The Delaware Valley is a

metropolitan region A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...

on the East Coast of the United States that comprises and surrounds

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, the sixth most populous city in the nation and 68th largest city in the world as of 2020. The

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

Delaware Valley is therefore commonly used to refer to Greater Philadelphia, the Philadelphia metropolitan area, or the Greater Philadelphia Metropolitan Area. The Delaware Valley region includes portions of four U.S. states:

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, and four regions in Southeastern Pennsylvania, South Jersey, northern Delaware, and the northern

Eastern Shore of Maryland The Eastern Shore of Maryland is a part of the U.S. state of Maryland that lies mostly on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay. Nine counties are normally included in the region. The Eastern Shore is part of the larger Delmarva Peninsula tha ...

along the central and lower Delaware River. The Delaware Valley has a total 2020 population of 6.245 million, making it the seventh largest metropolitan region in the U.S. and 35th largest metropolitan region in the world. Philadelphia is by far the largest municipality in the Delaware Valley and serves as the region's major commercial, cultural, educational, and industrial center. Other major urban population centers in the Delaware Valley include the cities of

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

Upper Darby Township Upper Darby Township, often shortened to Upper Darby, is a home rule township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The township borders Philadelphia, the nation's sixth most populous city as of 2020 with 1.6 million residents. As of the 2020 cen ...

, and Chester in Pennsylvania; Atlantic City, Camden,

Vineland ''Vineland'' is a 1990 novel by Thomas Pynchon, a postmodern fiction set in California, United States in 1984, the year of Ronald Reagan's reelection.Knabb 2002 Through flashbacks by its characters, who have lived the sixties in their youth, th ...

, and Cherry Hill in New Jersey; and Wilmington and Dover in Delaware. The Delaware Valley Metropolitan Area is located in the Northeastern United States and forms part of the Northeast megalopolis, the most populated region of the nation with over 50 million residents. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Philadelphia metropolitan area has a

gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is oft ...

of $431 billion, the ninth-largest among U.S. metropolitan areas. The Delaware Valley has been influential in American

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

and

industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

. The area has hosted many people and sites significant to

American culture The culture of the United States of America is primarily of Western, and European origin, yet its influences includes the cultures of Asian American, African American, Latin American, and Native American peoples and their cultures. The U ...

, history, and politics. Philadelphia is sometimes known as "The Birthplace of America", as both the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

and the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

were drafted and signed in Philadelphia. The Delaware Valley was home to many other instrumental moments in the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

, and Philadelphia served as the capital of the U.S. for much of the 18th century. The region is home to a number of globally-known and highly-ranked universities, including the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in Philadelphia, one of the top universities in the world. Other regional universities and colleges include Drexel University,

Thomas Jefferson University Thomas Jefferson University is a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Established in its earliest form in 1824, the university officially combined with Philadelphia University in 2017. To signify its heritage, the univer ...

Villanova University Villanova University is a private Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1842 and named after Saint Thomas of Villanova. The university is the oldest Catholic university in Penns ...

, Saint Joseph's University,

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...

Rutgers University–Camden Rutgers University–Camden is one of three regional campuses of Rutgers University, New Jersey's public research university. It is located in Camden, New Jersey. Founded in 1929 as the South Jersey Law School, Rutgers–Camden began as an amalg ...

, La Salle University, the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 ma ...

Stockton University Stockton University is a public university in Galloway Township, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. It is named for Richard Stockton, one of the New Jersey signers of the U.S. Declaration of Independence ...

, and others. Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley have become a

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used ...

and

venture capital Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to start-up company, startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth poten ...

hub.

Geography

The Delaware Valley is geographically associated and proximate to the Delaware River's main watershed, which encompass the Delaware River's two primary tributaries, the Schuylkill and Lehigh Rivers, and their respective valleys and sub-basins. These extensions also apply culturally because the ease of land travel in the region affords a great deal of daily interaction, creating a regional culture and value structure that largely blends and is parallel throughout it.

Definitions of the metropolitan area

In the course of their work, United States government agencies have reached various definitions of the Delaware Valley and the Greater Philadelphia Area. The

Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...

(OMB) defines

metropolitan statistical area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

(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 Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and the territory of Puerto Ric ...

(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:(Note: Mercer County, NJ is NOT part of the Philadelphia CSA according to this original source.
"Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, and Guidance on Uses of the Delineations of These Areas", OMB Bulletin no. 18-04, The White House, Office of Management and Budget, September 4, 2018
/ref> * Camden, NJ Metropolitan Division ** Burlington County ** Camden County ** Gloucester County * Montgomery County-Bucks County-Chester County, PA Metropolitan Division **

Bucks County Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English ...

Chester County Chester County may refer to: * Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States * Chester County, South Carolina, United States * Chester County, Tennessee Chester County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, th ...

** Montgomery County * Philadelphia, PA Metropolitan Division ** Delaware County **

Philadelphia County Philadelphia County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the most populous county in Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, Philadelphia County had a population of 1,603,797. The county is the second smallest county in Pennsyl ...

* Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ Metropolitan Division **

New Castle County, Delaware New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex). As of the 2020 census, the population was 570,719, making it the most populous county in Delaware, with nearly 60% of th ...

** Cecil County, Maryland **

Salem County, New Jersey Salem County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its western boundary is formed by the Delaware River and its eastern terminus is the Delaware Memorial Bridge, which connects the county with New Castle, Delaware. Its co ...

Combined statistical area (CSA)

The Philadelphia-Reading-Camden Combined Statistical Area includes * The Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington MSA (eleven counties, as defined above) *

Berks County, Pennsylvania Berks County ( Pennsylvania German: ''Barricks Kaundi'') is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 428,849. The county seat is Reading. The Schuylkill River, a tributary of the Delaware Ri ...

, comprising the Reading, PA MSA * Kent County, Delaware, comprising the Dover, DE MSA *

Atlantic County, New Jersey Atlantic County is a county located along the southern coast of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county had a population of 274,534.Cape May County, New Jersey, comprising the Ocean City, NJ MSA * Cumberland County, New Jersey, comprising the Vineland-Bridgeton, NJ MSA

Counties not in the Philadelphia metropolitan area

Some counties to the north of the Philadelphia MSA and CSA, such as

Hunterdon County, New Jersey Hunterdon County is a county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was 128,947, making it the state's 18th-most populous county,Delaware Valley Regional High School carry the name. However, Hunterdon County does not belong to the Philadelphia CSA, but rather to the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), part of the larger New York-Newark Combined Statistical Area (CSA).

