Reading

About Reading

Reading ( RED-ing; Pennsylvania German: Reddin) is a city in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 95,112 at the 2020 census and is the fourth-most populous city in Pennsylvania after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Allentown.

Reading is located in the southeastern part of the state, 38.8 miles (62.4 km) southwest of Allentown and 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Philadelphia. It is the principal city of the Greater Reading area, which had 420,152 residents in 2020.

Reading gave its name to the now-defunct Reading Company, also known as the Reading Railroad and since acquired by Conrail, that played a vital role in transporting anthracite coal from Pennsylvania's Coal Region to major East Coast markets through the Port of Philadelphia for much of the 19th and 20th centuries. The Reading Railroad is one of the four railroad properties in the classic U.S. version of the Monopoly board game. Reading was one of the first localities where outlet shopping became a tourist industry. It has been known as "The Pretzel City" because numerous local pretzel bakeries are based in the city and its suburbs; currently, Bachman, Dieffenbach, Tom Sturgis, and Unique Pretzel bakeries call the Reading area home. In recent years, the Reading area has become a destination for cyclists with more than 125 miles (201 km) of trails in five major preserves; the region is an International Mountain Bicycling Association ride center.

According to 2010 census data, Reading had the highest share of citizens living in poverty in the nation among cities with populations exceeding 65,000. Reading's poverty rate fell over the next decade. Reading's poverty rate in the five-year American Community Survey, published in 2018, showed that 35.4% of the city's residents were below the poverty line, or less "than the infamous 41.3% from 2011, when Reading was declared the poorest small city in the nation."

Text: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Reading weather: 7-day forecast

Source: National Weather Service (NOAA).

Live webcams in Reading

Webcams: Windy.com

Living in Reading

Median household income

$44,091

Median home value

$121,300

Median rent

$1,067/mo

Median age

31.9

Map of Reading

Tap any street on the map to see it in Street View below. Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Reading Street View

Drag the image to look around and tap the arrows on the ground to move. If it says there is no imagery, tap a nearby street on the map above.

Reading, PA population

Reading had 95,112 residents in the 2020 Census.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Decennial Census.

Reading at a glance

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (Gazetteer, ZCTA), USGS GNIS, Wikidata.

Towns near Reading

• West Reading1.1 mi W
• Mount Penn2.1 mi E
• Wyomissing2.1 mi W
• Lower Alsace2.2 mi E
• Greenfields2.3 mi NW
• Kenhorst2.4 mi S
• Hyde Park2.5 mi N
• Pennside2.6 mi E
• Grill2.8 mi S
• Colony Park2.9 mi W
• Penn State Berks3.0 mi NW
• Shillington3.3 mi SW

Straight-line distance between town centers.

Frequently asked questions about Reading