Fact Sheet

archdiocese philaldephia scholarships

EITC: Archdiocese of Philadelphia

Download PDF

Archdiocese of Philadelphia

  • The Archdiocese of Philadelphia (AOP) serves the five-county Philadelphia region—Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties. AOP provides EITC and OSTC scholarships to an economically and racially diverse student body in both their K–8 and 9–12 schools.
  • There are 102 K–8 schools, 15 schools for grades 9–12, with an additional three schools serving special needs students ages 5 to 21.
  • Tuition rates in the Archdiocese K–8 schools range from $3,100 to $8,655 annually.
    • The median cost of tuition is $5,275.
    • On average, 47 percent of tuition is covered by EITC scholarships for students who qualify and receive scholarships.

Family Income

  • The average adjusted gross income of families whose children receive EITC or OSTC scholarships through the AOP is $72,895.
  • In comparison, the median family income for families in Pennsylvania was $93,029 in 2022, and the Philadelphia Metropolitan Statistical Area had a median income of $108,046, according to U.S. Census data.
  • The median income for families in the Philadelphia area varies greatly, with the city of Philadelphia experiencing a lower median income than the state average and that of surrounding counties.
  • Nonetheless, AOP scholarship students in Philadelphia and the surrounding counties came from families with average incomes well below the county medians. Students who receive EITC scholarships reside within families with lower median incomes than their peers.
  • Furthermore, counties with the highest number of scholarship recipients are counties with the most low-achieving public schools, indicating that the tax credit scholarship program is providing families in low-achieving schools with an alternative education for their children.

AOP Diversity: Statewide and Regional Comparisons

EITC scholarships within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia K–8 schools serve a population that is more racially diverse than the general population of Pennsylvania, or the five-county region Nearly five out of ten (47 percent) AOP K–8 students identify as a person of color, with the other half (52 percent) identifying as White.

  • 52 percent White.
  • 20 percent Black or African American.
  • 12 percent Hispanic or Latino.
  • 11 percent Two or More Races/Other/Unknown.
  • 5 percent Asian.

AOP scholarships serve a higher proportion of minority students than the overall population of the five-county region, and significantly more than the state average.