2024 population: 439,117 ( 10,267 from 2020)
Land area: 856.4 square miles
Population density: 512.7 persons per square mile

2024 Census data
White:	288,766	65.76%	3.2%
Black:	19,954	4.54%	9.1%
Indian:	486	0.11%	0.4%
Asian:	6,830	1.56%	8.2%
2+ races:	6,492	1.48%	8.1%
Hispanic:	116,589	26.55%	17.2%

Total non-White:	150,351	34.24%	15.2%

2020-2024 Components	Number	Rate
Births:	19,199	11.2
Deaths:	18,984	11.1
Net Migration:	1,339	0.8
Net Immigration:	8,545	5.0

Change in White population:	-9,519	-2.2
Change in Non-White pop.:	19,786	4.6

Race Breakdown with Components of Population Change

[Display all years]

Year:

Total population:

White:

Black:

Indian:

Asian:

2+ races:

Hispanic:

Total non-White:

2020
428,850
298,285	69.55%
18,285	4.26%
488	0.11%
6,314	1.47%
6,005	1.40%
99,473	23.20%
130,565	30.45%

2010
411,442
316,406	76.90%
16,517	4.01%
536	0.13%
5,302	1.29%
4,952	1.20%
67,355	16.37%
95,036	23.10%

2000
373,638
317,025	84.85%
12,478	3.34%
397	0.11%
3,770	1.01%
3,291	0.88%
36,357	9.73%
56,613	15.15%

1990
336,523
308,434	91.65%
9,350	2.78%
272	0.08%
2,177	0.65%
n/a
16,290	4.84%
28,089	8.35%

1980
312,509
294,158	94.13%
7,467	2.39%
181	0.06%
1,595	0.51%
n/a
8,913	2.85%
18,351	5.87%

1970
296,382
285,007	96.16%
6,521	2.20%
73	0.02%
305	0.10%
n/a
4,170	1.41%
11,375	3.84%

Decade:

Components:

Births:

Deaths:

Net Migration:

Net Immigration:

Change in White population:

Change in Non-White pop.:

Number	Rate
2010's
44,567	10.8
35,591	8.7
-12,842	-3.1
13,606	3.3

-18,121	-4.4
35,529	8.6

Number	Rate
2000's
46,021	12.3
33,196	8.9
15,846	4.2
7,242	1.9

-619	-0.2
38,423	10.3

Number	Rate
1990's
45,896	13.6
35,636	10.6
8,668	2.6
4,009	1.2

8,591	2.6
28,524	8.5

Number	Rate
1980's
42,658	13.7
32,377	10.4
15,342	4.9
n/a

14,276	4.6
9,738	3.1

Number	Rate
1970's
n/a
n/a
4,948	1.7
n/a

9,151	3.1
6,976	2.4

Age, Family & Household Data for Reading, PA Metro Area

[Display all years]

Year:

Median Age:

Under 18:

Voting Age Population:

Over 65:

Households:

Persons Per HH:

Families (%HH):

Married Couples (%Fams):

Single Mothers (%Fams):

Non-Family (%HH):

