July 14, 2021

By Kennedy Rose

While it’s no surprise that thousands of residents fled Philadelphia during the Covid-19 pandemic, a recent report shows that the suburbs did not gain nearly as many people as the city lost.

Using migration and address change data supplied by the United States Postal Service, a report from Kevin C. Gillen, an economist with Drexel University’s Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation, found that the city lost more than 35,000 households while the suburbs gained just 4,400 between February 2020 and April 2021. 

The pandemic upended thousands of Philadelphians’ living situations. Young professionals may have moved back home with their parents to save on rent while working remotely, renters increasingly considered buying homes, and many of the wealthy retreated to second homes or rented enclaves in the suburbs or more rural areas to escape the densely populated city.

Philadelphia proper lost 200,588 households according to USPS data and gained back 165,098, showing a net loss of over 35,000 households. Meanwhile,the suburbs saw 456,625 households leave while adding 461,030 — a net growth of 4,405 households.

The 19103 ZIP code, which encompasses Rittenhouse Square and Logan Square, saw the most residents leave during the pandemic. That ZIP code saw a net loss of 2,483 households between February 2020 and April 2021. University City's 19104 ZIP code was close behind with a net decline of 2,294 households during the pandemic.

Gillen’s research shows that people looked to move away from urban centers, commuter suburbs and areas with high percentages of renters or multifamily housing during the pandemic.

Gaining the most residents was northern Delaware's 19709, which encompasses Middletown and some smaller towns nestled along the Delaware River. The 19709 ZIP code saw a positive net change of 1,592 households, the only Philadelphia-area community to increase by more than 1,000 households during the pandemic. Other popular suburbs were Downingtown and Mount Laurel, which had net gains of 854 and 608 households, respectively.

People increasingly migrated toward more outer suburbs and rural areas, higher-income neighborhoods and towns, areas with a larger population of people over the age of 65, and places with a higher average educational attainment. Middletown, Downingtown and Mount Laurel all have median household incomes close to or more than $100,000, with fewer than a quarter of households being renters.

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