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 The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...

that comprises and surrounds

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, 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 South Jersey comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey located between the lower Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. The designation of South Jersey with a distinct toponym is a colloquialism rather than an administrative ...

, 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 that ...

along the central and lower

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

. 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 Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

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 Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

in Pennsylvania;

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

, 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 Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

in Delaware. The Delaware Valley Metropolitan Area is located in the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southe ...

and forms part of the

Northeast megalopolis The Northeast megalopolis, also known as the Northeast Corridor, Acela Corridor, Boston–Washington corridor, or BosWash, is the world's largest megalopolis in terms of economic output and the second most populous megalopolis in the United St ...

, the most populated region of the nation with over 50 million residents. According to the

Bureau of Economic Analysis The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) of the United States Department of Commerce is a U.S. government agency that provides official economy of the United States, macroeconomic and industry statistics, most notably reports about the gross domestic ...

, the Philadelphia metropolitan area has a

gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a money, monetary Measurement in economics, 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 subjec ...

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 History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

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 the ...

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 Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

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 Revolut ...

, 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 university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...

, 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 called Ba ...

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 mas ...

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 b ...

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 startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which ha ...

hub.

Geography

The Delaware Valley is geographically associated and proximate to the

'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 town, incorporate ...

(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 Cecil County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland at the northeastern corner of the state, bordering both Pennsylvania and Delaware. As of the 2020 census, the population was 103,725. The county seat is Elkton. The county was n ...

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 Phil ...

(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

, 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 A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state (polity), state, nation, or other polity, political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, so ...

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 the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

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 = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, 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 cou ...

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

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 bo ...

. 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 area, urban landmass, at , and one of the list of most populous metropolitan areas, most populous urban agg ...

, 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. The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical List of regions in the United States, region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the south ...

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 f ...

, after

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

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 largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, 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 statistical area, metropolitan region on the East Coast of the United States that comprises and surrounds Philadelphia, the List of United States cities by population, sixth most populous city in the nation ...

, 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

, 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.

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 The Jersey Shore (known by locals simply as the Shore) is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May Po ...

(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 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, ...

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, Talb ...

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 Lancaster County (; Pennsylvania Dutch: Lengeschder Kaundi), sometimes nicknamed the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the south central part of 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 distin ...

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 Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, w ...

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

Polish Americans Polish Americans ( pl, Polonia amerykańska) are Americans who either have total or partial Poles, Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 9.15 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing abou ...

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 African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

Chinese Americans Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from ...

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 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 American ...

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 Chines ...

, 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 Israeli Americans ( he, אָמֵרִיקָאִים יִשׂרָאֵליִם, translit=Ameriqaim Yiśraʾelim, or ) are United States, Americans who are of full or partial Israelis, Israeli descent. In this category are those who are Israelis throu ...

, 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, Maurit ...

, including Nigerian Americans,

Ghanaian Americans Ghanaian Americans are an ethnic group of Americans of full or partial Ghanaian ancestry or Ghanaian immigrants who became naturalized citizen of the United States. History Early history The first people to arrive from the region then known ...

, 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 Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

n 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 Puerto Ricans ( es, Puertorriqueños; or boricuas) are the people of Puerto Rico, the inhabitants, and citizens of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and their descendants. Overview The culture held in common by most Puerto Ricans is referred t ...

, 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 Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

, 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 The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...

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 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1, US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between M ...

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 Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

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 Jenkintown is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is approximately 10 miles (16 km) north of Center City Philadelphia. History The community was named for William Jenkins, a Welsh pioneer settler. Jenkintown is located just ...

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

, 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, Ca ...

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 variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lan ...

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 A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(''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 A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...

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 The Susquehannock people, also called the Conestoga by some English settlers or Andastes were Iroquoian Native Americans who lived in areas adjacent to the Susquehanna River and its tributaries, ranging from its upper reaches in the southern p ...

and

, 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 the United States, east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territor ...

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 inlan ...

in 1609. The Dutch called the

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. Walloo ...

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 The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. It was located on the northeast bank of the James (Powhatan) River about southwest of the center of modern Williamsburg. It was ...

in 1610, just as original settlers were about to abandon it, and thus maintaining the English foothold on the

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

n 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 Expressway may refer to: *Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic. *Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road. *Expressway, the fictional slide ...

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 Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...

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 coun ...

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, and t ...

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 ...

