Demographics of Reading city, Pennsylvania

Reading city, Pennsylvania had 95,832 people on July 1, 2025, by the Census Bureau’s estimate: +872 since July 2020. Age, income, poverty, housing and origin below come from the survey, averaged over 2020–2024, each with its margin of error.

Reading city, in four figures

95,832
Population: July 1, 2025, Vintage 2025 estimate. The survey’s 2020–⁠2024 figure is 95,242 ±88.; +0.9%
Change since July 2020: +872 people.; 31.9 ±0.9
Median age: ACS 2020–⁠2024.; $44,091 ±$3,478
Median household income: ACS 2020–⁠2024, in 2024 dollars.

Population, year by year

July 1 estimates from the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025. The Bureau publishes no births, deaths or migration for a place, so the change is the difference between one July estimate and the next.

Reading city, Pennsylvania's population grew 0.9% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally

The July 1 estimate of Reading city, Pennsylvania's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).

Source: The Census Bureau

About this chart

The figures

Reading city, Pennsylvania's population grew 0.9% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally. The July 1 estimate of Reading city, Pennsylvania's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).
July 1	Population	Index	United States
2020	94,960	100.0	100.0
2021	94,913	100.0	100.2
2022	94,926	100.0	100.7
2023	95,205	100.3	101.6
2024	95,708	100.8	102.5
2025	95,832	100.9	103.1

Population of Reading city, Pennsylvania on July 1 of each year, Vintage 2025
July 1	Population	Change
2020	94,960	—
2021	94,913	−47
2022	94,926	+13
2023	95,205	+279
2024	95,708	+503
2025	95,832	+124

Age, 2020–2024

The median age is 31.9 ±0.9: for men 31.9 ±1.1 and for women 32.0 ±1.2. Shares are of everyone the survey counts, in the Bureau’s sex-by-age table (B01001).

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People in Reading city by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	People	Share	Pennsylvania	United States
Under 5	7,355 ±484	7.7% ±0.5	5.2% ±<0.1	5.6% ±<0.1
5 to 17	19,693 ±1,086	20.7% ±1.1	15.2% ±0.1	16.3% ±<0.1
18 to 24	11,270 ±784	11.8% ±0.8	9.0% ±<0.1	9.1% ±<0.1
25 to 44	25,609 ±1,089	26.9% ±1.1	25.5% ±0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
45 to 64	21,131 ±958	22.2% ±1.0	25.6% ±0.1	24.8% ±<0.1
65 and over	10,184 ±750	10.7% ±0.8	19.5% ±0.1	17.2% ±<0.1

Income and poverty, 2020–2024

Median household income is $44,091 ±$3,478, and income per person $21,406 ±$1,014, in 2024 dollars. The median is $77,971 ±$342 in Pennsylvania and $80,734 ±$166 in the United States.

Households by income

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Households in Reading city by income, ACS 2020–2024
Household income	Households	Share	Pennsylvania	United States
Under $25,000	9,884 ±910	29.8% ±2.6	15.1% ±0.1	14.6% ±<0.1
$25,000 to $49,999	8,088 ±744	24.4% ±2.1	17.4% ±0.1	16.7% ±<0.1
$50,000 to $74,999	5,953 ±654	18.0% ±1.9	15.9% ±0.1	15.5% ±<0.1
$75,000 to $99,999	3,895 ±610	11.7% ±1.8	12.8% ±0.1	12.6% ±<0.1
$100,000 to $149,999	3,395 ±529	10.2% ±1.6	17.7% ±0.1	17.5% ±<0.1
$150,000 to $199,999	1,049 ±235	3.2% ±0.7	9.3% ±0.1	9.6% ±<0.1
$200,000 or more	900 ±226	2.7% ±0.7	11.8% ±0.1	13.4% ±0.1

Poverty by age

The poverty rate is the share of people whose family income is below the federal threshold for their family’s size, of everyone for whom the Bureau determines it (B17020).

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Poverty rate in Reading city by age, ACS 2020–2024
Age	Below poverty	Rate	Pennsylvania	United States
All ages	26,512 ±2,529	28.7% ±2.7	11.7% ±0.1	12.5% ±0.1
Under 18	10,374 ±1,159	39.0% ±3.6	15.6% ±0.2	16.1% ±0.1
18 to 59	12,109 ±1,236	23.7% ±2.2	11.0% ±0.2	11.6% ±0.1
60 and over	4,029 ±629	27.4% ±3.9	10.1% ±0.2	11.0% ±<0.1

