While Center City Philadelphia is still feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, its recovery is further along than many other American downtowns because of its booming residential population, writes Jake Blumgart for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The booming residential population is a big help, as the area’s foot traffic is still about 80 percent of 2019 levels, while the office worker population is between 50 percent and 60 percent of what it was pre-COVID.

According to a new Center City District report, developments are still healthy because the population is continuing to grow.

“What really gives us sort of hope about the promise of our downtown is that we’re in an age where so much of daily life has migrated online. We work from home, we shop online, we stream instead of attend,” said Prema Katari Gupta, president and CEO of the Center City District.

Jobs are also strong in Center City, with about one-tenth of all jobs in the metro region and about half of the workforce commuting in from outside Philadelphia.

Despite many office buildings being converted in recent years, office jobs still represent the largest employment base in Center City at nearly 110,000. Education and healthcare employment follow with over 67,600 jobs.

Read more about the good, bad, and stagnant of Center City’s COVID-19 recovery in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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