CognitiveAristocracy
Detail
Overview / Regions / Philadelphia

Philadelphia

US Power #40/162Per-capita #35National view: United States →
Metro Power
57.1
of 100 · #40
MPI
57.1
MCC
54.8
MDI
52.4

Pillar profile

Talent48.5
Capital44.7
Research55.1
Infrastructure73.5
Agentic52.4

Indicators

  • Population (m)6.2
  • GDP ($bn)490
  • GDP per capita ($k)78.5
  • AI investment ($bn)8
  • Tech employment %11
  • AI talent62
  • Research strength83
  • Notable AI orgs18
  • Compute / data centers64
  • Broadband %94
  • Tertiary degree %42
  • Digital skills79
  • Startup ecosystem60
  • Agent adoption56
  • Patents / 100k110

Nearest peers

Metro report · generated from Philadelphia's indicators

Philadelphia — metro standing in full

Philadelphia is the #18 metro by economic size ($490bn) in the panel and ranks #40/162 on absolute Metro Power and #35/162 on per-capita intensity. Its strongest pillar is Research (55.1, Strong); no single pillar is a binding weakness. Locally it runs below the United States national average (MCC 54.8 vs CC 86.7).

National context: United States scores CC 86.7 per-capita; Philadelphia sits at MCC 54.8.

Economic & scale context ● US Census ACS-1 2022 (population); GDP curated

GDP (metro)
$490bn
#18 of 162
GDP / capita
$78k
Population
6.2M
AI investment
$8.0bn
#24 of 162
Notable AI orgs
18

Index & pillar read

For each metro index and pillar: what it means when high (the value) versus low (the gap), and Philadelphia's own standing.

Index / pillarValueStandingWhat a high vs low value means — and where Philadelphia sits
MPI Metro Power57.1Strong · #40/162High here — a heavyweight hub where capital, talent and AI organizations concentrate — it can anchor an entire national AI ecosystem.
▲ high: a heavyweight hub where capital, talent and AI organizations concentrate — it can anchor an entire national AI ecosystem  ·  ▼ low: limited absolute weight — a smaller node that leans on capacity built in larger hubs
MCC Metro Coefficient54.8Strong · #35/162High here — deep capability per resident — a concentrated, high-intensity ecosystem.
▲ high: deep capability per resident — a concentrated, high-intensity ecosystem  ·  ▼ low: thin intensity per resident — capability is sparse relative to the population
MDI Metro Agentic52.4Strong · #31/162High here — agents are widely deployed locally — a near-term productivity multiplier.
▲ high: agents are widely deployed locally — a near-term productivity multiplier  ·  ▼ low: agentic deployment is shallow — the local agent lever is under-used
Talent Talent48.5Moderate · #53/162Mid-pack. High would mean a deep talent pool — the scarcest input to building AI; low would mean a shallow talent base that constrains how much can be built locally.
▲ high: a deep talent pool — the scarcest input to building AI  ·  ▼ low: a shallow talent base that constrains how much can be built locally
Capital Capital44.7Strong · #34/162High here — abundant capital flowing into building cognitive infrastructure.
▲ high: abundant capital flowing into building cognitive infrastructure  ·  ▼ low: thin investment — good ideas struggle to scale locally
Research Research55.1Strong · #30/162High here — a strong research base feeding a pipeline of ideas and people.
▲ high: a strong research base feeding a pipeline of ideas and people  ·  ▼ low: a weak research base — fewer home-grown breakthroughs and spinouts
Infrastructure Infrastructure73.5Strong · #42/162High here — the physical and digital rails to run AI at scale are in place.
▲ high: the physical and digital rails to run AI at scale are in place  ·  ▼ low: infrastructure gaps cap how much AI can actually be run locally
Agentic Agentic52.4Strong · #31/162High here — agents are actively deployed — an early-mover productivity edge.
▲ high: agents are actively deployed — an early-mover productivity edge  ·  ▼ low: little agentic deployment — the near-term lever is unused

Strengths to build on

  • Research (55.1, Strong) — a strong research base feeding a pipeline of ideas and people.
  • Agentic (52.4, Strong) — agents are actively deployed — an early-mover productivity edge.
  • Capital (44.7, Strong) — abundant capital flowing into building cognitive infrastructure.

Risk factors

  • No acute structural gaps stand out across the metro pillars.
Metro values are curated estimates (v1) on a consistent global scale — not yet measured sub-national data.