Near Northeast Philadelphia Northeast Philadelphia, nicknamed Northeast Philly, the Northeast and the Great Northeast, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to the 2000 census, Northeast Philadelphia has a population of between 300,000 and 450,000, depending ...

, 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 r ...

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 Tran ...

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

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 Philadelphi ...

** Airport Line connecting Central Philadelphia with

Philadelphia International Airport Philadelphia International Airport is the primary airport serving Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The airport served 19.6 million passengers annually in 2021, making it the 21st busiest airport in the United States. The airport is located from t ...

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 (SEPTA station), Warminster, and Center City, Philadelphia. Half of the route is shared by other lines, incl ...

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 Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to: Transportation Railway * Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system * Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...

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 The Trenton Line is a route of the SEPTA Regional Rail (commuter rail) system. The route serves the northeastern suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with service in Bucks County along the Delaware River to Trenton, New Jersey. Route Trenton L ...

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 and Chestnut Hill West Line connecting Central Philadelphia with the Chestnut Hill area of the city. * NJ Transit ** Atlantic City Line connecting Philadelphia to Atlantic City, New Jersey with connections to PATCO Speedline in Lindenwold, New Jersey. * MARC Train ** Penn Line (MARC), Penn Line connecting Perryville, Maryland to Baltimore and Washington D.C., and in the future will connect to SEPTA at Newark, DE.

Intercity rail

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

Bus service

Transit buses

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

Intercity bus

* Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach * BoltBus * Greyhound Lines * Klein Transportation * Martz Group, Martz Trailways * Megabus (North America), Megabus * OurBus * Peter Pan Bus Lines * 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 * Scudder Falls Bridge * Delaware River – Turnpike Toll Bridge * Burlington–Bristol Bridge * Tacony–Palmyra Bridge * Betsy Ross Bridge * Benjamin Franklin Bridge * Walt Whitman Bridge * Commodore Barry Bridge * Delaware Memorial Bridge

Airports

Major: *

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

Ferry

The Cape May–Lewes Ferry crosses the mouth of the

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 State University * Goldey-Beacom College *

* Wesley College (Delaware), Wesley College * Widener University School of Law * Wilmington University

Maryland

* Cecil College

New Jersey

* Rider University * Rowan University * Rutgers School of Law–Camden * Rutgers–Camden, Rutgers University (Camden) *

* The College of New Jersey

Pennsylvania

* Albright College * Alvernia University * Arcadia University * Bryn Mawr College * Cabrini College * Cairn University * Chestnut Hill College * Cheyney University of Pennsylvania * Curtis Institute of Music * Delaware Valley University * DeVry University * Drexel University * Eastern University (United States), Eastern University * Gwynedd-Mercy College * Harcum College * Haverford College * Holy Family University * Immaculata University * Kutztown University of Pennsylvania * La Salle University * Lincoln University (Pennsylvania), Lincoln University * Manor College * Moore College of Art and Design * Neumann University * Peirce College * Penn State Abington * Penn State Berks * Penn State Brandywine * Penn State Great Valley School of Graduate Professional Studies, Penn State Great Valley * Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine * Point Park University * Rosemont College * Saint Joseph's University * Swarthmore College *

* University of the Arts (Philadelphia) * University of the Sciences in Philadelphia * Ursinus College * Valley Forge Christian College * Valley Forge Military Academy and College *

* West Chester University * Westminster Theological Seminary * Widener University

Culture

Sports teams

Listing of the professional sports teams in the Delaware Valley * National Basketball Association (NBA) ** Philadelphia 76ers * Major League Baseball (MLB) ** Philadelphia Phillies * Minor League Baseball (MiLB) ** Jersey Shore BlueClaws ** Reading Fightin Phils ** Wilmington Blue Rocks * National Football League (NFL) ** Philadelphia Eagles * National Hockey League (NHL) ** Philadelphia Flyers * Major League Soccer (MLS) ** Philadelphia Union * NBA G League ** Delaware Blue Coats * National Lacrosse League (NLL) ** Philadelphia Wings (2018–), Philadelphia Wings

Media

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

Area codes

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

Politics

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

Congressional districts

The following List of United States congressional districts, congressional districts of the United States House of Representatives are located partly or entirely in the Delaware Valley CSA. ''Italicized'' counties are not part of the CSA. Additionally, the Delaware Valley is represented in the United States Senate by the eight Senators from Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

Notes

References

External links

Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission

Delaware River Basin Commission
{{Coord, 39.877, -75.323, display=title Delaware Valley, 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