Delaware Valley

The Delaware Valley, sometimes referred to as Greater Philadelphia or the Philadelphia metropolitan area, is a major metropolitan region in the Northeast United States that centers around Philadelphia, the nation's sixth-most populous city, and spans parts of four U.S. states: southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, northern Delaware, and the northern Eastern Shore of Maryland. With a core metropolitan statistical area population of 6.288 million residents and a combined statistical area population of 7.366 million as of the 2020 census, the Delaware Valley is the eighth-largest metropolitan region in the United States and the 68th-largest metropolitan region in the world.

In addition to Philadelphia, other major population centers in the Delaware Valley 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 2022, the Philadelphia metropolitan area's gross domestic product (GDP) exceeds US$518 billion, making it the tenth-largest metropolitan economy in the nation.

The Delaware Valley 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", a reference to is role as the revolutionary capital during the colonial era, where the Second Continental Congress gathered at Independence Hall to unanimously adopt the Declaration of Independence, authorize the formation of the Continental Army, and appoint George Washington its commander to resist the British. Following 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. In 1789, the U.S. Constitution, the world's longest-standing body of federal law, was ratified at Independence Hall in Philadelphia in 1789.

The Delaware Valley 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, Thomas Jefferson University, Rowan University, Villanova University, Saint Joseph's University, Temple University, Rutgers University–Camden, La Salle University, the University of Delaware, Stockton University, and others.

Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley are a biotechnology hub. 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. Elsewhere in the Delaware Valley, South Jersey has emerged as an East Coast epicenter for logistics and major warehouses.

Culturally, the region is home to the dialect or accent 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.

Geography
The Delaware Valley is geographically associated and proximate to the Delaware River and its three primary tributaries, the Schuylkill River, Lehigh River, and Brandywine Creek.

U.S. government agencies have reached various definitions of the Delaware Valley and metropolitan Philadelphia. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defines metropolitan statistical area (MSAs), which are regions with relatively high population densities at their cores and close economic ties throughout their respective areas. MSAs are further combined into combined statistical areas (CSAs), reflecting commuting patterns. Neither is a formal administrative division.

Metropolitan statistical area (MSA)
Philadelphia is located in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes:
 * Camden, NJ Metropolitan Division
 * Burlington County (NJ)
 * Camden County (NJ)
 * Gloucester County (NJ)
 * Philadelphia, PA Metropolitan Division
 * Bucks County (PA)
 * Chester County (PA)
 * Delaware County (PA)
 * Montgomery County (PA)
 * Philadelphia County (PA)
 * Wilmington, DE-NJ Metropolitan Division
 * New Castle County (DE)
 * Salem County (NJ)
 * Cecil County (MD)

Combined statistical area (CSA)
Philadelphia-Reading-Camden Combined Statistical Area includes:
 * Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington MSA (11 counties, as defined above)
 * Berks County, Pennsylvania, comprising the Reading, PA MSA
 * Atlantic County, New Jersey, comprising the Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ MSA
 * Cape May County, New Jersey, comprising the Ocean City, NJ MSA
 * Cumberland County, New Jersey, comprising the Vineland-Bridgeton, NJ MSA
 * Kent County, Delaware, comprising the Dover, DE MSA

Delaware Regional Planning Commission
The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) serves all of the counties of the Delaware Valley MSA except for the counties in the Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ Metropolitan Division. However, in addition to the Delaware Valley, DVRPC's jurisdiction includes Mercer County, New Jersey, which OMB classifies as the Trenton-Princeton, NJ MSA and part of the larger New York-Newark CSA.

Population
As of the 2020 U.S. census, the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area is the seventh-largest MSA in the nation with 6,245,051 people. As of 2020, the Philadelphia–Reading–Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA is the nation's ninth-largest combined statistical area with a population of 7,379,700,

The Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area's population of slightly over six million people exceeds the populations of whole nations, including those of Lebanon, Denmark, and Nicaragua.

Economy
As of 2021, the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area has a gross domestic product of $477.58 billion, the tenth-largest among the nation's MSAs. The MSA's nominal gross domestic product of $431 billion is comparable to countries, such as Belgium, Iran, and Thailand. Metropolitan Philadelphia is one of the top five American venture capital hubs, credited to its proximity to the New York metropolitan area and its financial and tech and biotechnology ecosystems.

