Reading, Pennsylvania demographics

Reading, PA demographics: median age 31.9; 11.4% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Reading city, Pennsylvania · Incorporated city · GEOID 4263624. The survey estimates a population of 95,242 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Reading is 31.9 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.9 years. There are 33,164 households (±919). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	31.9 ±0.9	40.9 ±0.2	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 95,242
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
Under 18	27,048 ±1,189	28.4% ±1.2 pp	20.4%	22.0%
18–34	24,609 ±1,058	25.8% ±1.1 pp	21.9%	22.8%
35–64	33,401 ±1,264	35.1% ±1.3 pp	38.1%	38.0%
65 and older	10,184 ±750	10.7% ±0.8 pp	19.5%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 95,242
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
Male	45,842 ±986	48.1% ±1.0 pp	49.3%	49.5%
Female	49,400 ±979	51.9% ±1.0 pp	50.7%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 95,242
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
White alone	23,038 ±1,671	24.2% ±1.8 pp	74.5%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	8,824 ±1,025	9.3% ±1.1 pp	10.6%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	1,775 ±632	1.9% ±0.7 pp	0.2%	0.9%
Asian alone	773 ±439 · low precision	0.8% ±0.5 pp · low precision	3.8%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	0 ±28 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.0%	0.2%
Some other race alone	23,569 ±2,193	24.7% ±2.3 pp	3.7%	7.1%
Two or more races	37,263 ±2,287	39.1% ±2.4 pp	7.1%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 95,242
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	27,828 ±1,363	29.2% ±1.4 pp	91.3%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	67,414 ±1,362	70.8% ±1.4 pp	8.7%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 33,164
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
Married-couple family	8,731 ±722	26.3% ±2.1 pp	46.2%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	2,997 ±418	9.0% ±1.2 pp	4.7%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	9,268 ±724	27.9% ±2.0 pp	11.5%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	9,937 ±992	30.0% ±2.9 pp	30.9%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	2,231 ±336	6.7% ±1.0 pp	6.7%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 33,164
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
Households with people under 18	12,650 ±703	38.1% ±1.8 pp	27.0%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	20,514 ±1,166	61.9% ±3.1 pp	73.0%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 33,164
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	9,937 ±992	30.0% ±2.9 pp	30.9%	28.7%
Two-person households	8,271 ±655	24.9% ±1.9 pp	34.7%	33.8%
Three-person households	5,693 ±600	17.2% ±1.7 pp	14.9%	15.3%
Four-person households	4,279 ±612	12.9% ±1.8 pp	11.7%	12.6%
Five-person households	2,508 ±476	7.6% ±1.4 pp	5.0%	5.9%
Six-person households	1,580 ±361	4.8% ±1.1 pp	1.7%	2.2%
Seven or more people	896 ±241	2.7% ±0.7 pp	1.1%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 95,242
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
Native	71,007 ±1,656	74.6% ±1.7 pp	92.3%	85.9%
Foreign born	24,235 ±1,648	25.4% ±1.7 pp	7.7%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 87,887
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
English only	35,408 ±1,791	40.3% ±2.0 pp	87.6%	77.7%
Spanish	50,189 ±1,762	57.1% ±2.0 pp	5.6%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	642 ±278	0.7% ±0.3 pp	0.5%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	241 ±123 · low precision	0.3% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.9%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	51 ±44 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.8%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	384 ±169	0.4% ±0.2 pp	1.7%	2.0%
Korean	6 ±13 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	118 ±115 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.8%	1.1%
Vietnamese	162 ±105 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	5 ±8 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	24 ±28 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.7%	1.1%
Arabic	32 ±56 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	625 ±471 · low precision	0.7% ±0.5 pp · low precision	0.5%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 56,924
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	15,945 ±1,116	28.0% ±1.9 pp	7.9%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	21,697 ±1,142	38.1% ±1.9 pp	32.9%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	8,725 ±875	15.3% ±1.5 pp	15.1%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	4,090 ±475	7.2% ±0.8 pp	8.9%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	4,444 ±652	7.8% ±1.1 pp	20.9%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	2,023 ±329	3.6% ±0.6 pp	14.3%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 93,421
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Pennsylvania	U.S.
Same house	78,443 ±1,485	84.0% ±1.6 pp	89.3%	87.7%
Moved within same county	8,211 ±1,404	8.8% ±1.5 pp	5.6%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	2,201 ±551	2.4% ±0.6 pp	2.6%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	2,604 ±752	2.8% ±0.8 pp	1.9%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	1,962 ±600	2.1% ±0.6 pp	0.4%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

14.7% of Reading residents (±1.2 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 5.6% in Pennsylvania and 8.4% nationally. 86.5% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Reading	Pennsylvania	U.S.	Compared with Pennsylvania
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	14.7% ±1.2 pp	5.6%	8.4%	Higher
Households with a broadband subscription Households	86.5% ±3.4 pp	89.7%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	3.1% ±0.5 pp	6.1%	6.2%	Lower

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Reading . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Reading housing and cost context or return to the city profile.