Philly's Population Is Up for 1st Time Since 1950

Census: 1.52 million living in the city of Brotherly Love

Philly seems to be growing.

For the first time in 60 years, Census figures indicate Philadelphia's population has risen.

Philly’s 2010 population count is 1,526,006. That’s up a little less than 0.6 percent from about 1.518 million Philadelphians in 2000.

One person excited for Philly’s first population increase since the 1950s is Mayor Michael Nutter.

“Today, I am proud to be the first mayor since Mayor Samuel in 1950 to announce an increase in Philadelphia’s population,” Nutter said.

“It is my great pleasure and honor to say we are back. Philadelphia is growing. Philadelphia is rising.”

Nutter trumpeted some strategic planning and community involvement in being responsible for the population increase.

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“It is no coincidence that the strategic investments we made have attracted new individuals to our dynamic, growing communities. We have newcomers arriving in Philadelphia from all over the region, the nation and the world.”

According to federal data on Pennsylvania released Wednesday, Allentown and Reading have also shown major growth since the 2000 Census.

The city of Allentown grew by 10.7 percent, while Reading increased by 8.5 percent.

Overall, the number of Pennsylvania residents increased 3.4 percent, to just over 12.7 million. The state's Hispanic population has grown nearly 83 percent.

Counties in eastern and central Pennsylvania experienced the biggest gains over the past decade. Western counties generally lost residents.

Pittsburgh's population decreased 8.6 percent and Erie lost 1.9 percent.


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