2024
Number	Percent
39.9
95,140	21.7%
343,977	78.3%
78,100	17.8%

163,236
2.57

108,511	66.5%
77,653	71.6%
11,744	10.8%
54,725	33.5%

2010
Number	Percent
39.1
98,136	23.9%
313,306	76.1%
59,558	14.5%

154,356
2.59

106,532	69.0%
80,417	75.5%
10,967	10.3%
47,824	31.0%

2000
Number	Percent
37.5
92,021	24.6%
281,617	75.4%
56,867	15.2%

141,609
2.55

98,882	69.8%
79,637	80.5%
7,800	7.9%
42,727	30.2%

1990
Number	Percent
35.5
78,350	23.3%
258,173	76.7%
52,658	15.6%

127,849
2.56

92,046	72.0%
76,690	83.3%
5,911	6.4%
35,803	28.0%

1980
Number	Percent
33.7
78,674	25.2%
233,835	74.8%
44,142	14.1%

114,689
2.66

85,382	74.4%
73,280	85.8%
4,952	5.8%
29,307	25.6%

2024 Housing Data for Reading, PA Metro Area

Household Income
Range	Number	%
Less than $10,000	7,499	4.6%
$10,000 to $14,999	4,533	2.8%
$15,000 to $19,999	4,979	3.1%
$20,000 to $24,999	6,068	3.7%
$25,000 to $29,999	5,138	3.1%
$30,000 to $34,999	6,437	3.9%
$35,000 to $39,999	5,720	3.5%
$40,000 to $44,999	4,953	3.0%
$45,000 to $49,999	5,162	3.2%
$50,000 to $59,999	10,468	6.4%
$60,000 to $74,999	15,713	9.6%
$75,000 to $99,999	22,889	14.0%
$100,000 to $124,999	18,020	11.0%
$125,000 to $149,999	12,989	8.0%
$150,000 to $199,999	16,255	10.0%
$200,000 or more	16,413	10.1%

Median Household Income	79,777
Per Capita Income	39,815

Cost of Living Index (100 = average)
Compared to U.S.	92

Welfare Households
	Number	%
SSI	8,604	5.3%
Public Assistance	5,408	3.3%
Public Asst. or Food Stamps	24,600	15.1%

Labor Force, Ages 25-64
	Number	%
Employed	152,408	74.8%
Unemployed	6,411	3.1%
In Armed Forces	224	0.1%

Total Labor Force	159,043	78.1%
Not in Labor Force	44,653	21.9%

Real Unemployment Rate		25.1%

Class of Worker
	Male	Female	% Male
Private Sector	87,263	65,881	57.0%
Non-Profit	6,575	15,978	29.2%
Self-Employed	10,874	5,554	66.2%

Local Government	4,658	7,725	37.6%
State Government	2,144	2,297	48.3%
Federal Government	1,703	1,542	52.5%

Total Private + Self	98,137	71,435	57.9%
Total Non-Profit + Govt.	15,080	27,542	35.4%
Total	113,217	98,977	53.4%

Pct. Govt.	9.5%
Pct. Private + Self	79.9%

Occupation
	Number	%
Management, Business, Science, Arts	29,629	13.9%
Sales and Office Occupations	41,175	19.4%
Professional, Technical	46,028	21.7%
Service Occupations	32,529	15.3%
Farming, Forestry, Fishing	1,978	0.9%
All others	63,176	29.7%

White Collar		55.0%

Industry
	Number	%
Manufacturing	37,728	17.8%
Health care and social assistance	32,752	15.4%
Retail trade	25,451	12.0%
Educational services	16,350	7.7%
Construction	13,707	6.4%
Professional, scientific, technical	12,380	5.8%
Transportation and warehousing	11,818	5.6%
Accommodation and food services	10,626	5.0%
Other services	9,156	4.3%
Administrative, support, waste mgmt.	7,990	3.8%
Finance and insurance	7,893	3.7%
Public administration	5,701	2.7%
Wholesale trade	5,144	2.4%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting	3,949	1.9%
Real estate and rental and leasing	3,729	1.8%
Arts, entertainment, recreation	3,214	1.5%
Utilities	2,220	1.0%
Information	2,213	1.0%
Mining, quarrying, oil/gas extraction	296	0.1%
Management	220	0.1%

Hispanic Breakdown
Country	Number	%
Mexican	16,889	3.90%
Puerto Rican	45,598	10.53%
Cuban	1,025	0.24%
Dominican	30,304	7.00%

Total Central American	4,419	1.02%
Costa Rican	48	0.01%
Guatemalan	1,638	0.38%
Honduran	515	0.12%
Nicaraguan	600	0.14%
Panamanian	92	0.02%
Salvadoran	1,526	0.35%
Other Central American	0	0.00%

Total South American	5,276	1.22%
Argentinean	161	0.04%
Bolivian	0	0.00%
Chilean	150	0.03%
Colombian	2,430	0.56%
Ecuadorian	914	0.21%
Paraguayan	7	0.00%
Peruvian	1,143	0.26%
Uruguayan	79	0.02%
Venezuelan	392	0.09%
Other South American	0	0.00%

Other Hispanic	4,020	0.93%

Asian Breakdown
Country	Number	%
Indian	1,452	0.34%
Vietnamese	1,039	0.24%
Chinese	930	0.21%
Filipino	741	0.17%
Korean	490	0.11%
Laotian	140	0.03%
Japanese	123	0.03%
Cambodian	29	0.01%
Hmong	28	0.01%

