Berks County, Pennsylvania


Berks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 428,849. The county seat is Reading, the fourth-most populous city in the state. The county is part of the South Central region of the commonwealth.
The county borders Lehigh County to its north, Schuylkill County to its north, Lebanon and Lancaster counties to its west, Chester County to its south, and Montgomery County to its east. The county is approximately southwest of Allentown, the state's third-largest city, and northwest of Philadelphia, the state's largest city.
The Schuylkill River, a tributary of the Delaware River, flows through Berks County. The county is part of the Reading, PA metropolitan statistical area, which in turn is part of the Greater Philadelphia metropolitan area known as the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD combined statistical area.

History

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.
It was named after Berkshire the English county in which William Penn's family home lay, of which the original town of Reading is the county town and which is traditionally abbreviated "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.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and of which is water.
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 The hardiness zone is mostly 7a with 6b in some higher northern and eastern areas.

Adjacent counties

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 428,849. The median age was 40.4 years. 22.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 96.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 94.0 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 72.1% White, 5.1% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 11.7% from some other race, and 9.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 23.2% of the population.
73.4% of residents lived in urban areas, while 26.6% lived in rural areas.
There were 161,485 households in the county, of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 48.6% were married-couple households, 17.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 25.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 170,742 housing units, of which 5.4% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 69.7% were owner-occupied and 30.3% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.1% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.1%.

Racial and ethnic composition

Race / Ethnicity Pop 2000Pop 2010% 2000% 2010
White alone 317,025316,406291,25884.85%76.90%67.92%
Black or African American alone 12,47816,51718,0873.34%4.01%4.22%
Native American or Alaska Native alone 3975364500.11%0.13%0.10%
Asian alone 3,7135,2446,2250.99%1.27%1.45%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone 5758610.02%0.01%0.01%
Other race alone 3203741,5510.09%0.09%0.36%
Mixed race or Multiracial 3,2914,95211,6670.88%1.20%2.72%
Hispanic or Latino 36,53767,35599,5509.73%16.37%23.21%
Total373,638 411,442428,849100.00%100.00%100.00%

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, the county was 76.9% white non-Hispanic, 4.9% black, 0.3% Indian, 1.3% Asian, and 2.5% were two or more races. 16.4% of the population was of Hispanic or Latino ancestry.
There were 411,442 people, 154,356 households, and 106,532 families residing in the county. The population density was. There were 164,827 housing units at an average density of.
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.

Income

According to Muninet Guide's 2010 analysis, the median household income for Berks County is $54,105.

Cultural communities

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.
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. The Old Order Mennonites first bought land in the area in 1949. 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.

Metropolitan and Combined Statistical Area

The Office of Management and Budget has designated Berks County as the Reading, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area . As of the 2010 U.S. census 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 , the largest in Pennsylvania and eighth-most populous in the nation with a population of 7,067,807.

Government

State Senate

U.S. Senate
As of September 21, 2023, there were 253,186 registered voters in Berks County.
  • Republican: 107,690
  • Democratic: 104,430
  • Independent: 30,154
  • Minor parties: 10,912
Berks County is strongly Republican, but is still competitive. 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. The last Democratic presidential candidate to win the county was Barack Obama in 2008.
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 also carried it. 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%.