articleThe Brief Philadelphia is no longer the "poorest big city in the U.S.," according to new Census data. Philadelphia now has the second-highest poverty rate among the 10 most populous cities in the country. The poverty rate dropped nationally from 2023 to 2024, according to census estimates. Philadelphia is no longer the poorest big city in the United States, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau released earlier this week, though it didn't move far. For years, Philadelphia has had the highest poverty rate of the 10 most populous cities in the country.