leads ≈184,702 estimated works. 44% of oriented output reads promising/breakthrough — clusters in children's health, women's health, healthcare.

Institutions (papers in sample)
Research orientation
Opportunities (promising + breakthrough)
Children's Health · 307Women's Health · 183Healthcare · 183Mental Health · 154Machine Learning · 153Neuroscience · 144Breast Cancer · 109
Cautions (cautionary + critical)
Children's Health · 97Women's Health · 95Healthcare · 94COVID-19 · 52Patients' Health · 36Mental Health · 34Patient Health · 31
Problems flagged
Healthcare · 258Children's Health · 227Women's Health · 136COVID-19 · 128Research · 98Mental Health · 90Patient Care · 76
Also: research ABOUT Philadelphia →
Summary

Philadelphia’s institutions form a formidable research engine: 26386 papers in the available research data, led by the University of Pennsylvania with 12367. Children’s health, women’s health, healthcare, mental health, machine learning and neuroscience stand out as opportunity areas.

WATCH Watch for research momentum where healthcare and machine learning intersect.
Open the full data →

figures marked ≈ are scaled estimates from a partial sample · Prism stance layer over 2017+ papers

Research · Prism stance layer

What research is done FOR Philadelphia?

Narrower but distinct: 11107 title-matched works study Philadelphia itself — led by chronic myeloid leukemia treatments, acute lymphoblastic leukemia research, acute myeloid leukemia research.

Top topics in city-focused research
Works about the city by year
2026: 192000202619
Summary

Research focused on Philadelphia is strikingly medical. Among 11107 papers, chronic myeloid leukemia treatments lead with 140, followed by acute lymphoblastic leukemia research; history of science and medicine, race and American society also appear, but much further down.

WATCH Watch whether research about the city expands beyond blood disorders and medicine.
Open the full data →

papers whose title or entities mention Philadelphia (any author location) · partial sample · distinct from research done at the city's institutions

The pulse
News pulse

What is the news saying?

News attention is 47% negative-toned (typical for city civic coverage) — the volume trend tracks total attention on Philadelphia.

Monthly news-feature volume
2026-05-01: 602023-012026-0560
Summary

The overall mood is wary: 47% of coverage reads negative. Recent attention shifted sharply toward immigration, accidents, the environment and public safety, while missing persons and employment lost share; business news still brought a fintech raise, bank appointments and store openings.

WATCH Watch whether constructive business activity begins to soften the city’s negative news tone.
Open the full data →

from location-tagged news · sentiment skew is a property of news, not the city

Need to go deeper than a city?

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