Report on Grays Ferry, Philadelphia
Report on Grays Ferry, Philadelphia
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Grays Ferry is a neighborhood situated in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is located on the East bank of the Schuylkill River, Southwest of Centre City, and is home to 1,300 people. This study highlights the changes in socioeconomics, demographics, and housing in Grays Ferry and Philadelphia County between 2012 and 2022, and sheds light on the impact these changes have on residents, particularly lower-income families. Grays Ferry has been an important part of Philadelphia for over 300 years, as it was the easiest route by land to Philadelphia from the South. The Schuylkill River runs alongside the neighbourhood, where a ferry crossing would take people to Philadelphia since as early as the late 1600s, giving the name 'Ferry'. Then, in the 1740s, two brothers, George and Robert Gray, built an Inn on the riverbank along with a floating bridge across the river, giving the neighborhood the name it still has today.
Figure 1: Grays Ferry
Figure 2: Grays Ferry in context of Philadelphia County
Socioeconomics in Grays Ferry in 2012 - 2022
Over the past decade, Grays Ferry has experienced notable improvements in income and employment levels. The neighborhood's unemployment rate decreased from 24% in 2012 to 17% in 2022, representing a 30% overall decrease. This trend reflects a strengthening local job market and improved economic conditions for residents.
A key driver of this improvement appears to be the shift in occupation in the neighborhood. Between 2012 and 2022, the number of Grays Ferry residents employed in management, business, science, and arts occupations grew by 125%. By 2020, over 40% of residents worked in these sectors, compared to just 27% a decade earlier. Meanwhile, service, sales, and office, natural resource, and construction and maintenance occupations have all been decreasing in the area. This transformation indicates that Grays Ferry is evolving toward a more education and knowledge-based economy, moving away from its historical reliance on labor and local service industries.
This significant increase in the median household income during this period likely reflects this occupational shift, as a larger share of residents work in high-skilled, better-paying professions such as management and science.
Figure 3: Employment and Occupation in Grays Ferry. Data from the United States Census Bureau
Median Household income in Grays Ferry and Philadelphia in 2012 and 2022 with adjusted inflation. Calculated using data from data.census.gov DP03
Although the rate of unemployment in Grays Ferry has improved, it remains 2.4 times higher than the overall rate in Philadelphia County. Despite this disparity, the occupational composition of Grays Ferry's workforce closely mirrors Philadelphia County. The most notable difference lies in the production, transportation, and material moving sectors, which were 1.4 times more concentrated in Grays Ferry than the County average. However, by 2022, the number of residents in Grays Ferry employed in these occupations had doubled, leading to the concentration increase.
Demographics
Grays Ferry was a predominantly black neighbourhood in 2012, with over 60% of its residents identifying as black, 20% as white, and 11% as Asian. While the neighbourhood is still a predominantly black community in 2022, this demographic has declined to 54%. In contrast, the percentage of white residents has increased to 30% and Asian residents to 13%. While Grays Ferry is still a predominantly black neighbourhood in 2022, the rising percentages of white and Asian residents show a change in socioeconomic dynamics, with fewer black residents compared to white and Asian residents a decade prior. The vast majority of residents are US born at 86%. Only 11% of the neighbourhood’s population was foreign born.
There are 1,118 children over the age of 3 in Grays Ferry enrolled in school, up to and including high school. The most saturated type of school in the area is Elementary School, with over 80% of children currently enrolled. Overall, Grays Ferry is a highly educated neighbourhood with almost 90% of residents having graduated high school, 30% having a bachelor’s degree, and 20% having a graduate or professional degree.
The most notable change in age in Grays Ferry over the decade is the sharp drop in children under the age of 5. Children under the age of 5 made up 13% of the population in 2012, whereas in 2022, they only made up 6% of the population, a 55% decrease. This suggests that the birthrate in the neighbourhood is declining and outmigration amongst young families is increasing. This could be attributed to the rising cost of housing in Grays Ferry, leaving young low-income families unable to afford to live in the area and forced to move elsewhere. People aged 30 to 34 saw the most significant increase, of 91%. The number of people aged 35-39 increased by 67%, and between 40 to 44 years grew by 37%. The occupational change in Grays Ferry corresponds with the change in occupation, with more professionals moving to the area. The general trend in Grays Ferry is that it is ageing in place. The residents at retirement age saw the biggest decline, a 52% decrease in 67-69 year olds, and 31% in 70-74 year olds, likely due to residents moving out of the city to retire.
