You might think that the City of Brotherly Love, which prides itself on being a national leader in health care, would be healthier than its peers. Philadelphia is graced with some of the top academic medical centers in the country, numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms, and the headquarters of several major medical organizations. And the city is a leader in public health on several fronts (think: campaigns against teen smoking and the soda tax).
Alas, despite its impressive medical and public health infrastructure, Philadelphia’s health status is lower than that of several neighboring metropolises. A recent survey by WalletHub, a personal finance website, ranked Philadelphia 27th out of 174 cities studied — good but not great. We narrowly beat out Pittsburgh (29) but came in below Washington, DC (5), New York (6), and Boston (20).
