Reading, Pennsylvania

Population

Steady. Within 1% of 2020, every year since.

95,832

people, the 4th-largest of Pennsylvania's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among Pennsylvania's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

8 in 10 jobs here go to people who live somewhere else.

79.2%

of 27,392 jobs located in Reading are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Unemployment, 2026

The low came in March: 6.0%.

6.6%

in August 2026, the latest month released. A year earlier it was 8.4%.

BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, monthly, through August 2026. Not seasonally adjusted, so compare with the same month a year earlier. Sources: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics

Rent

Median rent is up 66% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$1,067

a month. Pennsylvania's median is $1,209.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.

A $1,935 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Berks County.

• $750 Tract 107.01
• $2,685 Tract 106.02

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

Local wages can carry more rent than the median charged today.

$1,159–$1,738

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $1,067 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

Most of the housing here is older than 2000.

• 0 homes permitted, 2022–2025
• 97% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2022–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.7–0.8% to the 36,032 homes here.

236–276

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 52% less than Pennsylvania's.

$121,300

median home value in Reading.

• $121,300 Reading
• $254,500 Pennsylvania
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census ACS 5-year