Berks County, Pennsylvania should not be confused with Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
| County: | Berks County |
| State: | Pennsylvania |
| Seal: | Berks County Seal.png |
| Founded Date: | March 11 |
| Founded Year: | 1752 |
| Seat Wl: | Reading |
| Largest City Wl: | Reading |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 866 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 857 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 9.2 |
| Area Percentage: | 1.1% |
| Census Yr: | 2020 |
| Pop: | 428849 |
| Density Sq Mi: | 495 |
| Time Zone: | Eastern |
| Web: | www.berkspa.gov |
| Ex Image: | View of Reading area from Pagoda.jpg |
| Ex Image Size: | 250 |
| Ex Image Cap: | Reading, the largest city in the county and fourth-largest in Pennsylvania, in October 2010 |
| District: | 4th |
| District2: | 6th |
| District3: | 9th |
| Flag: | Flag of Berks County, Pennsylvania.svg |
Berks County (Pennsylvania German: Barricks Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 428,849.[1] The county seat is Reading, the fourth-most populous city in the state.[2]
The county borders Lehigh County to its north and its east, Schuylkill County to its north, Lebanon and Lancaster counties to its west, and Chester County to its south. The county is approximately 26miles southwest of Allentown, the state's third-largest city, and 64miles northwest of Philadelphia, the state's largest city.
The Schuylkill River, a 135adj=midNaNadj=mid tributary of the Delaware River, flows through Berks County. The county is part of the Reading, PA metropolitan statistical area (MSA), which in turn is part of the Greater Philadelphia metropolitan area known as the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD combined statistical area (CSA).
Reading developed during the 1740s when inhabitants of northern Lancaster County sent several petitions requesting that a separate county be established. With the help of German immigrant Conrad Weiser, the county was formed on March 11, 1752, from parts of Chester County, Lancaster County, and Philadelphia County.[3]
It was named after the English county in which William Penn's family home lay, Berkshire, which is often abbreviated to Berks. Berks County began much larger than it is today. The northwestern parts of the county went to the founding of Northumberland County in 1772 and Schuylkill County in 1811, when it reached its current size.
In 2005, Berks County was added to the Delaware Valley Planning Area due to a fast-growing population and close proximity to the other communities.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and (1.1%) of which is water.[4]
Most of the county is drained by the Schuylkill River, but an area in the northeast is drained by the Lehigh River via the Little Lehigh Creek and areas are drained by the Susquehanna River via the Swatara Creek in the northwest and the Conestoga River, which starts in Berks County between Morgantown and Elverson in the county's extreme south. It has a humid continental climate (Dfa except for some Dfb on Blue Mountain at the northern boundary.) The hardiness zone is mostly 7a with 6b in some higher northern and eastern areas. https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/
As of the 2010 census, the county was 76.9% White non-Hispanic, 4.9% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 1.3% Asian, and 2.5% were two or more races. 16.4% of the population was of Hispanic or Latino ancestry.[5] Historically there is a large Pennsylvania Dutch population. It is known as part of Pennsylvania Dutch Country. More recently there is a large Puerto Rican population centered in the city of Reading. There were 411,442 people, 154,356 households, and 106,532 families residing in the county. The population density was 479sp=usNaNsp=us. There were 164,827 housing units at an average density of 191.9sp=usNaNsp=us.
According to Muninet Guide's 2010 analysis, the median household income for Berks County is $54,105.
There were 154,356 households, out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.1% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.08.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.9% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.1 years. For every 100 females there were 95.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.70 males.
