About Our District

Our District

Nestled in the nation’s first financial capital, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia carries out the mission of the Federal Reserve to promote a strong and stable U.S. economy. It was here in Philadelphia that Alexander Hamilton, the nation’s first secretary of the Treasury, launched the predecessor to the Federal Reserve to fuel the new economy back in 1791.

The Philadelphia Fed serves the Third District, which encompasses Delaware, southern New Jersey, and eastern and central Pennsylvania. Our job is to foster conditions that support a strong economy and thriving communities for the people and businesses that call our region home.

The Federal Reserve conducts monetary policy in support of our congressionally mandated goals of price stability and maximum employment. The Federal Reserve also carries out other essential functions that help our economy run well, including supervising local and regional financial institutions, ensuring the payment system is safe and secure, and gathering regional data that help us keep a pulse on economic trends and business conditions.

The Philadelphia Fed brings together leading experts in macroeconomics, consumer finance, community development, and other fields that impact the economic well-being of the Third District and beyond. Through our research, supervision of local and regional financial institutions, and economic and community outreach across our District, we are listening to and learning from the people, organizations, and communities that are the backbone of our region’s economy. We translate their real-time insights into a deeper understanding of our District’s most pressing economic issues, which in turn helps inform policy decisions to support a strong economy.

A Microcosm of the U.S. Economy

The Third District boasts everything from farmlands and small rural towns to seaside and mountain resorts to midsize cities and growing suburbs, as well as the nation’s sixth largest city, Philadelphia. More than 13.8 million people call the Third District home — that’s about 5 percent of the U.S. population in 1 percent of the country’s land.

The drivers of our economy are as varied as the communities and people who call our region home. Our region tends to have a higher concentration of jobs than the United States overall across the trade, transportation, utilities, and education and health services industries. One example is in the higher education and healthcare sectors, with the Philadelphia area ranking fifth in the nation for jobs in “eds and meds.” In fact, the local economies of several areas in our District rely more on higher education institutions and hospitals, or anchor institutions, than the national average. Delaware also has a high concentration of financial services institutions, accounting for about one in 10 of all nonfarm jobs in Delaware — nearly twice the U.S. average.

From Farmlands to Seashores

Agriculture is another key industry in the three states of our District. Pennsylvania is home to the “Mushroom Capital of the World” and is also the fourth largest producer of apples in the United States. New Jersey, the Garden State, is a top 10 producer of several crops, including blueberries and cranberries, while Delaware is a leading producer of broiler chickens.

With miles of coastline and rolling mountain communities, tourism is another key sector for the Third District. Tourism supports one in 16 jobs in Pennsylvania. In New Jersey, which boasts one of the largest collections of beachside boardwalks in the country, tourism drives one in 12 jobs. In Delaware, tourism is the fourth largest private employer in the state.