Housing
Only 15% of households are non-family households, where the householder either lives alone or is living with non-family members. Among the 5,167 households in the neighbourhood in 2022, 21% consisted of married couples, 19% were male-householder families without a spouse present, and 44% were female householders without a spouse present. The substantial representation of female-householder families suggests that there is a great number of single-mother families or families where parents are not married. In Grays Ferry, 35% of residents moved into their current home in the years 1990 to 1999. Over 75% of current inhabitants have been living in their homes for over 22 years, and 9% for over 50 years. Only 4% of current residents have moved into their homes in the last decade.
The most common range for housing prices in Grays Ferry in 2012 was $100,000-$149,000, with 10.7% of housing falling into this range. Adjusted for inflation, this range would be $123,543- $185,313 in 2022. The most concentrated housing range in 2022 was $150,000-$199,999, with 11.8% of houses falling into that category. When considering more expensive housing, in 2012, there were 0 households valued at more than $500,000 ($617,715 when adjusted for 2022 inflation), and in 2022, there were 410 housing units in this category. This trend shows that the value of housing is increasing and becoming less affordable for lower-income families. Although the cost of housing is increasing in Grays Ferry, it doesn’t seem to have a negative impact on the monthly mortgage cost for its residents, with most residents spending less of a percentage of their income on their mortgage in 2022 than in 2012. As can be seen in figure 4, the number of households where the mortgage cost is less than 20% of their income tripled over the decade, meaning more residents are spending a lower proportion of their income on their mortgage.
Similar to the percentage cost of mortgage, the data shows that Grays Ferry residents are also spending a lower proportion of their income on their rent. An increase of 155.8% households spending less than 15% of their income on rent indicates that residents are benefiting from more affordable housing options. The sharp decrease in the cost of rent for households spending 30% -35% (Down by 64.2% in 2022) and 35% or more (down by 13.2% in 2022) indicates that fewer residents are experiencing a heavy financial burden in 2022 compared to 2012. However, this decrease in financial strain for residents in the neighbourhood does not mean that all 2012 Grays Ferry residents have improved their financial situations. Many long-term residents have been displaced since 2012, contributing to the overall shift in the neighbourhood’s demographics. The reduction in the percentage of income spent on housing can largely be attributed to changing socioeconomic factors, as lower-income residents moved out while higher-income, more educated individuals who have more money moved into the area.
Grays Ferry has a far lower amount of houses valued in the lower housing cost brackets compared to Philadelphia County, specifically homes valued less than $50,000, making up only 0.5% of Grays Ferry's housing units compared to 4.8% in Philadelphia County in 2022. In Philadelphia County, 31.9% of housing units are valued below $150,000. In contrast, only 8.3% of Grays Ferry's housing units are valued below $150,000. This data conveys a scarcity of affordable housing in Grays Ferry, suggesting that the neighbourhood caters to a higher-end market due to its close proximity to Center City.
Figure 4: Percent of income spent on rent in Grays Ferry in 2012 and 2022. Calculated with data from data.census.gov DP04
LOW-INCOME FAMILIES IN GRAYS FERRY ARE BEING PUSHED OUT OF THEIR HOMES
Young, lower-income families are financially suffering in Grays Ferry and are in need of special attention from the city. Rising housing costs, limited affordable housing, economic employment pressures, and gentrification are forcing many young families to relocate elsewhere. The number of young children in Grays Ferry is declining rapidly, while a significant increase in people aged 30-45 in the area is seen, which suggests a shift in household types. There is a very limited number of low-cost housing units, which is contributing to the decline of young families in the neighbourhood. The number of low-cost housing units continues to decline, with only 8% of housing units in Grays Ferry valued below $150,000 in 2022 compared to 32% in Philadelphia County. The change in occupation in Grays Ferry also affects the ability of low-income residents to continue living there, as more educated, young professionals are moving in. The influx of higher-income, educated residents contributes to gentrification by pushing out the lower-income long-term residents, including young families who can no longer afford the rising housing costs. These lower-income families need special attention from the city, and require more policies to be put in place to protect themselves from being forced out of their homes.
Sources
https://data.census.gov/advanced
https://schuylkillcorps.org/exhibits/show/grays-ferry-oral-histories/a-brief-history-of-grays-ferry
Ershkowitz, Herbert. “World War II.” The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011
Walter Licht, Mark Frazier Lloyd, J.M. Duffin, & Mary D. McConaghy. Bridging the Schuylkill: Early- to Mid-19th Century https://collaborativehistory.gse.upenn.edu/stories/bridging-schuylkill-early-mid-19th-century
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