At least two educational institutions, Delaware Valley Regional High School in Alexandria Township, New Jersey, and Delaware Valley College in Doylestown Township, Pennsylvania, and a now defunct local newspaper, The Delaware Valley News in Frenchtown, New Jersey, are named for the region.

Subregions
The Philadelphia-Reading-Camden combined statistical area includes sixteen counties in four states. The five Pennsylvania counties in the metropolitan statistical area are collectively known as Southeastern Pennsylvania. In addition to Philadelphia, major municipalities in Southeastern Pennsylvania include the inner suburbs of Upper Darby Township and Bensalem Township. Berks County, which forms its own MSA and contains the CSA's second largest city, Reading, is occasionally not considered to be part of Southeastern Pennsylvania and is sometimes assigned to South Central Pennsylvania.

The seven New Jersey counties in the CSA are each located in South Jersey, and include: Atlantic County, Cape May County, and Cumberland County each form their own respective metropolitan statistical areas. Atlantic City, Cape May County, New Jersey, and the southern Jersey Shore, including Margate City, Ventnor City, the Wildwoods, and Sea Isle City, are major tourist destinations for people from inside and outside of the Delaware Valley. Other major municipalities in South Jersey include Cherry Hill and Camden, which is across the Delaware River, east of Philadelphia.

The two counties of Delaware in the CSA constitute a majority of Delaware's land mass and population. Wilmington is the most populous city in Delaware and the fifth-most populous municipality in the Delaware Valley. The lone Maryland county in the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden Combined Statistical Area is part of the region known as the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

Media market
The Delaware Valley and several areas bordering it, including the Lehigh Valley, are part of the Philadelphia media market, the fourth-largest media market in the nation as of 2023.

Largest municipalities


The following municipalities are all within the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden combined statistical area and part of the Delaware Valley:

Statistical history
When metropolitan areas were originally defined in 1950, most of the area now in the Delaware Valley was split between four metropolitan areas, or standard metropolitan areas, as they were then called. The Philadelphia SMA included Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties in Pennsylvania, and Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester counties in South Jersey. The Wilmington SMA included New Castle County in Delaware and Salem County in South Jersey. Berks County was designated as the Reading SMA and Atlantic County, New Jersey was the Atlantic City SMA.

In 1960, Cecil County, Maryland was added to what was now the Wilmington Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA). In 1980, Cumberland County, New Jersey was defined as the Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton SMSA.

In 1990, the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton SMSAs were merged with the Trenton SMSA to form the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the same time, Cape May County, New Jersey was added to the Atlantic City SMSA. The "Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton" became obsolete one census later when Trenton, New Jersey was moved to the New York-Newark-Bridgeport CSA. The Philadelphia-Wilmington-Vineland CSA included the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Camden MSA and the Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton MSA.

In 2000, Kent County, Delaware was designated the Dover MSA, and Kent County and Atlantic City were added to the Philadelphia CSA in 2010. As a result of new 2010 definitions, based on a threshold of 15% labor interchange between MSAs, two additional MSAs were added, Ocean City, New Jersey and Reading, Pennsylvania. The CSA to which they belong is known as Philadelphia-Reading-Camden.

Characteristics
Philadelphia's suburbs contain a high concentration of malls, the two largest of which have at least 5000000 sqft of office space, and at least 600000 sqft of retail. These are the King of Prussia mall in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, which is the largest in the U.S. (leasable sq. feet of retail space), and the Cherry Hill Mall in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, which was the first enclosed mall on the East Coast. In addition, the Christiana Mall in Newark, Delaware, is a popular destination due to its proximity to Interstate 95 and because of the availability of tax-free shopping in Delaware. Malls, office complexes, strip shopping plazas, expressways, and tract housing are common sights, and more and more continue to replace rolling countryside, farms, woods, and wetlands. However, due to strong opposition by residents and political officials, many acres of land have been preserved throughout the Delaware Valley. Older townships and large boroughs, such as Cheltenham, Norristown, Jenkintown, Upper Darby, and West Chester retain distinct community identities while engulfed in suburbia. The fastest-growing counties are Chester, Montgomery, Bucks, and Gloucester.

