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The Delaware Valley, also known as the Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metropolitan Combined Statistical Area, is named for the Delaware River which flows through the region. The Delaware Valley is composed of several counties in Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, and contains a population of 5,951,797 (as of the 2005 Census Bureau estimate). Philadelphia, being the region's major commercial, cultural, and industrial center, maintains a rather large sphere of influence that affects those counties that immediately surround it. The majority of the region's populace reside in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The Greater Philadelphia Area is also one of the wealthiest regions in the United States, due to many people with high-end jobs working in Philadelphia. The Delaware Valley once had a stagnant population, but over the past twenty years the area has recorded population growth at a rate of 10.6% on average every decade. The area boasts safe, prospering suburbs and cities, cleaner air than most metropolitan areas, and cultural and ethnic enclaves. The area boasts a large influx of foreign born residents, hailing from many countries across Asia, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. Many residents commute to jobs in Philadelphia, Camden, Wilmington, and increasingly as far as New York City, with the help of expressways and trains. Commutes from one suburb to another are also common, as office parks have sprung up in new commercial centers such as King of Prussia, Fort Washington, Cherry Hill, and Plymouth Meeting. The area has extensive suburban sprawl. King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, and Cherry Hill, New Jersey are two of the largest suburban edge cities. Malls, office complexes, strip shopping plazas, expressways, and tract housing are common sites, and more and more are continued to be constructed as these replace rolling countryside, farms, woods, and wetlands. However, recent opposition made by residents and political officals, many acres of land have been preserved throughout the Delaware Valley. Older small towns and large boroughs such as Norristown, Jenkintown and West Chester remain while engulfed in suburbia. The fastest growing counties are Chester, Montgomery, Bucks, and Gloucester. Also, many of the counties outside the metropolitain area, are also experiencing rapid growth, such as Lancaster County, Lehigh County, Northampton County, and Berks County. Also, South Jersey is experiencing faster growth than the rest of the state. The Delaware Valley is the fourth largest metropolitan area in the United States (and the sixth largest combined statistical area, closely trailing the San Francisco Bay Area), and is located in the middle of the BosWash megalopolis, the name given for a group of metropolitan areas in the northeastern United States, extending from Boston, Massachusetts to Washington, D.C.
Delaware Maryland New Jersey NOTE: The 2000 U.S. Census amended previous estimates (based on commuting patterns) of Mercer County, New Jersey and the city of Trenton, moving the county from the Philadelphia metropolitan area to the New York metropolitan area; however, in geographic terms, Mercer County is still considered part of the Delaware Valley. Pennsylvania Primary Cities NOTE: The 2000 U.S. Census amended previous estimates (based on commuting patterns) of Mercer County, New Jersey and the city of Trenton, moving the county from the Philadelphia metropolitan area to the New York metropolitan area; however, in geographic terms, Mercer County is still considered part of the Delaware Valley. Counties Adjacent to the Delaware Valley The counties listed below are not physically or officially part of the Delaware Valley, according to the U.S. Cenusu Bureau. However, these counties have seen increased growth and growing links to the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area and the Delaware Valley in recent years. This trend is due to increased economic trade and transportation links to the Delaware Valley. In recent decades, there has also been a rapid trend of out migration from Philadelphia and its suburbs by commuters and others seeking lower housing prices and a lower cost of living, further linking these counties with the greater Philadelphia area. While unlikely in the near future, it is not impossible to assume that some of these counties will one day be considered part of the Philadephia Metropolitan Area and the Delaware Valley if rapid population and economic growth continues. For example, Berks County, which long bordered the Delaware Valley, was recently added to the metropolitan area by the U.S. Census in 2005. Delaware New Jersey Pennsylvania Commuter Rail Major Highways Airports | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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