NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 4, 2009
Contact: Jamie Arehart
(This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 267-350-7699)
Residents Report Difficulty Paying Monthly Housing Payments, Utilities
PHILADELPHIA-Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) releases its 2008 Household Health Survey housing information today for Philadelphia County. Conducted by PHMC's Community Health Data Base (CHDB), the survey, which examines the health and health care experiences of area residents, is one of the largest regional health surveys in the country.
Philadelphians struggling most
More than half (55%) of Philadelphia adults report difficulty making their monthly housing payments, including utilities.
• A greater number of Philadelphia residents are struggling to pay their monthly housing payments than the Southeastern Pennsylvania (SEPA) region overall (48%) For more information on other SEPA regions, please click here
• Of the more than half Philadelphia residents who report difficulty, 60% rent and 45% own their home
Trouble in Philadelphia's neighborhoods
The majority of Philadelphian struggling to pay their monthly housing costs is concentrated in eight Philadelphia neighborhoods:
• Southwest Philadelphia: 62%
• Upper North Philadelphia: 61%
• Bridesburg, Kensington, Port Richmond: 61%
• Olney, Oak Lane: 60%
• Lower Northeast: 59%
• West Philadelphia: 58%
• South Philadelphia: 57%
• Germantown, Chestnut Hill: 51%
Health and housing in Philadelphia
• More than a third of (35%) residents who report difficulty paying for monthly housing costs also report being in fair or poor health versus 20% of adults who do not report difficulty paying
• Similarly, nearly a third of (31%) residents who report difficulty paying for monthly housing costs also report having a chronic medical condition versus 22% of adults who do not report difficulty paying
Characteristics of Philadelphians struggling to pay housing costs
• 74% live above the Federal Poverty Line
• 64% of struggling households have children in residence
Data from the SEPA Household Health Survey is collected by a randomized telephone survey of 10,000 households in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties. Special reports covering trends in area health and health care such chronic disease, obesity and guns and personal safety are featured monthly on the CHDB website, www.phmc.org/chdb.
For media inquiries or specific data runs, please call contact Jamie Arehart at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 267-350-7699. For more information on CHDB, please contact Francine Axler at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 215-985-2521.
