Demographic Multipliers for the DVRPC Region

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) is the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization for the nine-county Greater Philadelphia Region. DVRPC hired ESI to produce demographic multipliers and related demographic statistics for multifamily units in the Greater Philadelphia Region.

Demographic multipliers were measured on a per-household or per-housing unit level. The demographic impact of a residential development is dependent on the mix of housing structures, size, and tenure. Similarly, demographic statistics estimate the distribution of demographic groups by housing type. Demographic groups can be analyzed by numerous variables including race and ethnicity, occupation, and income level.

In addition to demographic multipliers, ESI calculated summary statistics by housing configuration and tenure. In total, three multipliers and nine summary statistics were produced for seven levels of geographical analysis. The multipliers and summary statistics were produced for 2011 and 2016 to identify changes over time.

ESI found that:

• The average household size is higher for renter-occupied than owner-occupied for almost all housing configurations.
• Owner-occupied 3-bedroom average household size dropped significantly from 2011 to 2016.
• School Age Children impacts are substantially higher in renter-occupied housing than in owner-occupied housing.