Regional Planning Commission

The

Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) is the metropolitan planning organization for the Delaware Valley. Created in 1965 by an interstate compact, DVRPC is responsible for transportation and regional planning in the greater Phi ...

(DVRPC) serves all of the counties of the MSA above, except for the counties in the Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ Metropolitan Division. However the DVRPC does include, additionally, Mercer County, New Jersey, which the OMB classifies as the Trenton-Princeton, NJ MSA, part of the larger New York-Newark CSA.

Population and economy

According to 2016 estimates from the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area ranks as the seventh-largest MSA in the U.S. with 6,070,500 people. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington MSA had a

of $431 billion, the ninth-largest among U.S. metropolitan areas. 2016 Census Bureau estimates rank the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden Combined Statistical Area as the ninth-largest CSA in the U.S., with 7,179,357 people. The Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area's population of roughly 6 million people is comparable to that of countries such as

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, and

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...

. The MSA's nominal gross domestic product of $431 billion is comparable to countries such as

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, and

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

. The MSA also ranks as the second most populous in the Northeastern U.S. after the

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass, at , and one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. The vast metropolitan area ...

, while the CSA is third-largest in the Northeast after the New York and

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

metropolitan areas. The Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area, which is part of Northeast Megalopolis but is considered part of the Southeastern U.S. under Census Bureau definitions, is also larger than the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Philadelphia itself is the sixth-most populous city in the U.S. and the third-most populous U.S. city east of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

, after

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Philadelphia's

media market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...

ranks fourth, behind New York City,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, and Chicago, in Nielsen Media Market size rankings. Educational institutions such as Delaware Valley Regional High School in Alexandria Township and

Delaware Valley College Delaware Valley University (DelVal) is a private university in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1896, it enrolls approximately 1,900 students on its suburban, 570-acre campus. DelVal offers more than 28 undergraduate majors, seven master's p ...

in Doylestown Township are named after the region. Frenchtown's now defunct newspaper ''The Delaware Valley News'' was another example of the usage.

Subregions

Sixteen counties in four states constitute the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden Combined Statistical Area. The five Pennsylvania counties in the MSA are collectively known as

Southeastern Pennsylvania The Delaware Valley is a metropolitan region on the East Coast of the United States that comprises and surrounds Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation and 68th largest city in the world as of 2020. The toponym Delaware Val ...

, and the four suburban counties from this region are sometimes called the "collar counties." Aside from Philadelphia, major municipalities in Southeastern Pennsylvania include the

inner suburb ''Inner suburb'' is a term used for a variety of suburban communities that are generally located very close to the centre of a large city (the inner city and central business district). Their urban density is usually lower than the inner city ...

s of

and Bensalem Township. Berks County, which forms its own MSA and contains the CSA's second largest city,

, is generally not considered to be part of Southeastern Pennsylvania and is sometimes assigned to

South Central Pennsylvania South Central Pennsylvania is a region of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that includes the fourteen counties of Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Mifflin, Perry, Snyder, and York. Portions of w ...

. The seven New Jersey counties in the CSA form South Jersey, although

Ocean County Ocean County is a county located along the Jersey Shore in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east. Its county seat is Toms River. Atlantic County, Cape May County, and Cumberland County each form their own respective metropolitan statistical areas. Atlantic City,

Cape May County Cape May County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Much of the county is located on Cape May bound by Delaware Bay to its west and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and east. Adjacent to the Atlantic coastline are f ...

, and the southern Jersey Shore (including

Margate City Margate City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, Margate City's population was 5,317, a reduction of 1,037 over the previous decade.Ventnor City,

the Wildwoods The Wildwoods are a group of five communities (four distinct municipalities and one census-designated place) in Cape May County, New Jersey. These are situated on the Island of Five Mile Beach, a barrier island facing the Atlantic Ocean. These Je ...

, and

Sea Isle City Sea Isle City is a city in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's year-round population was 2,104, a decrease of 10 (−0.5 ...

) 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 from 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

. Although Mercer County in

Central Jersey Central Jersey is the central region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The designation of Central New Jersey is a distinct administrative toponym. Geographic area and descriptions While the State of New Jersey is often divided into North and ...

is often considered part of the Delaware Valley from a cultural perspective, it is classified as part of New York's CSA by the OMB. Mercer County and three counties in Pennsylvania's

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...

, Carbon County, Lehigh County and Northampton County, are part of the Philadelphia media market.

Caroline County, Maryland Caroline County is a rural county located in the U.S. state of Maryland on its Eastern Shore. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,293. Its county seat is Denton. Caroline County is bordered by Queen Anne's County to the north, Tal ...

is also part of the Philadelphia media market, and other counties within the Philadelphia media market include

Monroe County, Pennsylvania Monroe County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 168,327. Its county seat is Stroudsburg. The county was formed from sections of Northampton ...

, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and Ocean County, New Jersey.

Components of Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metropolitan Statistical Area

Additional Components of Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, PA-NJ-DE-MD Combined Statistical Area

List of 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 called. The Philadelphia SMA comprised Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties in Pennsylvania and Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties in New Jersey. The Wilmington SMA comprised New Castle County in Delaware and Salem County in New Jersey, while Berks County was the Reading SMA and Atlantic County was the Atlantic City SMA. In 1960, Cecil County was added to what was now the Wilmington Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA). In 1980, Cumberland County was defined as the Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton SMSA. In 1990, the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton SMSAs were merged with the Trenton SMSA as the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the same time, Cape May County was added to the Atlantic City SMSA. "Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton" became obsolete one census later, with Trenton moving to the New York-Newark-Bridgeport CSA, and the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Vineland CSA consisting only of the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Camden MSA and the Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton MSA. Kent County became the Dover MSA in 2000, and it and Atlantic City were added to the Philadelphia CSA in 2010, for a total of six MSA components; as a result of new 2010 definitions based on a threshold of 15% labor interchange between MSAs, two more MSAs were added to the CSA, for a total of six. With Ocean City, NJ, and Reading, PA, the CSA is now known as Philadelphia-Reading-Camden.

Characteristics

The Delaware Valley is home to extensive populations of

Irish Americans , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

German Americans German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

English Americans English Americans (historically known as Anglo-Americans) are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England. In the 2020 American Community Survey, 25.21 million self-identified as being of English origin. The term is disti ...

