HomePennsylvaniaBerks CountyReading
Reading, Pennsylvania: commercial real estate data.
Reading is a Census city of 95,242 people across 9.84 square miles of land, in Berks County. Median household income is $44,091, 40.6 percent of occupied homes are owned, and the SBA record carries 161 7(a) approvals to borrowers here worth $84.7 m since FY2020.
Underlined figures are computed by MMCG Analytics, not published by the agency.
Reading
What Reading is
- Census place typecity
- Land area9.84 sq mi
- Water area0.24 sq mi
- Population per square mile of land9,676
- County holding the largest share of its areaBerks County, 100.0 percent
US Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file, places, 2024 vintage. US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Reading
How many people live in Reading
- Population95,242
- Median age31.9
- Population under 1827,048
- Share under 1828.4 percent
- Population 65 and over10,184
- Share 65 and over10.7 percent
- Households33,164
- Family households20,996
- Share of households that are families63.3 percent
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Reading
Income and work in Reading
- Median household income$44,091
- Per capita income$21,406
- Civilian labor force44,630
- Employed38,505
- Unemployed6,125
- Unemployment rate13.7 percent
- Adults 25 and over56,924
- Adults 25 and over with a high school diploma or higher72.0 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a bachelor degree or higher11.4 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a graduate degree3.6 percent
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Reading
Housing in Reading
- Housing units36,032
- Occupied units33,164
- Vacant units2,868
- Vacancy rate8.0 percent
- Owner occupied13,474
- Renter occupied19,690
- Ownership rate40.6 percent
- Median owner-occupied home value$121,300
- Median gross rent, monthly$1,067
- Annual rent as a share of median income29.0 percent
- Single family units23,080
- Share single family64.1 percent
- Units in buildings of two or more12,839
- Share in buildings of two or more35.6 percent
- Mobile homes113 plus or minus 74
- Median year structure built1938
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Reading
How Reading gets to work
- Workers 16 and over who commute34,908
- Commuting under 15 minutes10,251
- Share commuting under 15 minutes29.4 percent
- Commuting 30 minutes or more11,075
- Share commuting 30 minutes or more31.7 percent
- Drove alone61.6 percent
- Carpooled18.1 percent
- Public transport3.4 percent plus or minus 0.8
- Walked4.7 percent plus or minus 1.1
- Worked from home6.4 percent plus or minus 1.3
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
Reading
SBA loans in Reading (7(a))
- Approvals161
- Gross approval$84,732,700
- Average approval$526,290
- Median approval$150,000
- Ninetieth percentile approval$1,504,500
- Largest approval$4,850,000
- Jobs supported1,764
- Jobs per approval11.0
- Loans with a final outcome30
- Paid in full29
- Charged off1
- Charge-off rate over resolved loans3.3 percent
- Median term120 months
- Share on real estate terms of 20 years or more16.1 percent
- Share to franchises9.9 percent
- Distinct lenders38
- Distinct industries by NAICS87
Counted by borrower city: approvals to borrowers whose address is in Reading, in any county, FY2020 to FY2026.
US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Reading
SBA loans in Reading (504)
- Approvals23
- Gross approval$15,905,000
- Average approval$691,522
- Median approval$377,000
- Largest approval$3,002,000
- Jobs supported295
- Loans with a final outcome9
- Charged off2
- Median term240 months
- Distinct CDCs2
Counted by borrower city: approvals to borrowers whose address is in Reading, in any county, FY2010 to FY2026. Only 9 loans have reached a final outcome, fewer than the 30 a charge-off rate needs, so no rate is published.
US Small Business Administration, 504 FOIA release, FY2010 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Reading
Flood risk in Reading
- NFIP communityCity of Reading
- NFIP community number420145
- Participating in the NFIPYes
- Community Rating System classNone
- Currently effective map date07/03/12
The City of Reading participates in the National Flood Insurance Program as community 420145 and carries no Community Rating System class, so no CRS premium discount applies to it.
Federal Emergency Management Agency, NFIP Community Status Book (OpenFEMA), as of 2026-09-26.
Berks County, not Reading
Berks County context, not Reading figures
- Establishments in Berks County8,521
- Covered employment, Berks County173,692
- Average annual pay, Berks County$63,608
- Housing units permitted, Berks County397
Every figure in this section is published for Berks County as a whole and is not a measurement of Reading.
US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages. US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2024 annual.
Coverage
What this page does not hold.
Parcel detail, zoning and the flood zone at an address are not on this page; they resolve at the address in the platform. How this page was built →
Common questions
Reading questions, answered from the record.
How many people live in Reading, Pennsylvania?
95,242, in 33,164 households. Reading city covers 9.84 square miles of land, which is 9,676 people per square mile. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
What county is Reading in?
Berks County, which holds 100.0 percent of the place by area. Source: US Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file, places, 2024 vintage.
What is the median household income in Reading?
$44,091. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $121,300. Median gross rent is $1,067 per month. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, place level, 2020-2024 5-year.
How much SBA lending goes to Reading businesses?
161 7(a) approvals totaling $84.7 m since FY2020, across 38 lenders, median approval $150,000, plus 23 504 approvals worth $15.9 m since FY2010. These count approvals to borrowers whose address is in Reading, not projects sited inside the place boundary, and they are approvals recorded in the release rather than loans disbursed.
Do SBA loans to Reading borrowers get paid back?
Of the 30 loans that have reached a final outcome, 29 were paid in full and 1 charged off, a charge off rate of 3.3 percent. Loans still running are excluded because they have not yet succeeded or failed.
Is Reading in the National Flood Insurance Program?
Yes. Reading appears in the FEMA Community Status Book as Reading, city of, community 420145, with no Community Rating System class, so no CRS discount applies. Whether a specific parcel sits in a mapped special flood hazard area is an address level question the platform answers.
Are the county figures on this page Reading figures?
No, and they are labeled so. County Business Patterns, QCEW, the Building Permits Survey, BEA product and IRS migration are published for Berks County as a whole and there is no place level equivalent. They appear in one clearly marked section as context and are never presented as measurements of Reading.
Is zoning published for Reading?
No. Nothing on this page presents parcel level zoning.