Mid-Atlantic American English and its subset, Philadelphia English, are two common dialects of American English in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley.

Climate
The Delaware Valley has four distinct seasons with ample precipitation and is divided by the 0 °C (32 °F) January isotherm. Philadelphia and the New Jersey portion of the area, almost all of the Delaware and Maryland portions, most of Delaware County and lower Bucks County, lowland southern Chester County, and some southern and lowland areas of Montgomery County have a humid subtropical climate (Cfa according to the Köppen climate classification.) The remainder of the Delaware Valley has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa.) PRISM Climate Group at Oregon State University

Snow amounts may vary widely year-to-year and normally do vary widely within the Delaware Valley. The region has two ski resorts, Bear Creek Mountain Resort in Longswamp Township, Berks County and Spring Mountain Adventures in central Montgomery County.

Using the -3 °C January isotherm as a boundary, all of the Delaware Valley is humid subtropical. The hardiness zone in the region ranges from 6b in higher areas of Berks and northern Bucks Counties to 8a in Atlantic City and Cape May. 

Using the Trewartha climate classification system, which requires eight months to average at least 50 °F for the climate to be considered subtropical, the region only has seven such months, so the area considered Cfa by Köppen is oceanic (Do) in the Trewartha system.

Colonial history
The valley was the territory of the Susquehannock and Lenape, who are recalled in place names throughout the region. The region became part of the Dutch colony of New Netherland after the exploration of Delaware Bay in 1609. The Dutch called the Delaware River the Zuyd Rivier, or South River, and considered the lands along it banks and those of its bay to be the southern flank of its province of New Netherland. In 1638, it began to be settled by Swedes, Forest Finns, Dutch, and Walloons and became the colony of New Sweden, though this was not officially recognized by the Dutch Empire which re-asserted control in 1655. The area was taken by the English in 1664. The name Delaware comes from Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, who had arrived at Jamestown, Virginia in 1610, just as original settlers were about to abandon it, and thus maintaining the English foothold on the North American continent. In the early 1700s, Huguenot refugees from France by way of Germany and then England began settling in the Delaware River Valley. Specifically, they left their mark in Hunterdon County, New Jersey (Frenchtown) and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Transportation
Many residents commute to jobs and travel in Philadelphia, Camden, Wilmington, and the surrounding suburbs with the help of expressways, trains, and buses. There are currently no transit connections to Reading, the second largest municipality in the region.

Rapid transit

 * SEPTA
 * Market–Frankford Line connecting 69th Street Transportation Center in Upper Darby to Frankford Transportation Center in Near Northeast Philadelphia, passing through Center City
 * Broad Street Line connecting Fern Rock Transportation Center in North Philadelphia to Center City and NRG station in South Philadelphia
 * Norristown High Speed Line connecting 69th Street Transportation Center with Norristown Transportation Center in Norristown
 * PATCO
 * PATCO Speedline connecting Philadelphia to Lindenwold, NJ in Camden County with connections to NJT's Atlantic City Line.

Light rail

 * SEPTA
 * Subway–surface lines: Routes 10, 11, 13, 34, and 36, connecting West Philadelphia and Delaware County with 13th Street Station, running at street-level through Delaware County and West Philadelphia, and beneath Market Street in Center City
 * Route 15 along Girard Avenue from 63rd Street and Girard Avenue to Richmond and Westmoreland Streets
 * Routes 101 and 102 connecting Media (Route 101) and Sharon Hill (Route 102) in Delaware County with 69th Street Transportation Center
 * NJ Transit
 * River Line connecting Camden, New Jersey to Trenton, New Jersey, running along the east bank of the Delaware River.

