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Tuesday, February 14, 2012

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Home > Community Development > Community Profiles > Reading, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) > Demographics and Economic Data

Community Profile: Reading, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)

Demographics and Economic Data

Included in this section is a brief summary of demographic and economic data. Detailed data can be accessed through the following websites:

• Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council : The website includes a geocoding/mapping system that allows users to obtain census data based on specific street addresses and a census report system that provides census information by census tract within a county or MSA.
• PolicyMap : This geographic information system, which includes an interactive mapping tool developed by The Reinvestment Fund, allows users to create custom maps, tables, and charts for over 10,000 indicators and provides the ability to plot external data.
• U.S. Census Bureau American FactFinder : Official source for population, housing, economic, and geographic data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Included below is a summary of the following data:

• Population
• Income
• Poverty Level
• Housing Units
• Housing Permits
• Local Industries
• Unemployment Rate
• Education

Population1

The population of the Reading, PA MSA increased from 336,523 in 1990 to 373,638 in 2000, representing an 11 percent increase. During the same period, the state of Pennsylvania experienced a 3.4 percent population increase, while the city of Reading's population increased 3.6 percent.

Table 1 shows the racial composition of the state of Pennsylvania, Reading MSA, and city of Reading based on the 2000 census. The last line of the table represents the percentage of the total population who stated they were Hispanic or Latino in origin. A larger portion of the population stated they were Hispanic or Latino in origin in the city of Reading (37.2 percent) and the Reading, PA MSA (9.7 percent) than in the state of Pennsylvania (3.2 percent).

The racial composition of the Reading, PA MSA is illustrated in Figure 1. The racial composition of those who reported they were Hispanic or Latino in origin within the Reading, PA MSA is illustrated in Figure 2.

Income1

The 1999 median household income for the Reading, PA MSA was $44,714, and the median family income was $52,997. Statewide, the median household income was $40,106, and the median family income was $49,184. In the same year, the median household income for the city of Reading was $26,698, and the median family income was $31,067.¹

The term low- and moderate-income persons (LMI) is used for CRA and community development purposes and includes people and communities whose income is less than 80 percent of the area median income. People and communities whose income is less than 50 percent of the area median income are considered low income and those whose income exceeds 50 percent, but does not exceed 80 percent, are considered moderate income.

In 2000, there were 141,609 households within the Reading, PA MSA. Of all households in all census tracts, 22.2 percent were households with low incomes and 17.1 percent were households with moderate incomes. The income of a household is not necessarily an indicator of the income of the census tract in which it resides. As Table 2 indicates, 61.7 percent of all households with low incomes resided in middle- and upper-income census tracts and 74.4 percent of all households with moderate incomes resided in middle- and upper-income census tracts.²

In 2006, there were 82 census tracts in the Reading, PA MSA. Of the total, nine were low-income tracts and 16 were moderate-income tracts. In the city of Reading, there were 27 census tracts. Of the total, nine were low-income tracts and 15 were moderate-income tracts.²

Poverty Level1

In 1999, the Reading, PA MSA had 34,201 residents living below the poverty line, representing 9.4 percent of the MSA population. Statewide, 11 percent of the population was living below the poverty line. The city of Reading had 20,682 residents (26.1 percent of the total population) living below the poverty line.

Information about how the U.S. Census Bureau measures poverty is available through its website.

Housing Units1

In 2000 the Reading, PA MSA had a total of 150,222 housing units, of which 94.2 percent were occupied and 5.8 percent were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, 74.0 percent were occupied by the owner, and 26.0 percent were occupied by a renter. The state of Pennsylvania had a total of 5,249,750 housing units, of which 91 percent were occupied and 9 percent were vacant. The city of Reading had a total of 34,309 housing units, of which 87.8 percent were occupied and 12.2 percent were vacant.

The reasons for vacancies are illustrated in Figure 3.

Housing Permits3

In January 2008, 41.4 housing permits for new, privately owned houses in the Reading, PA MSA were issued. Of this group, 43.0 housing permits were for 1- to 4-unit homes. These numbers have been seasonally adjusted.

Note: The Research Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia seasonally adjusts the two series (total housing permits and housing permits for 1- to 4- unit structures) independently. When these two series are close in value and the seasonal adjustments are made, it is possible that the 1- to 4- unit structures will exceed the total housing permits, as is the case in this MSA.

More current information regarding housing permits in the Reading, PA MSA and other areas within the Third Federal Reserve District is available through a database on the Regional Employment, unemployment, and housing page of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's Research Department.

Local Industries3

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's Research Department maintains a database of monthly employment data by industry for the Reading, PA MSA. Please note that all values for industry employment in this file are in thousands.

Unemployment Rate4

In 2007, the Reading, PA MSA had an annual unemployment rate of 4.2 percent, compared with a rate of 4.4 percent for the state of Pennsylvania. The city of Reading had an annual unemployment rate of 6.5 percent for the same year.

More recent unemployment data are available through the Bureau of Labor Statistics website.

Education1

In the Reading, PA MSA, 18.5 percent of the population 25 years of age or older has a bachelor's degree or higher. In the city of Reading, 8.6 percent of the population 25 or older has received a bachelor's degree or higher. For the state of Pennsylvania, this figure is 22.4 percent. See Figure 4 for more details.

• ¹ Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "2000 Census - Summary File 3," http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html?_lang=en 
• ² Source: Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), http://www.ffiec.gov. 
• ³ Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Research Department, "Regional Economy: Third District Historical Data," http://www.philadelphiafed.org/research-and-data/regional-economy/historical-data/
• ⁴ Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Local Area Unemployment Statistics," 2007 annual data, http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/outside.jsp?survey=la

• Last updated: Monday, August 18, 2008