Philadelphians’ views of their city have improved dramatically since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022. In a Pew survey conducted from January to March 2025, 59% of Philadelphians said the city is on the right track, up 23 percentage points from the last poll in 2022. Nevertheless, there still is lingering concern about public safety and personal finances. Nearly two-thirds of respondents cited crime as the top issue facing the city and fewer residents think their finances are in “excellent” or “good” shape (42%) than in 2020, when half held that opinion. Read more from the recent Pew Charitable Trusts survey.

The 2025 Philadelphia Resident Survey —conducted Jan. 2 through March 10, 2025, for The Pew Charitable Trusts by SSRS, used address-based sampling, as individuals were originally contacted by mail. A total of 2,289 Philadelphia residents completed the survey.