Using data from the national 2025 Report on Employer Firms: Findings from the 2024 Small Business Credit Survey, this brief details findings from the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metropolitan statistical area. The survey finds that 63 percent of small businesses in the Philadelphia metro said financial conditions were poor or fair in 2024 — an uptick from 57 percent in 2023.
The 2024 survey of 279 small businesses in the Philadelphia metro also found that compared with 2023:
- more firms carried debt, although revenue trends were similar.
- the portion of Philadelphia metro firms that reported operational challenges of reaching customers or growing sales and supply chain issues increased, while the portion that cited issues hiring or retaining qualified staff decreased slightly.
- firms continued to face financial challenges with increased costs, and more firms reported issues with paying operating expenses and weak sales.
- the portion of firms that responded to financial challenges by using personal funds increased, while the portion that used cash reserves or raised prices decreased slightly.
The Federal Reserve’s Small Business Credit Survey is a national sample of small businesses with fewer than 500 employees that provides timely information on firms’ needs and experiences with getting loans and managing debt. The Fed conducted its survey from September through November 2024 and reached over 7,600 small employer firms nationwide.
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