In a story which did not make The Philadelphia Inquirer, at least not as far as I could see, Philadelphia was rated as the 178th least safe big city in the United States, out of a total of 182, with only Baltimore, Memphis, New Orleans, and Baton Rouge being worse. Even St Louis was ranked safer, at 173rd. And now there’s this, which the Inky did publish:
Philadelphia is once again the poorest big city in the United States
New data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey indicates Philly has reclaimed the top spot from Houston after the two cities swapped spots in 2024.
by Nate File | Friday, October 30, 2026 | 5:01 AM EDT
Unfortunately, Philadelphia is back on top.
Philly has reclaimed its unwanted title of the poorest big city in the United States, according to data released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau. In 2025, 20.4% of Philadelphians lived in poverty, the percentage rising a year after the city’s poverty rate fell below 20% for the first time since at least 1979. The figure also marked Philadelphia’s first increase in the poverty rate since 2011.
The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, which measures a trove of population data, found the closest large cities to be New York and Houston, each with a 17.7% poverty rate.
The Census Bureau measures the poverty rate by determining whether an individual’s or a household’s income is below a certain threshold that makes it difficult to afford basic needs. That threshold depends upon the number of people in a household — in 2025, the poverty line for a family of four was an income of roughly $32,750.
The list is for only the ten largest cities; in a chart including “peer cities,” Detroit (30.4%), Cleveland (24.1%), and Baltimore (20.9%) ranked poorer than the City of Brotherly Love.
Of course, whether the poorest cities are in Democrat or Republican-controlled states, there is one commonality among all of them: the cities themselves are all run by Democrats. In Philly, it might get even worse, and more dangerous, as the newspaper is reporting that Philly’s progressive left is plotting a City Council takeover in 2027: They were energized by Chris Rabb’s primary win for Congress. Now, the city’s left is coming for Philadelphia City Council — and they want a majority.