Commuter rail

 * SEPTA Regional Rail
 * Airport Line connecting Central Philadelphia with Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia and Delaware Counties.
 * Wilmington/Newark Line connecting Philadelphia to the Wilmington, Delaware area (with limited weekday service to Newark, Delaware), via Chester City and Delaware County.
 * Warminster Line connecting Philadelphia with southeastern Montgomery County and Warminster in Bucks County.
 * West Trenton Line connecting Philadelphia north to the Trenton, New Jersey area, serving Montgomery and Bucks County, Pennsylvania, between Jenkintown and Yardley, Pennsylvania, with the final stop in Ewing, New Jersey.
 * Media/Wawa Line connecting Philadelphia to central Delaware County.
 * Paoli/Thorndale Line connecting Philadelphia with the affluent Main Line area and western Chester County near Coatesville.
 * Lansdale/Doylestown Line connecting Philadelphia with Lansdale in central Montgomery County and Doylestown in Bucks County.
 * Manayunk/Norristown Line connecting Philadelphia with Conshohocken and Norristown in Montgomery County.
 * Cynwyd Line connecting Philadelphia with Bala Cynwyd on the Philadelphia/Montgomery County line (limited weekday service)
 * Trenton Line connecting Philadelphia to Trenton, New Jersey, serving Bucks County.
 * Fox Chase Line connecting Central Philadelphia with the Fox Chase area in Philadelphia.
 * Chestnut Hill East Line and Chestnut Hill West Line connecting Central Philadelphia with the Chestnut Hill area of the city.
 * NJ Transit
 * Atlantic City Line connecting Philadelphia to Atlantic City, New Jersey with connections to PATCO Speedline in Lindenwold, New Jersey.
 * MARC Train
 * Penn Line connecting Perryville, Maryland to Baltimore and Washington D.C., and in the future will connect to SEPTA at Newark, DE.

Intercity rail

 * Amtrak
 * Acela: high-speed rail connecting Washington, D.C., with Boston
 * Cardinal connecting Chicago with New York City
 * Carolinian connecting Charlotte, NC with New York City
 * Crescent connecting New Orleans and New York City
 * Keystone Service connecting Harrisburg, PA with New York City
 * Northeast Regional: inter-city regional rail service from Virginia to Boston
 * Palmetto connecting Savannah, GA with New York City
 * Pennsylvanian connecting Pittsburgh with New York City
 * Silver Meteor connecting Miami with New York City
 * Silver Star connecting Miami with New York City
 * Vermonter connecting Washington, D.C., with St. Albans, VT

Transit buses

 * SEPTA
 * NJ Transit
 * South Jersey Transportation Authority
 * DART First State
 * Krapf Transit
 * Bucks County Transport
 * Transportation Management Association of Chester County
 * TMA Bucks
 * Pottstown Area Rapid Transit
 * Berks Area Regional Transportation Authority
 * Cecil Transit
 * Atlantic City casino bus routes by a number of private carriers

Intercity bus

 * Amtrak Thruway
 * BoltBus
 * Greyhound Lines
 * Klein Transportation
 * Martz Trailways
 * Megabus
 * OurBus
 * Peter Pan Bus Lines
 * Trans-Bridge Lines

Major highways
Pennsylvania

New Jersey

Delaware

Maryland

Delaware River Bridges
 * New Hope–Lambertville Toll Bridge
 * Scudder Falls Bridge
 * Delaware River – Turnpike Toll Bridge
 * Burlington–Bristol Bridge
 * Tacony–Palmyra Bridge
 * Betsy Ross Bridge
 * Benjamin Franklin Bridge
 * Walt Whitman Bridge
 * Commodore Barry Bridge
 * Delaware Memorial Bridge

Airports
Major:
 * Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), located 15 miles southwest of Center City Philadelphia, is the main international airport serving the Delaware Valley
 * Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), while not in the Delaware Valley, is a major airport serving certain regions of the Delaware Valley, including Bucks and Montgomery Counties in Southeast Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and New Jersey.

Secondary:
 * Atlantic City International Airport (ACY)
 * Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE) (not in CSA)
 * New Castle Airport (ILG)
 * Northeast Philadelphia Airport (PNE)
 * Reading Regional Airport (RDG)
 * Trenton–Mercer Airport (TTN) (not in CSA)

Ferry
The Cape May–Lewes Ferry crosses the mouth of the Delaware Bay between Cape May County, New Jersey and Sussex County, Delaware; U.S. Route 9 uses this ferry.

The Riverlink Ferry operates hourly ferry service over the Delaware River between the Camden Waterfront and Penn’s Landing in Philadelphia. They also operate a special event service for concerts at Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in Camden.

