Philadelphia Research and Policy Initiative

Who’s Leaving Philadelphia—and Why

Philadelphia’s population has been growing for more than a decade, fueled by immigrants and by births outnumbering deaths. Yet each year, roughly 60,000 residents leave the city—at least 10,000 more than those who move in from other parts of the region or the country, according to data.

The broad consensus among clinicians and researchers is that people with problematic opioid use generally suffer from a complex, chronic brain condition known as opioid use disorder (OUD). Many Philadelphians, however, don’t see it that way.