Ukrainian Americans Ukrainian Americans ( uk, Українські американці, Ukrayins'ki amerykantsi) are Americans who are of Ukrainian ancestry. According to U.S. census estimates, in 2021 there were 1,017,586 Americans of Ukrainian descent represent ...

, Italian Americans, Swedish-Americans (which have a museum located at FDR Park in South Philadelphia), Polish Americans,

Scottish Americans Scottish Americans or Scots Americans (Scottish Gaelic: ''Ameireaganaich Albannach''; sco, Scots-American) are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Scotland. Scottish Americans are closely related to Scotch-Irish Americans, d ...

, Ulster Scot or "Scotch-Irish" Americans,

Welsh Americans Welsh Americans ( cy, Americanwyr Cymreig) are an American ethnic group whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Wales. In the 2008 U.S. Census community survey, an estimated 1.98 million Americans had Welsh ancestry, 0.6% of the total U. ...

Jewish Americans American Jews or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by culture, ethnicity, nationality, or religion. Today the Jewish community in the United States consists primarily of Ashkenazi Jews, who descend from diaspora Je ...

Greek Americans Greek Americans ( el, Ελληνοαμερικανοί ''Ellinoamerikanoí'' ''Ellinoamerikánoi'' ) are Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. The lowest estimate is that 1.2 million Americans are of Greek descent while the highest es ...

, African Americans, Chinese Americans,

Indian Americans Indian Americans or Indo-Americans are citizens of the United States with ancestry from India. The United States Census Bureau uses the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Native Americans, who have also historically been referred to ...

Russian American Russian Americans ( rus, русские американцы, r=russkiye amerikantsy, p= ˈruskʲɪje ɐmʲɪrʲɪˈkant͡sɨ) are Americans of full or partial Russian ancestry. The term can apply to recent Russian immigrants to the United Stat ...

Korean Americans Korean Americans are Americans of Koreans, Korean ancestry (mostly from South Korea). In 2015, the Korean-American community constituted about 0.56% of the United States population, or about 1.82 million people, and was the fifth-largest Asian ...

Vietnamese Americans Vietnamese Americans ( vi, Người Mỹ gốc Việt, lit=Viet-origin American people) are Americans of Vietnamese ancestry. They make up about half of all overseas Vietnamese and are the fourth-largest Asian American ethnic group after Chinese ...

, Armenian Americans,

Arab Americans Arab Americans ( ar, عَرَبٌ أَمْرِيكِا or ) are Americans of Arab ancestry. Arab Americans trace ancestry to any of the various waves of immigrants of the countries comprising the Arab World. According to the Arab American Ins ...

Turkish Americans Turkish Americans ( tr, Türk Amerikalılar) or American Turks are Americans of ethnic Turkish origin. The term "Turkish Americans" can therefore refer to ethnic Turkish immigrants to the United States, as well as their American-born descend ...

Pakistani Americans Pakistani Americans ( ur, ) are Americans who originate from Pakistan. The term may also refer to people who also hold a dual Pakistani and U.S. citizenship. Educational attainment level and household income are much higher in the Pakistani-Am ...

Israeli Americans , native_name_lang = , image = , caption = , population = 110,000–150,000 , popplace = New York metropolitan area, Los Angeles metropolitan area, Miami metropolitan area, and other large metropolitan are ...

, various African immigrant groups, particularly from

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...

, including Nigerian Americans, Ghanaian Americans, and

Sierra Leonean Americans Sierra Leonean Americans are an ethnic group of Americans of full or partial Sierra Leonean ancestry. This includes Sierra Leone Creoles whose ancestors were African American Black Loyalists freed after fighting on the side of the British durin ...

, as well as East African immigrants, such as

Ethiopian Americans Ethiopian Americans are Americans of Ethiopian descent, as well as individuals of American and Ethiopian ancestry. History In 1919, an official Ethiopian goodwill mission was sent to the United States to congratulate the Allied powers on thei ...

; various

West Indian American Caribbean Americans or West Indian Americans are Americans who trace their ancestry to the Caribbean. Caribbean Americans are a multi-ethnic and multi-racial group that trace their ancestry further in time mostly to Africa, as well as Asia, the ...

groups, including

Jamaican Americans Jamaican Americans are an ethnic group of Caribbean Americans who have full or partial Jamaican ancestry. The largest proportions of Jamaican Americans live in South Florida and New York City, both of which have been home to large Jamaican commu ...

and

Haitian Americans Haitian Americans (french: Haïtiens-Américains; ht, ayisyen ameriken) are a group of Americans of full or partial Haitian origin or descent. The largest proportion of Haitians in the United States live in Little Haiti to the South Florida are ...

; and various

Hispanic American Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify as ...

groups. Within the Hispanic population, the vast majority are Puerto Ricans, though other significant groups include

Dominican American Dominican Americans ( es, domínico-americanos, ) are Americans who trace their ancestry to the Dominican Republic. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Dominican descent or to someone who has migrated to the United Stat ...

s and Mexican Americans, as well as significant populations from

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

. There is even a small Native American community known as '' Lenapehoking'' for Lenni- Lenape Indians of

West Philadelphia West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Alhough there are no officially defined boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Avenue to the nort ...

. Philadelphia's suburbs contain a high concentration of malls, the two largest of which have at least of office space, and at least of retail. These are the

King of Prussia The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman C ...

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 The Cherry Hill Mall, owned by Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT), was originally known as Cherry Hill Shopping Center, commonly reported as the first indoor, climate-controlled shopping center east of the Mississippi River in the ...

in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, which was the first enclosed mall on the East Coast. In addition, the

Christiana Mall The Christiana Mall is a super-regional shopping mall located between the cities of Newark and Wilmington, Delaware, United States. The mall is situated at the intersection of Interstate 95 (exit 4A) and Delaware Route 1/Delaware Route 7 (DE 1 e ...

in Newark, DE 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 Norristown may mean: * Norristown, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Norristown, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Norristown, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Norristown, Pennsylvania Norristown is a municipality with home ...

, Jenkintown,

Upper Darby Upper Darby Township, often shortened to Upper Darby, is a Home Rule Municipality (Pennsylvania), home rule Township (Pennsylvania), township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The township borders Philadelphia, the List of United States cities b ...

and West Chester retain distinct community identities while engulfed in suburbia. The fastest-growing counties are Chester, Montgomery, Bucks, and

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

. Upper Darby, in Delaware County is the largest

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

in the United States. Sometimes Reading is included in the Delaware Valley Metro Area.