Berks County is home to an Old Order Mennonite community consisting of about 160 families, located in the East Penn Valley near Kutztown and Fleetwood.[6] The Old Order Mennonites first bought land in the area in 1949.[7] In 2012, Old Order Mennonites bought two large farms in the Oley Valley. The Old Order Mennonites in the area belong to the Groffdale Conference Mennonite Church and use the horse and buggy as transportation. There are several farms in the area belonging to the Old Order Mennonite community and meetinghouses are located near Kutztown and Fleetwood.[8]
| White alone (NH) | 317,025 | 316,406 | style='background: #ffffe6; | 291,258 | 84.85% | 76.90% | style='background: #ffffe6; | 67.92% | |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 12,478 | 16,517 | style='background: #ffffe6; | 18,087 | 3.34% | 4.01% | style='background: #ffffe6; | 4.22% | |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 397 | 536 | style='background: #ffffe6; | 450 | 0.11% | 0.13% | style='background: #ffffe6; | 0.10% | |
| Asian alone (NH) | 3,713 | 5,244 | style='background: #ffffe6; | 6,225 | 0.99% | 1.27% | style='background: #ffffe6; | 1.45% | |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 57 | 58 | style='background: #ffffe6; | 61 | 0.02% | 0.01% | style='background: #ffffe6; | 0.01% | |
| Some Other Race alone (NH) | 320 | 374 | style='background: #ffffe6; | 1,551 | 0.09% | 0.09% | style='background: #ffffe6; | 0.36% | |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 3,291 | 4,952 | style='background: #ffffe6; | 11,667 | 0.88% | 1.20% | style='background: #ffffe6; | 2.72% | |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 36,537 | 67,355 | style='background: #ffffe6; | 99,550 | 9.73% | 16.37% | style='background: #ffffe6; | 23.21% | |
| Total | 373,638 | 411,442 | style='background: #ffffe6; | 428,849 | 100.00% | 100.00% | style='background: #ffffe6; | 100.00% |
See also: List of Metropolitan Statistical Areas. The Office of Management and Budget[12] has designated Berks County as the Reading, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). As of the 2010 U.S. census[13] the metropolitan area is the 10th-most populous in Pennsylvania and the 128th-most populous in the U.S. with a population of 413,491.
Berks County is part of the larger Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD Combined Statistical Area (CSA), the largest in Pennsylvania and eighth-most populous in the nation with a population of 7,067,807.
As of September 21, 2023, there were 253,186 registered voters in Berks County.[15]
As of 2023, the Republican Party maintained a total registration edge over Democrats in Berks County. At the top of the Pennsylvania ticket in November 2022, Berks County split its votes, supporting Democrat Josh Shapiro for governor and Republican Mehmet Oz for U.S. Senate.
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The first time since 1964 that a Democrat carried Berks in a Presidential election occurred in 2008, with Barack Obama receiving 53.9% of the vote to John McCain's 44.7%. The other three statewide winners (Rob McCord for treasurer, Jack Wagner for auditor general, and Tom Corbett for attorney general) also carried it.[16] While Republicans have controlled the commissioner majority most of the time and continue to control most county row offices, Democrats have become more competitive in Berks in recent years. In the 2012 Presidential election, Mitt Romney carried the county by approximately a one-percent margin, 49.6% to 48.6%, however, in 2016, Donald Trump carried Berks by a much larger margin of 52.9% to 42.7%.[17]
School districts include:[18]
Reading Public Museum in Reading is an art, science, and history museum.
The Reading Buccaneers Drum and Bugle Corps are an all-age drum corps based in Berks County. Founded in 1957, the corps is a charter member Drum Corps Associates and an 11-time DCA World Champion.
Reading is home to Berks Opera Company, founded in 2007 as Berks Opera Workshop.
There are two Pennsylvania state parks and one natural area in Berks County.
There are two Pennsylvania Historic Sites in Berks County.
The Old Morlatton Village in Douglassville is maintained by the Historic Preservation Trust of Berks County. The village is composed of four historic structures: White Horse Inn, George Douglass Mansion, Bridge keeper's House, and the Mouns Jones House, constructed in 1716, which is the oldest recorded building in the county.[20]
West Reading in home to the annual Art on the Avenue, which reached its 25th year in 2019.[21]
Berks County is home to several media outlets, including:
Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: cities, boroughs, townships, and towns. The following cities, boroughs and townships are located in Berks County:
Census-designated places are geographical areas designated by the U.S. Census Bureau for the purposes of compiling demographic data. They are not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law. Other unincorporated communities, such as villages, may be listed here as well.
