December 10, 2025
Molly McVety/PhillyVoice
Nearly 1 in 2 residents in Center City's newer apartment complexes hails from outside of the Philadelphia area, a survey from the Center City District shows.
After moving to Center City from Cincinnati in 2021 for a new job, Nicole Anderson realized that so much of what she thought she knew about Philadelphia was misinformed.
"I had not spent much time in the Northeast at all before moving here," Anderson, 31, said. "All I knew about Philadelphia was that their sports fans were intense. I had an impression ... that people from (the area) are rude and that it's cold. My experience has been quite the opposite. I find that my personality jives very well with the culture. ... I absolutely love it."
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Anderson's experience is part of a larger trend unfolding in Center City. It's attracting new residents from other major cities, particularly along the East Coast, a survey of apartment complex residents published last week by the Center City District shows.
The survey found that 44% of respondents had moved to Center City from areas outside of Southeastern Pennsylvania. They came from 37 states, Puerto Rico and several countries. The most common states were New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. California, Florida, other areas in Pennsylvania and Texas also ranked near the top.
New York City was the most common city followed by Cherry Hill, Boston, Chicago and Atlanta.
"I just thought that was striking," said Clint Randall, the CCD's vice president of economic development. "A significant share of these people are coming from other major cities. It really speaks to the fact that there is a draw to Philadelphia and people, for a variety of reasons, are choosing to give Philly a try."
Randall said the impetus for the survey came after a recent Housing Report found one-quarter of new housing units built in Philadelphia last year were located in Center City. CCD officials worked with four major residential developers — Alterra Property Group, Pearl Properties, Scully Company and Greystar — to survey residents about where they moved from, their occupations, primary modes of transit and other information.
"A lot of folks, ourselves included, were frankly saying 'Who could possibly be moving into all these new units?'" Randall said. "I think that's a reasonable question for Philadelphians to have, because so many of the apartments that come online are very high-end units that are unprecedented in Philadelphia."
The survey received 682 responses from people living in two dozen apartment buildings in Center City. Their average monthly rent was $2,645, but the survey did not ask about their household sizes.
The age of the survey respondents skewed younger — 53% were 25-34 and 83% were under 45.
The most common occupations were health care workers, at 32%, followed by people business, professional or financial service workers, at 27%. Workers in hospitality, food, leisure, travel and life sciences accounted for 11%.
"There is a perception that these buildings must be vacant, because no one can afford them and I think this study reminds us that ... these are high-paying jobs that dominate Center City and University City," Randall said.
About 80% of respondents said a car was not necessary for daily life in Center City, and 55% said they do not own a car. More than 70% said they can walk, bike or take public transit to work. Randall said that may shed light on why people are drawn to Center City.
"People love the fact that your office job can be a block from your shopping street which can be two blocks from where you live," he said. "There's a scale to Philadelphia that's really special and hard to get elsewhere."
Randall said he believes this survey will be the "first chapter" of more comprehensive reports that can be used to inform planning and policy decisions by listening to experiences from residents more directly. But, he said, the biggest takeaway is that people view Philadelphia as a great place to live, despite its potentially unwelcoming reputation.
"I love it here," Anderson said. "I love my apartment and the walkability of the area. My job is here and I love my job. I will be staying for a while."