Mid-Atlantic American English Philadelphia English is a variety or dialect of American English native to Philadelphia and extending into Philadelphia's metropolitan area throughout the Delaware Valley, including southeastern Pennsylvania, counties of northern Delaware (espec ...

and its subset,

Philadelphia English Philadelphia English is a variety or dialect of American English native to Philadelphia and extending into Philadelphia's metropolitan area throughout the Delaware Valley, including southeastern Pennsylvania, counties of northern Delaware (esp ...

, are two common dialects of

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and in most circumstances i ...

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 Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

.) The remainder of the Delaware Valley has a hot-summer

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(''Dfa''.

Snow amounts may vary widely year-to-year and normally do vary widely within the Delaware Valley. The region has only two ski areas:

Bear Creek Mountain Resort Bear Creek is a ski resort near the borough of Macungie, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. The resort opened in 1967 and was known as the Doe Mountain until 1999. It is a year-round resort on more than that features a va ...

in Longswamp Township, Berks County and Spring Mountain Adventures in central Montgomery County.

Global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

endangers skiing at the latter, where the climate narrowly remains ''Dfa'' and the owners have diversified to year-round activities. Using the -3 °C January isotherm as a boundary, all of the Delaware Valley is humid subtropical except for higher portions of Berks County. The warm-summer humid continental climate (''Dfb'') only exists in higher areas of Berks where all monthly temperatures average below 22 °C. The hardiness zone in the region ranges from 6a in higher areas of Berks to 8a in parts of Atlantic City and Cape May. Using the

Trewartha climate classification The Trewartha climate classification (TCC) or the Köppen–Trewartha climate classification (KTC) is a climate classification system first published by American geographer Glenn Thomas Trewartha in 1966. It is a modified version of the Köppen ...

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 areas considered ''Cfa'' by Köppen are

oceanic Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places * Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...

(''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 New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva P ...

after the exploration of

Delaware Bay Delaware Bay is the estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the northeast seaboard of the United States. It is approximately in area, the bay's freshwater mixes for many miles with the saltwater of the Atlantic Ocean. The bay is bordered inland ...

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

. In 1638, it began to be settled by Swedes, Forest Finns, Dutch, and

Walloons Walloons (; french: Wallons ; wa, Walons) are a Gallo-Romance ethnic group living native to Wallonia and the immediate adjacent regions of France. Walloons primarily speak '' langues d'oïl'' such as Belgian French, Picard and Walloon. Wall ...

and became the colony of

New Sweden New Sweden ( sv, Nya Sverige) was a Swedish colony along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now the United States from 1638 to 1655, established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a great military power. New Sweden f ...

, though this was not officially recognized by the Dutch Empire which re-asserted control in 1655. The area was taken by the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

in 1664. The name Delaware comes from

Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr ( ; 9 July 1577 – 7 June 1618), was an English merchant and politician, for whom the bay, the river, and, consequently, a Native American people and U.S. state, all later called "Delaware", were named. He wa ...

, 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 The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

refugees from France by way of Germany and then England began settling in the Delaware River Valley. Specifically, they left their mark in

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19, ...

Transportation

Many residents commute to jobs and travel in Philadelphia, Camden, Wilmington, and the surrounding suburbs with the help of expressways,

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...

s, and

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

es. There are currently no transit connections to Reading, the second largest municipality in the region.

Rail

Rapid transit

SEPTA The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five c ...

Market–Frankford Line The Market–Frankford Line (MFL) (also called the Market–Frankford Subway–Elevated Line (MFSE), the Market–Frankford El (MFE), the El (), or the Blue Line) is one of three rapid transit lines in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; it and the Broad ...

connecting

69th Street Transportation Center The 69th Street Transportation Center is a SEPTA terminal in the Terminal Square section of Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, just west of the city limits of Philadelphia. The terminal serves the Market–Frankford Line, Norristown High Speed Line, an ...

Frankford Transportation Center Frankford Transportation Center (also known as Frankford Terminal and Bridge-Pratt station) is a transportation terminal in Frankford, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was once known as the Bridge Street terminal before a complete re ...

in Near Northeast Philadelphia, passing through Center City **

Broad Street Line The Broad Street Line (BSL), also known as the Broad Street subway (BSS), Orange Line, or Broad Line, is a subway line owned by the city of Philadelphia and operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). The line ru ...

connecting

Fern Rock Transportation Center The Fern Rock Transportation Center is a SEPTA rail and bus station located at 10th Street and Nedro Avenue in the Fern Rock neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Fern Rock serves as the northern terminus and yard for SEPTA's Broad Street ...

North Philadelphia North Philadelphia, nicknamed North Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is immediately north of Center City. Though the full extent of the region is somewhat vague, "North Philadelphia" is regarded as everything north of either ...

to Center City and

NRG station NRG station (formerly named AT&T station, and earlier Pattison station) is the southern terminus of SEPTA's Broad Street Line, located at 3600 South Broad Street, at the intersection with Pattison Avenue in the South Philadelphia area of Philade ...

South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south and the Schuylkill River to the west.Norristown High Speed Line The Norristown High Speed Line (NHSL), also called the Purple Line, the P&W, or Route 100,) is a interurban light rapid transit line operated by SEPTA, running between the 69th Street Transportation Center in Upper Darby and the Norristown Tr ...

connecting

with

Norristown Transportation Center Norristown Transportation Center is a two-level multimodal public transportation regional hub located in Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA, operated by SEPTA. It opened in 1989 to replace the older Norristown High Speed Line (Route 100) terminus ...

* PATCO ** PATCO Speedline connecting Philadelphia to Lindenwold, NJ in Camden County with connections to NJT's Atlantic City Line.

