Reading

Population & Demographics

Reading, PA

Reading is home to 95,242 people. Explore its demographics, housing, and economy — plus how its 37,317 resident workers commute each day.

PennsylvaniaCensus ACS 5-Year · LODES 2023
95,242
people
Population

95,242 residents

Median age 31.9 · U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year (2024).

Reading population & demographics

Who lives in Reading — population, age, housing, and income, from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Population
95,242
Median age
31.9yrs
Median household income
$44,091
Median home value
$121,300
Median gross rent
$1,067/mo
Bachelor’s degree or higher
11.4%
Poverty rate
28.7%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2024 5-Year Estimates. Values shown as “—” are suppressed or unavailable for this place.

Race & ethnicity in Reading

How Reading breaks down by race and ethnicity — each bar is that group’s share of the population, from the U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year (2024).

Hispanic or Latino70.8%
White18.5%
Black7.7%
Two or more races2.1%
Some other race0.5%
Asian0.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native0.0%

Race across Reading

Each dot is a group of people, placed in their 2020 Census block and colored by race or ethnicity — the pattern shows where groups live across Reading.

Reading at a glance
Employed Residents
37,317
Fewer than the city’s total population
Median home–work distance
9.9mi
Straight-line, not road distance
Work Locally
15.3%
Share working within the area
Work from home
6.4%
Residents who work from home (ACS)
Top destination outside city
Wyomissing
Excludes local — most work in-city

These figures are for Reading proper — the Census place within its city limits — not the surrounding metro area. Metro-wide totals you’ll see elsewhere are larger because they bundle in neighboring cities and suburbs.

How Reading commutes

Every dot is a worker moving between home and job. Trace where the area pulls people in from — and where its residents head each day.

60
Commute Score

60 / 100

How short the typical commute is here, on an absolute 0–100 scale (higher is shorter). How it’s calculated.

Reading

37,317 commutes, one dot at a time

Reading

Where 37,317 workers commute

Each dot ≈ 75 workers

Where residents work

Top destinations for people who live in Reading, by worker count.

1Reading0.0 mi5,696
2Wyomissing2.3 mi1,562
3West Reading1.2 mi1,295
4Philadelphia47.7 mi1,016
5Blandon7.6 mi619
6Spring Ridge3.4 mi466
7New Holland18.5 mi371
8St. Lawrence3.4 mi312

Who commutes in

Top origin places for workers who travel into Reading.

1Reading0.0 mi5,696
2Wyomissing2.3 mi631
3Philadelphia47.7 mi433
4Shillington3.3 mi381
5Pennside2.6 mi343
6Blandon7.6 mi331
7West Reading1.2 mi285
8Whitfield4.2 mi284

Top industries

The sectors that employ Reading’s workforce. Each bar is scaled to that sector’s share of all local jobs — the top sectors shown don’t add up to 100%.

Bar length = each sector’s share of all local jobs (0–100%)
MFManufacturing19.4%
HCHealth Care and Social Assistance19.1%
EDEducational Services14.5%
PAPublic Administration8.1%
AFAccommodation and Food Services5.5%
RTRetail Trade5.2%
OSOther Services (except Public Administration)4.0%
WSWholesale Trade3.5%
FIFinance and Insurance3.0%
Connectivity

Internet options for Reading

The biggest home-internet providers in the area — tap any to compare local plans.

10 providers · 5 with fiber
Speed availabilityshare of homes a plan reaches
1 Gbps~all homes
2 Gbps100%
5 Gbps37%
8 Gbps35%
See all internet providers in Reading

FindBetterInternet is a CensusFlow partner site — we link out so you can compare local plans, and CensusFlow’s Census data stays independent. Provider data is from the FCC National Broadband Map (satellite + fixed wireless excluded).