The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Berks County.[13]
† county seat
CDP=census designated population
| Rank | City/Town/etc. | Municipal type | Population (2010 Census) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | † Reading | City | 88,082 | |
| 2 | Wyomissing | Borough | 10,461 | |
| 3 | Blandon | CDP | 7,152 | |
| 4 | Shillington | Borough | 5,273 | |
| 5 | Birdsboro | Borough | 5,163 | |
| 6 | Kutztown | Borough | 5,012 | |
| 7 | Whitfield | CDP | 4,733 | |
| 8 | Hamburg | Borough | 4,289 | |
| 9 | Lorane | CDP | 4,236 | |
| 10 | Pennside | CDP | 4,215 | |
| 11 | West Reading | Borough | 4,212 | |
| 12 | Reiffton | CDP | 4,178 | |
| 13 | Fleetwood | Borough | 4,085 | |
| 14 | Boyertown | Borough | 4,055 | |
| 15 | Sinking Spring | Borough | 4,008 | |
| 16 | Laureldale | Borough | 3,911 | |
| 17 | West Wyomissing | CDP | 3,407 | |
| 18 | Amity Gardens | CDP | 3,402 | |
| 19 | Jacksonwald | CDP | 3,393 | |
| 20 | Riverview Park | CDP | 3,380 | |
| 21 | Mount Penn | Borough | 3,106 | |
| 22 | Mohnton | Borough | 3,043 | |
| 23 | Kutztown University | CDP | 2,918 | |
| 24 | Kenhorst | Borough | 2,877 | |
| 25 | Womelsdorf | Borough | 2,810 | |
| 26 | Flying Hills | CDP | 2,568 | |
| 27 | Hyde Park | CDP | 2,528 | |
| 28 | Wernersville | Borough | 2,494 | |
| 29 | Topton | Borough | 2,069 | |
| 30 | Robesonia | Borough | 2,061 | |
| 31 | West Hamburg | CDP | 1,979 | |
| 32 | Leesport | Borough | 1,918 | |
| 33 | Temple | CDP | 1,877 | |
| 34 | St. Lawrence | Borough | 1,809 | |
| 35 | West Lawn | CDP | 1,715 | |
| 36 | Fox Chase | CDP | 1,622 | |
| 37 | Lincoln Park | CDP | 1,615 | |
| 38 | Grill | CDP | 1,468 | |
| 39 | South Temple | CDP | 1,424 | |
| 40 | Muhlenberg Park | CDP | 1,420 | |
| 41 | Shoemakersville | Borough | 1,378 | |
| 42 | New Berlinville | CDP | 1,368 | |
| 43 | Oley | CDP | 1,282 | |
| 44 | Greenfields | CDP | 1,170 | |
| 45 | Alleghenyville | CDP | 1,134 | |
| 46 | Bally | Borough | 1,090 | |
| 47 | Colony Park | CDP | 1,076 | |
| 48 | Stony Creek Mills | CDP | 1,045 | |
| 49 | Spring Ridge | CDP | 1,003 | |
| 50 | Bernville | Borough | 955 | |
| 51 | Bechtelsville | Borough | 942 | |
| 52 | Hereford | CDP | 930 | |
| 53 | Dauberville | CDP | 848 | |
| 54 | Morgantown | CDP | 826 | |
| 55 | Pennwyn | CDP | 780 | |
| 56 | Springmont | CDP | 724 | |
| 57 | Edenburg | CDP | 681 | |
| 58 | Gibraltar | CDP | 680 | |
| 59 | Mertztown | CDP | 664 | |
| 60 | New Jerusalem | CDP | 649 | |
| 61 | Montrose Manor | CDP | 604 | |
| 62 | Stouchsburg | CDP | 600 | |
| 63 | Gouglersville | CDP | 548 | |
| 64 | Bethel | CDP | 499 | |
| 65 | Walnuttown | CDP | 484 | |
| T-66 | Lyons | Borough | 478 | |
| T-66 | Alsace Manor | CDP | 478 | |
| 67 | Shartlesville | CDP | 455 | |
| 68 | Douglassville | CDP | 448 | |
| 69 | Baumstown | CDP | 422 | |
| 70 | Dryville | CDP | 398 | |
| 71 | Centerport | Borough | 387 | |
| 72 | Mohrsville | CDP | 383 | |
| 73 | Frystown | CDP | 380 | |
| 74 | Mount Aetna | CDP | 354 | |
| 75 | Strausstown | Borough | 342 | |
| 76 | Bowers | CDP | 326 | |
| 77 | Rehrersburg | CDP | 319 | |
| 78 | Virginville | CDP | 309 | |
| 79 | Schubert | CDP | 249 | |
| 80 | New Schaefferstown | CDP | 223 | |
| 81 | Kempton | CDP | 169 | |
| 82 | Lenhartsville | Borough | 165 | |
| 83 | New Morgan | Borough | 71 |