Light rail

** Subway–surface lines: Routes 10, 11, 13, 34, and 36, connecting

and Delaware County with 13th Street Station, running at street-level through Delaware County and West Philadelphia, and beneath

Market Street Market Street may refer to: *Market Street, Cambridge, England *Market Street, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia * Market Street, George Town, Penang, Malaysia *Market Street, Manchester, England *Market Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia ...

in Center City ** Route 15 along

Girard Avenue Girard Avenue is a major commercial and residential street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For most of its length it runs east–west, but at Frankford Avenue it makes a 135-degree turn north. Parts of the road are signed as U.S. Route 13 and U.S ...

from 63rd Street and Girard Avenue to Richmond and Westmoreland Streets ** Routes 101 and 102 connecting

Media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

(Route 101) and Sharon Hill (Route 102) in Delaware County with

NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

** River Line connecting Camden, New Jersey to Trenton, New Jersey, running along the east bank of the Delaware River.

Commuter rail

30th Street Station concourse March 2019

SEPTA Regional Rail The SEPTA Regional Rail system is a commuter rail network owned by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and serving the Philadelphia Metropolitan area. The system has 13 branches and more than 150 active stations in Philadelp ...

** Airport Line connecting Central Philadelphia with Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia and Delaware Counties. **

Wilmington/Newark Line The Wilmington/Newark Line is a route of the SEPTA Regional Rail commuter rail system in the Philadelphia area. The line serves southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware, with stations in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, Wilmington, Delaware, and ...

connecting Philadelphia to the Wilmington, Delaware area (with limited weekday service to Newark, Delaware), via Chester City and Delaware County. **

Warminster Line The Warminster Line is a route of the SEPTA Regional Rail commuter rail system. It serves stations between its namesake town, Warminster, and Center City, Philadelphia. Half of the route is shared by other lines, including the Lansdale/Doylesto ...

connecting Philadelphia with southeastern Montgomery County and Warminster in Bucks County. **

West Trenton Line The West Trenton Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail service connecting Center City Philadelphia to the West Trenton section of Ewing Township, New Jersey. With around 12,000 riders every weekday, it is the third busiest line in the SEPTA Regional R ...

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 The Media/Wawa Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail service that runs from Center City Philadelphia west to Wawa in Delaware County. It uses the West Chester Branch, which connects with the SEPTA Main Line at 30th Street Station. Under the Pennsylva ...

connecting Philadelphia to central Delaware County. **

Paoli/Thorndale Line The Paoli/Thorndale Line, or R5 commonly known as the Main Line, is a SEPTA Regional Rail service running from Center City Philadelphia through Montgomery County and Delaware County to Thorndale in Chester County. It operates along the far eas ...

connecting Philadelphia with the affluent Main Line area and western Chester County near Coatesville. **

Lansdale/Doylestown Line The Lansdale/Doylestown Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail line connecting Center City Philadelphia to Doylestown in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Until 1981, diesel-powered trains continued on the Bethlehem Branch from Lansdale to Quakertown, Bet ...

connecting Philadelphia with Lansdale in central Montgomery County and Doylestown in Bucks County. **

Manayunk/Norristown Line The Manayunk/Norristown Line is a commuter rail service in Southeastern Pennsylvania, and one of the 13 lines in SEPTA's Regional Rail network. It has the fourth highest ridership and the highest operating ratio (58%) on the SEPTA Regional Rail ...

connecting Philadelphia with Conshohocken and Norristown in Montgomery County. **

Cynwyd Line The Cynwyd Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail line from Center City Philadelphia to Cynwyd in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Originally known as the Ivy Ridge Line, service was truncated on May 17, 1986, at its current terminus at Cynwyd. Trac ...

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 The Fox Chase Line SEPTA Regional Rail service connecting Center City Philadelphia with Fox Chase. It uses the Fox Chase Branch, which branches off from the SEPTA Main Line at Newtown Junction north of the Wayne Junction station. It runs entirel ...

connecting Central Philadelphia with the Fox Chase area in Philadelphia. **

Chestnut Hill East Line The Chestnut Hill East Line is a route of the SEPTA Regional Rail (commuter rail) system. The route serves the northwestern section of Philadelphia with service to Germantown, Mount Airy, and Chestnut Hill. It is one of two lines that serve Ch ...

and

Chestnut Hill West Line The Chestnut Hill West Line is a commuter rail line in the SEPTA Regional Rail network. It connects Northwest Philadelphia, including the eponymous neighborhood of Chestnut Hill, as well as West Mount Airy and Germantown, to Center City. Ro ...

connecting Central Philadelphia with the Chestnut Hill area of the city. *

Atlantic City Line The Atlantic City Line (ACL) is a commuter rail line operated by NJ Transit (NJT) in the United States between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Atlantic City, New Jersey, operating along the corridor of the White Horse Pike. It runs over trackage ...

connecting Philadelphia to Atlantic City, New Jersey with connections to PATCO Speedline in

Lindenwold, New Jersey Lindenwold is a borough in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 21,641, an increase of 4,028 from the 2010 census count of 17,613,MARC Train MARC (Maryland Area Rail Commuter) is a commuter rail system in the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. MARC is administered by the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) and operated under contract by Alstom and Amtrak on track owned b ...

Penn Line The Penn Line is a MARC commuter rail service running from Union Station in Washington, D.C., to Perryville, Maryland, along the far southern leg of the Northeast Corridor. However, the great majority of trains terminate at Baltimore's Penn ...

connecting

Perryville, Maryland Perryville is a town in Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The population was 4,361 at the 2010 census. The town is located near an access for Interstate 95, on the north side of the outlet of the Susquehanna River. History Perryville was fir ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

and

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

, and in the future will connect to SEPTA at Newark, DE.

Intercity rail

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

**'' Acela'': high-speed rail connecting

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

with

**'' Cardinal'' connecting

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

with

**'' Carolinian'' connecting Charlotte, NC with New York City **''

Crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hinduism, Lord Shiva is often shown wearing a crescent moon on his ...

'' connecting

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

and New York City **'' Keystone Service'' connecting

Harrisburg, PA Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

with New York City **''

Northeast Regional The ''Northeast Regional'' is an intercity rail service operated by Amtrak in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. In the past it has been known as the ''NortheastDirect'', ''Acela Regional'', or ''Regional''. It is Amtrak's busi ...

'': inter-city regional rail service from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

to Boston **'' Palmetto'' connecting

Savannah, GA Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

with New York City **'' Pennsylvanian'' connecting

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

with New York City **''

Silver Meteor The ''Silver Meteor'' is a passenger train operated by Amtrak between New York City and Miami, Florida. Introduced in 1939 as the first diesel-powered streamliner between New York and Florida, it was the flagship train of the Seaboard Air Line R ...

