Census ACS · #126 MSA
Reading Metro Area
The Reading, Pa Metropolitan Statistical Area has 429,989 residents. The median household income is $77,684 and the median home value is $239,700.
429,989
Population
502
People / sq mi
$77,684
Median Income
$239,700
Median Home Value
The Reading CBSA covers 856 sq mi of land at 502.1 people per square mile.
Race & Ethnicity
| White | 72.3% |
| Black or African American | 4.7% |
| Asian | 0.0% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 1.4% |
Economy & Income
$77,684
Median Household Income
$39,012
Per Capita Income
8.3%
Poverty Rate
3.4%
Unemployment
Cost of Living
The Reading metro's price level is 97.1 on the BEA Regional Price Parity index (US average = 100), meaning prices are 2.9% lower the US average. The local median income of $77,684 has the buying power of $80,037 in average-priced US metros.
97.1
Price Level (US = 100)
$80,037
COL-Adjusted Median Income
$77,684
Nominal Median Income
Housing
$239,700
Median Home Value
$1,143
Median Rent
71.0%
Homeownership
Education
88.4%
High School+
27.2%
Bachelor's+
Commute
1.0%
Drive Alone
10.6%
Work From Home
25.0 min
Avg Commute
15.3%
Foreign Born
Reading spans this state
Nearby metros
Largest cities in Pennsylvania
Largest counties in Pennsylvania
Part of Pennsylvania
Other metros
Metro areas in Pennsylvania
Metro rankings
Frequently Asked Questions
The Reading, Pa Metropolitan Statistical Area has a population of 429,989 according to Census ACS 5-Year estimates, making it the #126 largest CBSA in the US.
The median household income in the Reading metro area is $77,684, with a per capita income of $39,012.
The Reading, Pa CBSA spans the state of Pennsylvania.
More from Pennsylvania
Data for the Reading, Pa CBSA (39740) from the American Community Survey 5-Year estimates. Core-Based Statistical Areas combine cities, suburbs, and surrounding counties tied together by commuting patterns.
The this entity record above pulls directly from the U.S. Census Bureau ACS and decennial files. What follows is the per-entity context — how this entity sits in the broader U.S. population demographics distribution and which underlying factors drive the headline numbers.
Every number on this page links back to the U.S. Census Bureau ACS and decennial files; the methodology page describes the inputs, refresh cadence, and known limitations of the underlying data product.
Practical use of this page is in combination with the comparison and ranking pages elsewhere on the site, which surface the same data for this entity’s peers within U.S. states, metros, cities, and ZIPs. A single-entity reading without peer context can be misleading when an entity is an outlier on one axis but typical on another.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS, 2026.