Philadelphia is no longer the poorest big city in the United States. But there’s not much to celebrate in handing off that crown.

The city now has the second-greatest poverty rate among the 10 most populous U.S. cities, according to new data released by the Census Bureau on Thursday.

Philly’s poverty rate dropped to 19.7% in 2024, the first time it fell below 20% since at least 1979, according to Census figures. Roughly 300,000 Philadelphians are currently living in poverty.

Houston is now the nation’s poorest big city, with a poverty rate of 21.2%. In last year’s census data, Texas’ most populous city was less than 1% behind Philly in poverty rate, which fell within the data’s margin of error. In this year’s data release, Houston’s edge over Philly was within the margin of error.

“This data shows Philadelphia is headed in the right direction,” Tiffany Thurman, chief of staff to Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, said by email.

“The Parker Administration takes no comfort in knowing that 1 in 5 Philadelphians still live in poverty. As recent research from Harvard economist, Raj Chetty has shown, the Philadelphia region ranked 50 out of 50 for economic mobility in U.S. metropolitan regions. Our work to minimize cyclical generations of poverty in the City remains a priority,” she said.

Others also acknowledged the need for more interventions.

“It’s certainly a milestone that our poverty rate has finally dropped below 20%, after more than a decade of incremental year-over-year declines. We have a lot of wonderful local efforts that are helping to lift people out of poverty including cash assistance and upskilling,” Emily Dowdall, president of Policy Solutions at Reinvestment Fund, said in an email.

“But I wouldn’t say it’s time for celebration, and we need to keep our eye on the ball when it comes to meaningfully reducing poverty, including strategic investments in affordable housing, healthcare and economic development,” she said.

A steady decline, but not felt by all

Philly’s poverty rate has been gradually declining since it reached a high point of 28.4% in 2011. From 2022 to 2023, it dropped over a full percentage point from 21.7% to 20.3%, the largest decrease the city had seen in a decade.

Katie Martin, project director for Philadelphia research and policy at the Pew Charitable Trusts, noted that while the citywide poverty rate has gone down significantly, “deep poverty”, which describes people making 50% or less than the poverty line, has declined more slowly.

Since 2010, Philadelphia’s deep poverty rate has only decreased by about 4%, or by roughly 57,000 people. In 2024, the deep poverty rate was 9.4%.

“The gains have been tremendous, but there’s a lot of Philadelphians who are still experiencing this every day,” she said.

Poverty is not experienced equally by the city’s demographic groups. While the citywide poverty rate hovers under 20%, just over 27% of children in Philadelphia are impoverished. The poverty rate for women is slightly higher than it is for men, at 21.1% versus 18.1% respectively.

The city’s largest racial minority groups each experience poverty above the citywide rate, including 22.3% of Black people, 21.3% of Asian people, and 27.6% of Hispanic people.

Ultimately, while the poverty line data is instructive, it doesn’t show the entire picture of what it is like to live in Philadelphia today.

“Many Philadelphians who are technically above the poverty line are still struggling to cover basic needs like housing, transportation, and groceries,” Dowdall said.

“So there is more work to be done”