'' connecting

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

with New York City **'' Silver Star'' connecting

with New York City **'' Vermonter'' connecting Washington, D.C. with St. Albans, VT

Bus service

Transit buses

South Jersey Transportation Authority The South Jersey Transportation Authority (SJTA) is a quasi-private agency created by the New Jersey Legislature in 1991 to manage transportation-related services in the six southern New Jersey counties: Atlantic, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, G ...

DART First State The Delaware Transit Corporation, operating as DART First State, is the only public transportation system that operates throughout the U.S. state of Delaware. DART First State provides local and inter-county bus service throughout the state and ...

Krapf Transit Krapf Group is a bus operator serving the Mid-Atlantic states in the United States. The business is multifaceted to include school buses, public transportation, and charter bus services. Krapf School Bus operates school bus service in Pennsylvani ...

* Bucks County Transport *

Transportation Management Association of Chester County Transportation Management Association of Chester County (TMACC), is a public transportation agency designated by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to oversee transportation needs of Chester County, Pennsylvania. According to the websit ...

TMA Bucks TMA may refer to: Science * Tense–Modality–Aspect or ''tense–aspect–mood'', grammatical system * Tetramethylammonium ion or its salts * Thermomechanical analysis * Third man argument, a philosophical criticism of Plato's theory of For ...

* 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 Motorcoach *

BoltBus BoltBus was an intercity bus common carrier and a division of Greyhound Lines that operated from March 2008 until July 2021 in the northeast and western United States and British Columbia, Canada. As least one ticket on every bus was randomly s ...

* Greyhound Lines * Klein Transportation * Martz Trailways *

Megabus Megabus may refer to: *Megabus (Europe), a low-cost coach service with services in Europe owned by ComfortDelGro. *Megabus (North America) Megabus, branded as megabus.com, is an intercity bus service of Coach USA/ Coach Canada operating in the ...

OurBus OurBus Inc. is is a broker for motor carriers of passengers, and arranges for the transportation of passengers. The company offers intercity and commuter bus routes serving cities in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virgini ...

Peter Pan Bus Lines Peter Pan Bus Lines operates an intercity bus service in the Northeastern United States. It is headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts. It operates service to/from to Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hamps ...

* Trans-Bridge Lines

Major highways

2022-10-09 13 33 59 will rename and categorize soon 034

Pennsylvania * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * New Jersey * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Delaware * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Maryland * * * * Delaware River Bridges 2012 Ben Franklin Bridge and Race Street Pier

New Hope–Lambertville Toll Bridge The New Hope–Lambertville Toll Bridge carries U.S. Route 202 (US 202) over the Delaware River, connecting Delaware Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, Delaware Township in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, ...

Scudder Falls Bridge The Scudder Falls Bridge is a toll bridge that carries Interstate 295 (I-295) over the Delaware River, connecting Lower Makefield Township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, with the Scudders Falls section of Ewing Township in Mercer County, ...

* Delaware River – Turnpike Toll Bridge * Burlington–Bristol Bridge * Tacony–Palmyra Bridge *

Betsy Ross Bridge The Betsy Ross Bridge, also known as the Ross Memorial Bridge, is a continuous steel truss bridge spanning the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Pennsauken, New Jersey. It was built from 1969 to 1974, and opened in April 1976, du ...

Benjamin Franklin Bridge The Benjamin Franklin Bridge, originally named the Delaware River Bridge and known locally as the Ben Franklin Bridge, is a suspension bridge across the Delaware River connecting Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Camden, New Jersey. Owned and ...

Walt Whitman Bridge The Walt Whitman Bridge is a single-level suspension bridge spanning the Delaware River from Philadelphia in the west to Gloucester City in Camden County, New Jersey in the east. The bridge is named after the poet Walt Whitman, who resided i ...

Commodore Barry Bridge The Commodore Barry Bridge (also known as the Commodore John Barry Bridge or John Barry Bridge) is a cantilever bridge that spans the Delaware River from Chester, Pennsylvania to Bridgeport, in Logan Township, New Jersey. It is named after the A ...

Delaware Memorial Bridge The Delaware Memorial Bridge is a dual-span suspension bridge crossing the Delaware River. The toll bridges carry Interstate 295 and U.S. Route 40 and is also the link between Delaware and New Jersey. The bridge was designed by the firm kn ...

Airports

Major: * Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), located 15 miles southwest of Center City Philadelphia, is the main international airport serving the immediate Delaware Valley Area * Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), while not in the Delaware Valley, is a major airport serving certain regions of the Delaware Valley, including Bucks, Montgomery County, the city of Philadelphia as well as New Jersey. Secondary: *

Atlantic City International Airport Atlantic City International Airport is a shared civil-military airport northwest of Atlantic City, New Jersey, in Egg Harbor Township, the Pomona section of Galloway Township and in Hamilton Township. The airport is accessible via Exit 9 o ...

(ACY) *

Lehigh Valley International Airport Lehigh Valley International Airport (formerly Allentown–Bethlehem–Easton International Airport) is a domestic airport located in Hanover Township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. Lehigh Valley International Airport is located in the center ...

(ABE) (not in CSA) *

New Castle Airport Wilmington Airport (formerly known as New Castle Airport, New Castle County Airport, sometimes referred to as Wilmington-New Castle Airport, or to a lesser extent Wilmington/Philadelphia Regional Airport and Greater Wilmington Airport) is an a ...

(ILG) * Northeast Philadelphia Airport (PNE) *

Reading Regional Airport Reading Regional Airport (also known as Carl A. Spaatz Field) is a public airport three miles (5 km) northwest of Reading, in Berks County, Pennsylvania. It is owned by the Reading Regional Airport Authority. Federal Aviation Administrati ...

(RDG) *

Trenton–Mercer Airport Trenton–Mercer Airport is a county-owned, joint civil–military, public airport located four miles northwest of Trenton in the West Trenton section of Ewing Township, Mercer County, New Jersey. Formerly known as Mercer County Airport, t ...

(TTN) (not in CSA)

Ferry

The Cape May–Lewes Ferry crosses the mouth of the

between Cape May County, NJ and Sussex County, DE. U.S. Route 9 uses this ferry.

Colleges and universities

Delaware

Delaware College of Art and Design Delaware College of Art and Design (DCAD) was founded in 1997 through a partnership between the Pratt Institute and the Corcoran College of Art and Design. DCAD's mission is to educate talented and committed students to become art makers, idea g ...

