Delaware Valley

A request that this article title be changed to Greater Philadelphia is under discussion. Please do not move this article until the discussion is closed.

Philadelphia metropolitan area Greater Philadelphia Delaware Valley Philadelphia–Camden–Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA/CSA
Combined Statistical Area
Center City Philadelphia (in background) and the Schuylkill River (on left) as seen from South Street Bridge in July 2016
Philadelphia–Reading–Camden, PA–NJ–DE–MD CSA Philadelphia–Camden–Wilmington, PA–NJ–DE–MD   Philadelphia, PA Metropolitan Division   Montgomery Cty–Bucks Cty–Chester Cty, PA   Camden, NJ Metropolitan Division   Wilmington, DE–MD–NJ Metropolitan Division Other Statistical Areas in the Philadelphia CSA   Reading, PA MSA   Atlantic City–Hammonton, NJ MSA   Dover, DE MSA   Vineland, NJ MSA
Country	United States
States	Pennsylvania New Jersey Delaware Maryland
Principal city	Philadelphia
Satellite cities and towns	Camden Wilmington Atlantic City Reading Trenton[a]
Area
• Urban	1,981.4 sq mi (5,131.7 km2)
• Metro	5,118 sq mi (13,256 km2)
Elevation [1][dubious – discuss][2]	0 - 1,080 ft (0 - 329 m)
Population  (2021 est.)
• Urban	5,441,567 (5th)
• Metro density	1,217.00/sq mi (469.89/km2)
• MSA	6,330,422 (9th)
• CSA	7,490,896 (9th)
	MSA/CSA = 2024, Urban = 2010
GDP [3]
• MSA	$518.5 billion (2022)
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EST)
Area codes	215/267/445, 302, 410/443/667, 609/640, 610/484/835, 717/223, 856

The Philadelphia metropolitan area, also known as Greater Philadelphia and informally called the Delaware Valley, the Philadelphia tri-state area, and locally and colloquially Philly–Jersey–Delaware, is a major metropolitan area in the Northeastern United States that centers on Philadelphia, the sixth-most populous city in the United States. This area spans up to four states: southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, northern Delaware, and the northern Eastern Shore of Maryland, though it is sometimes considered a tri-state region if northeastern Maryland is excluded. With a core metropolitan statistical area population of 6.245 million residents and a combined statistical area population of 7.379 million as of the 2020 census, it is the ninth-largest metropolitan area in the United States in 2024 and the 68th-largest metropolitan region in the world.

In addition to Philadelphia, other major population centers in the Philadelphia metro area include Reading, Upper Darby Township, and Chester in Pennsylvania; Atlantic City, Camden, Vineland, and Cherry Hill in South Jersey; and Wilmington and Dover in Delaware. As of 2023, the Philadelphia metro area's gross domestic product (GDP) exceeds US$557 billion, making it the nation's 11th-largest metropolitan economy.^[3]

The Philadelphia metropolitan area has been influential in the nation's history and economy and home to many people and sites significant to American culture, history, and politics. Philadelphia is sometimes known as "The Birthplace of America"^[4] in reference to its role as the revolutionary capital during the colonial era in which the Second Continental Congress gathered at Independence Hall and unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence, authorized the formation of the Continental Army, and appointed George Washington its commander to resist the British. After the Continental Army's victory, Philadelphia served as the nation's first capital for most of the 18th century until 1800, when construction of Washington, D.C. was completed. The U.S. Constitution, the world's longest-standing body of federal law, was ratified at Independence Hall in Philadelphia in 1789.

The metro area is one of the nation's leading regions for academia and academic research with a considerable number of globally-known and highly ranked universities, including the University of Pennsylvania, one of the nation's eight Ivy League universities. Other major universities and colleges in the region include Drexel University, La Salle University, Rowan University, Rutgers University–Camden, Saint Joseph's University, Stockton University, Temple University, Thomas Jefferson University, the University of Delaware, Villanova University, West Chester University, and others.^[5]

Philadelphia and larger Delaware Valley are a biotechnology hub.^[6] As of 2024, metropolitan Philadelphia ranks as one of the Big Five U.S. venture capital hubs, facilitated by its proximity to both New York City's entrepreneurial and financial ecosystems and to the federal regulatory environment of Washington, D.C.^[7] Elsewhere in the metropolitan area, South Jersey has emerged as an East Coast epicenter for logistics and major warehouses.^[8]

Culturally, the region is home to the dialect known as Philadelphia English, shares a unique cuisine known as Philadelphia cuisine, has played a formidable role in popular music, and is known for having one of the nation's most passionate and devoted sports cultures centered around its five professional sports teams.

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