Ranked 7th of 387 metropolitan areas in the United States, Philadelphia, PA counts 6.27 million residents. Below: who lives here, which trades are crowded, and where a local advertiser can gain ground.
Officially the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metropolitan statistical area, it takes in Philadelphia, Camden and Wilmington across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland.
The median household in Philadelphia, PA earns $91,289 a year, 13 percent above the national figure (the US median is $80,734). Home values tell their own story; here the median is $351,900, 6 percent above the national figure. For a business that sells to homeowners, that combination sets the ceiling on what a job is worth.
Age and education shape how people search and who answers the phone. Bachelor's degree or higher: 42.2% of adults, 6 points above the US share. Owner-occupied housing 66.8%, 2 points above the US share, which is the figure home-service advertisers should watch. Of 3,337,728 people in the labor force, 5.9% are unemployed, about the same as the US share. The median resident is 39.3 years old, about the same as the national median.
Against the state as a whole, the median income is 17 percent higher than the Pennsylvania figure, the median home value is 38 percent higher than the Pennsylvania figure, and the number of businesses per resident is 4 percent denser than the Pennsylvania figure; see the Pennsylvania page for the full figures.
There are 153,791 employer businesses in Philadelphia, PA. Per 1,000 people that is 24.5, in line with the national figure. The home-services trades that most often advertise locally number 7,701 establishments, a 5% share, about the same as the US share. The single largest category in the table below is restaurants, with 11,251 locations.
| Trade | Establishments | Per 100,000 residents | vs US mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal care services (all) | 4,473 | 71.3 | 1.51× |
| Beauty salons | 2,170 | 34.6 | 1.40× |
| Grocery and convenience retailers | 2,508 | 40 | 1.36× |
| Child day care services | 2,011 | 32.1 | 1.33× |
| Landscaping services | 2,642 | 42.1 | 1.22× |
| General automotive repair | 1,906 | 30.4 | 1.22× |
| Legal services | 3,593 | 57.3 | 1.08× |
| Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors | 2,118 | 33.8 | 1.04× |
| Dentists | 2,556 | 40.8 | 1.02× |
| Restaurants and other eating places | 11,251 | 179.4 | 0.99× |
| Electrical contractors | 1,496 | 23.9 | 0.98× |
| Other specialty trade contractors (paving, asphalt, fencing) | 738 | 11.8 | 0.94× |
| General freight trucking | 1,989 | 31.7 | 0.92× |
| Roofing contractors | 422 | 6.7 | 0.90× |
| Highway, street and bridge construction | 153 | 2.4 | 0.90× |
| Physicians' offices | 3,565 | 56.8 | 0.89× |
| Automobile dealers | 758 | 12.1 | 0.88× |
| Lessors of real estate (all) | 2,140 | 34.1 | 0.85× |
| Self-storage facilities | 272 | 4.3 | 0.80× |
| Concrete foundation and structure contractors | 285 | 4.5 | 0.66× |
The last column divides the local share of establishments by the national share (1.00 = the same mix as the US).
Crowded categories in Philadelphia, PA: personal care services, beauty salons, grocery stores and child day care services. Personal care services are the widest gap, 4,473 of them, 1.5 times the national share. On the other side, concrete contractors, self-storage operators and real estate lessors are thin: fewer establishments per resident than the US pattern. Concrete contractors are the clearest gap with 285 establishments, about 66% of the share they hold across the US. Plumbing and HVAC contractors, roofing contractors and electrical contractors track the US share closely.
Counted by establishments, the order is restaurants (11,251), personal care services (4,473), legal services (3,593). Per 100,000 residents: restaurants 179.4, followed by personal care services and legal services. Sector view: consumer services (restaurants, salons, child care, grocery) index at 1.2 times the national share, trucking, storage, real estate and road construction at about the same as.
For personal care services, beauty salons and grocery stores, expect the Google Ads auction to be contested: more advertisers per search means higher cost per click and a real premium on ad relevance, landing-page quality and call tracking that proves which keywords produce jobs. With concrete contractors, self-storage operators and real estate lessors in short supply, the map pack often has room; a complete listing and a handful of recent reviews can put a business in it. With income 13 percent above the national figure, the message can lead on quality, warranty and speed rather than the lowest price. An older-than-average market (median age about the same as the national median) responds to search results, review counts and a phone number that is answered; it is less swayed by feed advertising.
A short list of services chosen for this market; the full range is on the services page.
Every Google review answered promptly in the business's own voice.
Search campaigns built around the searches people in Philadelphia, PA actually type, with the geography fenced to where the work is.
The map listing, kept accurate, photographed and posted to every week.
Organic visibility for the searches that do not need an ad to win.
A website that loads fast, states the offer and gets the visitor to the phone.
Digital out-of-home placements along the routes people in Philadelphia, PA drive.
Philadelphia, PA has 6.27 million residents (US Census Bureau ACS 2024 5-year estimate), ranking 7th of 387 metropolitan areas.
The median household income in Philadelphia, PA is $91,289 (ACS 2024 5-year), above the US median of $80,734.
The Census Bureau counts 153,791 employer establishments in Philadelphia, PA (County Business Patterns 2023), or 24.5 businesses per 1,000 residents.
The median home value in Philadelphia, PA is $351,900, and 66.8% of homes are owner-occupied (ACS 2024 5-year).
Measured against the US business mix (County Business Patterns 2023), personal care services, beauty salons and grocery stores have more establishments per resident than the US average; concrete contractors, self-storage operators and real estate lessors have fewer in Philadelphia, PA.
Bring the trade and the towns you serve; we bring the numbers and a plan.
Data: US Census Bureau ACS 2024 5-year estimates and County Business Patterns 2023. Updated 2026-09-29.