Delaware State University Delaware State University (DSU or Del State) is a public historically black land-grant research university in Dover, Delaware. DSU also has two satellite campuses: one in Wilmington and one in Georgetown. The university encompasses four colle ...

* Goldey-Beacom College *

* Wesley College *

Widener University School of Law Widener University Delaware Law School (Delaware Law School and formerly Widener University School of Law) is a private law school in Wilmington, Delaware. It is one of two separate ABA-accredited law schools of Widener University. Widener Un ...

Wilmington University Wilmington University (WilmU) is a private university with its main campus in Wilmington Manor, Delaware, with a New Castle street address. - It was founded in 1968 as Wilmington College by educator Dr. Donald E. Ross. As of 2016, the unive ...

Maryland

Cecil College Cecil College is a public college in Bay View, Maryland in Cecil County. History Cecil College was founded in 1968 to meet the educational needs of Cecil County residents. On June 13, 2007, the Maryland Higher Education Commission voted to acce ...

New Jersey

Rider University Rider University is a private university in Lawrence Township, New Jersey. It consists of four academic units: the Norm Brodsky College of Business, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the College of Education and Human Services, and West ...

Rowan University Rowan University is a public research university in Glassboro, New Jersey, with a medical campus in Stratford and medical and academic campuses in Camden. It was founded in 1923 as Glassboro Normal School on a site donated by 107 residents. ...

Rutgers School of Law–Camden Rutgers Law School is the law school of Rutgers University, with classrooms in Newark and Camden, New Jersey. It is the largest public law school and the 10th largest law school, overall, in the United States. Each class in the three-year J.D. p ...

* Rutgers University (Camden) *

The College of New Jersey The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) is a public university in Ewing Township, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Established in 1855 as the New Jersey State Normal School, TCNJ was the first normal school, or ...

Pennsylvania

Albright College Albright College is a private liberal arts college in Reading, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1856. History Albright College traces its founding to 1856 when Union Seminary opened. Present-day Albright was formed by the mergers of several ins ...

* Alvernia University *

Arcadia University Arcadia University is a private university in Glenside, Pennsylvania. The university enrolls approximately 4,000 undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students. The campus features Grey Towers Castle, a National Historic Landmark. History B ...

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United ...

Cabrini College Cabrini University is a private Roman Catholic university in Radnor Township, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1957, and was named after the first American naturalized citizen saint, Mother ...

Cairn University Cairn University is a private Christian university in Langhorne Manor and Middletown Township, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1913, the university has six schools and departments: Business, Counseling, Divinity, Education, Liberal Arts & Sciences, ...

Chestnut Hill College Chestnut Hill College is a private Catholic college in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The college was founded in 1924 as a women's college by the Sisters of St. Joseph. It was originally named Mount Saint Joseph Colleg ...

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania Cheyney University of Pennsylvania is a public historically black university in Cheyney, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1837, it is the oldest university out of all historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the United States. It is a m ...

* Curtis Institute of Music *

Delaware Valley University Delaware Valley University (DelVal) is a private university in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1896, it enrolls approximately 1,900 students on its suburban, 570-acre campus. DelVal offers more than 28 undergraduate majors, seven master's p ...

DeVry University DeVry University () is a private for-profit university with its headquarters in Naperville, Illinois. It was founded in 1931 by Herman A. DeVry and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. DeVry is predominantly an online educator but ...

* Drexel University * Eastern University * Gwynedd-Mercy College *

Harcum College Harcum College is a private associate degree-granting college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1915 and was the first college in Pennsylvania authorized to grant associate degrees. History Edith Hatcher, daughter of prominent Vir ...

* Haverford College *

Holy Family University Holy Family University is a private Roman Catholic university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was chartered in 1954 by the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth. In addition to the main Torresdale campus in the northeast ...

Immaculata University Immaculata University is a private Roman Catholic university in East Whiteland Township, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The university is composed of 1,427 traditional undergraduate and ...

Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Kutztown University of Pennsylvania (Kutztown University or KU) is a public university in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) and is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Highe ...

* La Salle University * Lincoln University *

Manor College Manor College is a private Catholic college in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. It offers associate and bachelor's degrees and is best known for its veterinary technician and dental hygiene programs. To give students a hands-on learning experience, th ...

* Moore College of Art and Design *

Neumann University Neumann University is a private Roman Catholic liberal arts college in Aston, Pennsylvania. It is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia. History The roots of Neumann University began in 1855 when Bishop (later Saint) John ...

Peirce College Peirce College is a private college in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It focuses on adult learners. History In 1865, Thomas May Peirce, a Philadelphia educator, founded the Union Business College. The curriculum was designed to provide returni ...

Penn State Abington Penn State Abington is a commonwealth campus of the Pennsylvania State University located in Abington, Pennsylvania. The campus is set on of wooded land. The roughly 4000 undergraduate students (full-time and part-time students combined) are t ...

Penn State Berks Penn State Berks is a commonwealth campus of Pennsylvania State University located in Spring Township in Berks County, Pennsylvania. History First known as Wyomissing Polytechnic Institute, Penn State Berks became part of the Penn State syste ...

Penn State Brandywine Penn State Brandywine is a commonwealth campus of the Pennsylvania State University located in Middletown Township, Pennsylvania. The campus was formerly known as Penn State Delaware County. The campus has baccalaureate and associate degrees ...

Penn State Great Valley Penn State Great Valley School of Graduate Professional Studies is a special mission campus and graduate school of the Pennsylvania State University located in East Whiteland Township, Pennsylvania, near Malvern. Academic programs include engin ...

Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) is a private medical school with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and additional locations in Suwanee, Georgia (PCOM Georgia) and Moultrie, Georgia (PCOM South Georgia). Founded ...

Point Park University Point Park University is a private university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Grea ...

* Rosemont College * Saint Joseph's University * Swarthmore College *

University of the Arts (Philadelphia) The University of the Arts (UArts) is a private art university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its campus makes up part of the Avenue of the Arts in Center City, Philadelphia. Dating back to the 1870s, it is one of the oldest schools of art or ...

University of the Sciences in Philadelphia University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (University of the Sciences or USciences) was a private university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. USciences offered bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in pharmacy and other health-related dis ...

Ursinus College Ursinus College is a private liberal arts college in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1869 and occupies a 170-acre campus. History 19th century In 1867, members of the German Reformed Church began plans to establish a college wh ...