Delaware

 * Delaware College of Art and Design
 * Delaware State University
 * Goldey-Beacom College
 * University of Delaware
 * Wesley College
 * Widener University School of Law
 * Wilmington University

Maryland

 * Cecil College

New Jersey

 * Rider University
 * Rowan University
 * Rutgers School of Law–Camden
 * Rutgers University (Camden)
 * Stockton University
 * The College of New Jersey

Pennsylvania

 * Albright College
 * Alvernia University
 * Arcadia University
 * Bryn Mawr College
 * Cairn University
 * Chestnut Hill College
 * Cheyney University of Pennsylvania
 * Curtis Institute of Music
 * Delaware Valley University
 * DeVry University
 * Drexel University
 * Eastern University
 * Gwynedd-Mercy College
 * Harcum College
 * Haverford College
 * Holy Family University
 * Immaculata University
 * Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
 * La Salle University
 * Lincoln University
 * Manor College
 * Moore College of Art and Design
 * Neumann University
 * Peirce College
 * Penn State Abington
 * Penn State Berks
 * Penn State Brandywine
 * Penn State Great Valley
 * Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
 * Point Park University
 * Rosemont College
 * Saint Joseph's University
 * Swarthmore College
 * Temple University
 * Thomas Jefferson University
 * University of Pennsylvania
 * University of the Arts (Philadelphia)
 * University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
 * University of Valley Forge
 * Ursinus College
 * Valley Forge Military Academy and College
 * Villanova University
 * West Chester University
 * Westminster Theological Seminary
 * Widener University

Sports teams
Listing of the professional sports teams in the Delaware Valley
 * National Basketball Association (NBA)
 * Philadelphia 76ers
 * Major League Baseball (MLB)
 * Philadelphia Phillies
 * Minor League Baseball (MiLB)
 * Jersey Shore BlueClaws
 * Reading Fightin Phils
 * Wilmington Blue Rocks
 * National Football League (NFL)
 * Philadelphia Eagles
 * National Hockey League (NHL)
 * Philadelphia Flyers
 * Major League Soccer (MLS)
 * Philadelphia Union
 * NBA G League
 * Delaware Blue Coats
 * National Lacrosse League (NLL)
 * Philadelphia Wings

Media
The two main newspapers are The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News, owned by the Philadelphia Media Network. Local television channels include KYW-TV 3 (CBS), WPVI 6 (ABC), WCAU 10 (NBC), WHYY-TV 12 (PBS), WPHL-TV 17 (MyNetworkTV), WTXF 29 (FOX), WPSG 57 (CW), and WPPX 61 (Ion). Radio stations serving the area include: WRTI, WIOQ, WDAS (AM), and WTEL.

Area codes

 * 215/267/445: The City of Philadelphia and some of its northern suburbs
 * 610/484/835: Southeastern Pennsylvania outside Philadelphia, including the western suburbs, the Lehigh Valley, and most of Berks County
 * 856: Southwestern New Jersey, including Camden, Cherry Hill, and Vineland
 * 609/640: Central and Southeastern New Jersey, including Trenton, Atlantic City and the southern Jersey Shore
 * 302: Delaware
 * 410/443/667: Eastern half of Maryland, including Cecil County
 * 717/223: South Central Pennsylvania, including Western Berks County

Politics
Philadelphia is heavily Democratic, having voted for the Democratic candidate in every presidential election since 1936. The surrounding suburban counties are key political areas in Pennsylvania, which itself is an important swing state in federal politics. South Jersey has consistently voted Democratic at the presidential level in recent years, although the region is slightly more Republican-leaning than North Jersey and has voted for Republicans at the state and local level. New Castle County's Democratic lean and large share of Delaware's population has tended to make Delaware as a whole vote for Democrats, while the less populous Kent County is more competitive. Recent well-known political figures from the Greater Philadelphia area include current U.S. President Joe Biden, former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell and late former U.S. Senator Arlen Specter.

Congressional districts
The following congressional districts of the United States House of Representatives are located partly or entirely in the Delaware Valley CSA. Italicized counties are not part of the CSA.

Additionally, the Delaware Valley is represented in the United States Senate by the eight Senators from Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.