WestwardAI Consulting

Local market data · Architects · Philadelphia

AI for architects in Philadelphia

The Philadelphia metro area had 422 architects in 2022, the 11th most of 333 US metros and 2% of all in the country. They employed 4,720 people at an average of $100,540 a year. 73% have fewer than 10 staff, so the same few people answer the phone, book, follow up and do the paperwork. Those are the jobs AI tools take on today.

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Architects in Philadelphia vs the US

Philadelphia metroUnited States
Businesses42222,619
People employed4,720182,082
Average staff per business11.28.0
Average yearly pay per employee$100,540$96,154
Share with fewer than 10 staff73%81%

Pay here is 5% higher than the national average for architects, so every hour of staff time costs more to spend on admin. The average architect here has 11.2 people on payroll, 39% higher than the US figure of 8.0.

How big architects in Philadelphia are

Fewer than 5 staff230 (55%) US 63%
5 to 979 (19%) US 18%
10 to 1966 (16%) US 10%
20 to 4932 (8%) US 6%
50 or more14 (3%) US 3%

Businesses with paid employees, by number of employees, March 2022.

Architects by county in the Philadelphia area

Philadelphia County has the most, with 164 of the metro's 422 (39%). Among the 10 big metros on this page, Philadelphia ranks 7th for average pay and 10th for the share of small firms.

CountyBusinessesEmployeesAvg pay
Philadelphia County1642,710$105,444
Montgomery County66817$108,738
Chester County38330$78,491
Delaware County37187$77,107
Camden County35287$90,139
Bucks County32143$75,783
Burlington County2288$86,841
New Castle County19130$107,815
Gloucester County621$47,952
Cecil County37$37,714

Census withholds pay where few firms would make it identifiable.

Where AI helps a architect first

An architecture firm gets the most from AI on the work around the drawings: answering project inquiries, chasing proposals, writing meeting notes and tracking where each project stands. The design and the stamp stay with the licensed architect. Start with whatever costs you the most evenings.

What your team's admin hours cost in Philadelphia

Change any number. The starting values are the Philadelphia averages above; the hours and the share are yours to set.

Those hours cost you$211,200 a year

The share you would hand off$63,360 a year

Hours your team gets back1,320 a year

See what we would build for this

Guides for architects, one job each

Architects in other big metros

MetroBusinessesAvg payRank of 387
Los Angeles1,662$101,4942nd
New York2,283$96,6111st
Chicago838$101,7083rd
Miami747$86,9855th
Dallas528$112,8927th
Houston358$98,25614th
Atlanta445$110,52110th
Washington509$108,5339th
Boston617$104,6866th

Where these numbers come from

From the U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2022 (released 2024), industry code NAICS 541310 (Architectural services), for the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area (11 counties). It counts businesses with paid employees in March 2022, so solo owners with no payroll are not in it. Average pay is total yearly payroll divided by employees. The calculator uses 50 working weeks and 2,080 hours a year. Page checked 2026-11-12.

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A free 30-minute call. You leave knowing which part of your architect to hand to AI first, what we would build, and roughly how long it takes.

Related businesses in Philadelphia

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