* Valley Forge Christian College *

Valley Forge Military Academy and College Valley Forge Military Academy and College (VFMAC) is a private boarding school (grades 7–12) and military junior college in Wayne, Pennsylvania. It follows in the traditional military school format with army traditions. Though military in t ...

West Chester University West Chester University (also known as West Chester, WCU, or WCUPA, and officially as West Chester University of Pennsylvania) is a public research university in and around West Chester, Pennsylvania. The university is accredited by the Middle ...

Westminster Theological Seminary Westminster Theological Seminary is a Protestant theological seminary in the Reformed theological tradition in Glenside, Pennsylvania. It was founded by members of the faculty of Princeton Theological Seminary in 1929 after Princeton chose to ...

Widener University Widener University is a private university in Chester, Pennsylvania. The university has three other campuses: two in Pennsylvania (Harrisburg and Exton) and one in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded as The Bullock School for Boys in 1821, the school ...

Culture

Sports teams

Listing of the professional sports teams in the Delaware Valley *

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA) ** Philadelphia 76ers *

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) ** Philadelphia Phillies * Minor League Baseball (MiLB) ** Jersey Shore BlueClaws **

Reading Fightin Phils The Reading Fightin Phils (also called the Reading Fightins) are a Minor League Baseball team based in Reading, Pennsylvania, playing in the Northeast Division of the Eastern League. The team plays their home games at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Re ...

Wilmington Blue Rocks The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware, and play their home games at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. ...

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) **

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) **

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Well ...

* Major League Soccer (MLS) ** Philadelphia Union *

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...

Delaware Blue Coats The Delaware Blue Coats are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Wilmington, Delaware, and are affiliated with the Philadelphia 76ers. The Blue Coats play their home games at Chase Fieldhouse. The team was found ...

National Lacrosse League The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The NLL currently has fifteen teams: ten in the United States and five in Canada. The N ...

(NLL) ** Philadelphia Wings

Media

The two main newspapers are

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

and the Philadelphia Daily News, owned by the Philadelphia Media Network. Local television channels include KYW-TV 3 (CBS),

WPVI WPVI-TV (channel 6), branded on-air as 6 ABC, is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station ...

6 (ABC),

WCAU WCAU (channel 10) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Mount Laurel, New Jer ...

10 (NBC),

WHYY-TV WHYY-TV (channel 12) is a television station licensed to Wilmington, Delaware, United States, serving as the primary PBS member station for the Philadelphia area. It is owned by WHYY, Inc., alongside NPR member station WHYY-FM 90.9. WHYY-TV a ...

12 (PBS),

WPHL-TV WPHL-TV (channel 17) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, affiliated with MyNetworkTV. The station is owned by Nexstar Media Group and has studios in the Wynnefield section of West Philadelphia; it maintains ...

17 (MyNetworkTV),

WTXF WTXF-TV (channel 29) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the Fox network. Owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division, the station maintains studios on Market ...

29 (FOX),

WPSG WPSG (channel 57) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, affiliated with The CW. It is owned by the CBS News and Stations group alongside CBS owned-and-operated station KYW-TV (channel 3). Both stations share stu ...

57 (CW), and WPPX 61 (

Ion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conve ...

). Radio stations serving the area include:

WRTI WRTI (90.1 FM) is a non-commercial, public radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is a service of Temple University. The Temple University Board of Trustees holds the station's license. The broadcast tower used by the s ...

WIOQ WIOQ (102.1 FM) is a commercial radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station broadcasts a Top 40 (CHR) radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia. The studios and offices are on Presidential Boulevard in Bala Cynwyd. The station c ...

WDAS (AM) WDAS (1480 kHz) is an AM radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Owned and operated by iHeartMedia, the station airs a sports format as an affiliate of Fox Sports Radio. WDAS's studios and offices are located in Bala Cynwyd. WDAS's tran ...

, and WTEL.

Area codes

* 215/267/445: The City of Philadelphia and some of its northern suburbs * 610/484: Southeastern Pennsylvania outside Philadelphia, including the western suburbs, the Lehigh Valley, and most of Berks County *

856 __NOTOC__ Year 856 ( DCCCLVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 15 – Emperor Michael III overthrows the regency of his mo ...

: 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: South Central Pennsylvania, including Western Berks County

Politics

is heavily Democratic, having voted for the Democratic candidate in every presidential election since

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

. The surrounding suburban counties are key political areas in Pennsylvania, which itself is an important

swing state In American politics, the term swing state (also known as battleground state or purple state) refers to any state that could reasonably be won by either the Democratic or Republican candidate in a statewide election, most often referring to pres ...

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 Edward Gene Rendell (; born January 5, 1944) is an American lawyer, prosecutor, politician, and author. He served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011, as chair of the national Democratic Party, and as the 96th Mayor of Philad ...

and late former U.S. Senator

Arlen Specter Arlen Specter (February 12, 1930 – October 14, 2012) was an American lawyer, author and politician who served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1981 to 2011. Specter was a Democrat from 1951 to 1965, then a Republican fr ...

Congressional districts

The following

congressional districts Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts and legislative districts, electorates, or wards in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional bod ...

of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

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 The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

by the eight Senators from Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

Notes

References

External links

Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission

Delaware River Basin Commission
{{Coord, 39.877, -75.323, display=title Metropolitan areas of Delaware Metropolitan areas of Maryland Metropolitan areas of New Jersey Metropolitan areas of Pennsylvania Mid-Atlantic states Northeast megalopolis Regions of Pennsylvania Regions of New Jersey Regions of Maryland Tourism regions of New Jersey

Geography

Definitions of the metropolitan area

Metropolitan statistical area (MSA)

Combined statistical area (CSA)

Counties not in the Philadelphia metropolitan area

Regional Planning Commission

Population and economy

Subregions

Components of Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metropolitan Statistical Area

Additional Components of Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, PA-NJ-DE-MD Combined Statistical Area

List of largest municipalities

Statistical history

Characteristics

Climate

Colonial history

Transportation

Rail

Rapid transit

Light rail

Commuter rail

Intercity rail

Bus service

Transit buses

Intercity bus

Major highways

Airports

Ferry

Colleges and universities

Delaware

Maryland

New Jersey

Pennsylvania

Culture

Sports teams

Media

Area codes

Politics

Congressional districts

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links