Housing, 2020–2024

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Housing in Reading city, ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Reading city	Pennsylvania	United States
Housing units	36,032 ±892	5,806,452 ±672	143,775,355 ±10,234
Occupied	92.0% ±1.1	90.8% ±0.2	89.9% ±0.1
Vacant	8.0% ±1.2	9.2% ±0.2	10.1% ±0.1
Owner occupied	40.6% ±2.4	69.3% ±0.3	65.2% ±0.3
Renter occupied	59.4% ±2.6	30.7% ±0.2	34.8% ±0.1
Median home value	$121,300 ±$5,310	$254,500 ±$767	$332,700 ±$236
Median gross rent	$1,067 ±$32	$1,209 ±$5	$1,413 ±$2
Median year built	At the edge of the top or bottom interval	1965 ±1	1980 ±1

Occupied and vacant are shares of all housing units; owner and renter occupied are shares of occupied units. Value and rent are medians in 2024 dollars.

Origin and place of birth, 2020–2024

Hispanic or Latino origin is not a race in the Census Bureau’s tables. Here the people of Hispanic origin, of any race, are one row, and everyone else is counted by race alone (B03002), so the rows add to the whole.

Hispanic origin and race

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People in Reading city by Hispanic origin and race, ACS 2020–2024
Origin	People	Share	Pennsylvania	United States
Hispanic or Latino	67,414 ±1,362	70.8% ±1.4	8.7% ±<0.1	19.3% ±<0.1
White alone, not Hispanic	17,604 ±1,329	18.5% ±1.4	73.0% ±<0.1	57.4% ±<0.1
Black alone, not Hispanic	7,312 ±972	7.7% ±1.0	10.3% ±<0.1	11.9% ±<0.1
Asian alone, not Hispanic	437 ±170	0.5% ±0.2	3.8% ±<0.1	5.9% ±<0.1
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic	0 to 31	0% to < 0.1%	0.1% ±<0.1	0.5% ±<0.1
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic	0 to 28	0% to < 0.1%	< 0.1% ±<0.1	0.2% ±<0.1
Some other race alone, not Hispanic	189 to 819	0.2% to 0.9%	0.5% ±<0.1	0.6% ±<0.1
Two or more races, not Hispanic	1,956 ±719	2.1% ±0.8	3.6% ±0.1	4.3% ±<0.1

A range (the estimate less and plus its margin) where the Bureau's estimate is too uncertain to state as one number: a coefficient of variation over 30%.

Place of birth and citizenship

“Born a citizen outside the states” counts people born in Puerto Rico, the island areas, or abroad to American parents. Naturalized citizens and those who are not citizens together make up the people born abroad (B05002).

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People in Reading city by place of birth and citizenship, ACS 2020–2024
Born	People	Share	Pennsylvania	United States
Born in the state	42,750 ±1,648	44.9% ±1.7	70.6% ±0.1	57.3% ±<0.1
Born in another state	15,585 ±1,303	16.4% ±1.4	19.8% ±0.1	26.9% ±<0.1
Born a citizen outside the states	12,672 ±923	13.3% ±1.0	1.9% ±<0.1	1.7% ±<0.1
Born abroad	24,235 ±1,648	25.4% ±1.7	7.7% ±0.1	14.1% ±<0.1
Naturalized citizens	9,017 ±965	9.5% ±1.0	4.3% ±0.1	7.4% ±<0.1
Not citizens	15,218 ±1,424	16.0% ±1.5	3.4% ±0.1	6.8% ±<0.1

Reading city among the places of Pennsylvania

3rd of 273 places of 5,000 or more by the survey’s 2020–2024 count. Every one is listed on the Pennsylvania page.

Places of Pennsylvania near Reading city in population, ACS 2020–2024
Place	ACS 2020–⁠2024
Pittsburgh city	304,759 ±73
Allentown city	125,976 ±76
Reading city	95,242 ±88
Erie city	93,850 ±65
Bethlehem city	77,956 ±72
Scranton city	76,033 ±54
Lancaster city	57,719 ±84
Levittown CDP	50,926 ±1,798

Elsewhere on the site

Reported crime in Reading city, Pennsylvania

Rankings this appears in

No. 1 Places in Pennsylvania by Hispanic or Latino share
No. 2 Places in Pennsylvania by poverty rate
No. 4 Places in Pennsylvania by foreign-born share
No. 49 Places by poverty rate
No. 107 Places in Pennsylvania by median rent
No. 190 Places by Hispanic or Latino share

Sources

Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns — U.S. Census Bureau · U.S. Government work · retrieved September 25, 2026
American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File · U.S. Government work

Compiled automatically from Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns and American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File by a checked SQL query · Editor: Kian O'Connor · How this site is built

Data retrieved September 25, 2026