Language Spoken at Home
Language	Number	%
English	322,285	78.7%
Spanish	72,178	17.6%
Other Indo-European	3,834	0.9%
German, other Germanic	3,135	0.8%
French, Haitian, Cajun	1,861	0.5%
Other	1,308	0.3%
Russian, Polish, other Slavic	1,301	0.3%
Vietnamese	887	0.2%
Other Asian	817	0.2%

Ancestry
Country	Number	%
German	120,786	27.9%
Irish	43,526	10.1%
Italian	35,528	8.2%
English	27,356	6.3%
Polish	19,825	4.6%
American	16,003	3.7%
Pennsylvania German	10,304	2.4%
Dutch	5,702	1.3%
French	5,264	1.2%
Scottish	4,444	1.0%
Welsh	4,312	1.0%
European	3,557	0.8%
Swiss	3,013	0.7%
Hungarian	2,987	0.7%
Ukrainian	2,445	0.6%

Citizenship & Nativity
	Number	%
U.S. citizen	412,549	95.3%
Not a citizen	20,466	4.7%

Native	390,840	90.3%
Foreign-born	42,175	9.7%

Educational Attainment, Population 25 Years and Older
13,527	4.6%	20,765	7.0%	108,419	36.6%	71,739	24.2%	52,005	17.5%	30,158	10.2%
Average years of education: 13.2

Population 25 Years and Older
< 9 Years	13,527	4.6%
9-12 Years	20,765	7.0%
H.S. Grad or GED	108,419	36.6%
Some College	71,739	24.2%
Bach. Degree	52,005	17.5%
Grad Degree	30,158	10.2%
Average years of education: 13.2

Labor Force Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
Year	Labor Force	Employed	Unemployed	Unemp. Rate	State Avg.
1990	353,702	334,916	18,786	5.3%
1991	350,620	328,328	22,292	6.4%
1992	356,842	333,372	23,470	6.6%
1993	355,302	335,048	20,254	5.7%
1994	354,858	337,166	17,692	5.0%
1995	358,438	341,356	17,082	4.8%
1996	365,332	349,002	16,330	4.5%
1997	374,350	358,470	15,880	4.2%
1998	373,050	356,774	16,276	4.4%
1999	373,512	358,050	15,462	4.1%

2000	390,486	374,972	15,514	4.0%
2001	393,972	375,266	18,706	4.7%
2002	395,986	372,678	23,308	5.9%
2003	385,444	362,498	22,946	6.0%
2004	391,340	370,950	20,390	5.2%
2005	397,758	378,242	19,516	4.9%
2006	402,900	384,886	18,014	4.5%
2007	406,344	388,484	17,860	4.4%
2008	412,250	390,112	22,138	5.4%
2009	407,760	372,488	35,272	8.7%

2010	418,954	383,670	35,284	8.4%
2011	419,308	387,036	32,272	7.7%
2012	422,672	390,994	31,678	7.5%
2013	421,214	392,166	29,048	6.9%
2014	421,530	398,108	23,422	5.6%
2015	425,150	403,786	21,364	5.0%
2016	427,078	406,062	21,016	4.9%
2017	424,662	404,786	19,876	4.7%
2018	425,944	407,548	18,396	4.3%
2019	431,598	412,408	19,190	4.4%

2020	422,972	382,886	40,086	9.5%
2021	425,532	399,228	26,304	6.2%
2022	427,678	409,226	18,452	4.3%
2023	430,078	415,116	14,962	3.5%
2024	438,566	422,334	16,232	3.7%

Housing Data
	Number	%
Housing Units	171,580
Median Value	$257,300

Occupied	163,236	95.1%
Vacant	8,344	4.9%

Owned	116,334	71.3%
Rented	46,902	28.7%
Median Rent	$1,181

Single-Family Units	135,896	79.2%
Detached	96,704	56.4%
Attached	39,192	22.8%
Buldings with 5+ Units	17,333	10.1%
Mobile Homes	4,738	2.8%

Reading, PA Metro Area

Race Breakdown with Components of Population Change

Age, Family & Household Data for Reading, PA Metro Area

2024 Housing Data for Reading, PA Metro Area

2024 Income & Employment Data for Reading, PA Metro Area

2024 Ancestry, Citizenship & Language Data for Reading, PA Metro Area

2024 Educational Attainment Data for Reading, PA Metro Area

Historical Labor Force Data for Reading, PA Metro Area