Philly is Fourth Worst City For Building Wealth
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Of the 18 largest cities in the United States, Philadelphia is the fourth worst for building wealth according to a study from Bankrate.
The study examined five factors: how much you can save after living expenses, the health of the job market, the housing market, access to financial services, and educational opportunities to help advance careers.
Philly ranked 15th overall. The three cities that ranked lower were Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Diego.
Philly was 17th (second to last) in after-tax, savable income but did slightly better in labor market and debt level, ranking 10th in both categories. Philly ranked 11th in the country in housing market health and 13th for access to financial services.
Top cities for saving money:
- Houston
- Washington, D.C.
- Cleveland
- Detroit
- New York
Should we be surprised? A study last year put Philly’s GDP growth 9th out of the top 10 metropolitan areas in the U.S., showing growth of 9.4 percent between 2009 and 2012. Behind Philly again was L.A. with GDP growth of 7.5 percent.
The Business Journals’ On Numbers Economic Index in 2013 ranked Philadelphia as 89th in the country, a spot above Scranton-Wilkes-Barre and a spot below Harrisburg. Philly’s 5-year private sector job growth rate was -.08 percent.
On the retirement savings front, Philly does not fair too well either. The Employee Benefit Research Institute’s 2015 Retirement Confidence Survey put Philadelphia as 140th out of 150 cities in the country, with affordability as its weakest trait.
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