What it's like to live in Reading
Reading is a smaller city in Pennsylvania with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, and schools with class sizes near the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Reading deals with unemployment above the national average, household incomes below the national average, college degree attainment below the national average, and a poverty rate above the national average.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Affordable home prices
- Average class sizes
The not so good
- Above-average unemployment
- Below-average household incomes
- Low college degree attainment
- High poverty rate
- High rent burden for renters
- Cold winters
How Reading compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Reading
Based on Reading's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$2,134
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $42,680 a year
- 56% of Reading renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$24,260
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $12,130
- Homes cost 2.8× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▼ 24% below US
$1,067/mo median rent
Cost of living works in this city's favor. Median rent sits around $1,067 a month, nothing that raises eyebrows. Solid value overall. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $121,300. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.
Median home value $121,300 · 56% of renters cost-burdened
Job market▲ 33% above US
5.7% unemployment
Unemployment here is 5.7%, somewhat above the national average of 4.3%. Lining up work before the move is the safer route.
City-level (BLS)
Safety▼ 22% below US
258 violent crimes per 100k
Pretty safe, all things considered. Violent crime sits below the national average, nothing alarming, just ordinary city-life awareness.
Property crime 1285/100k · Reading Police Department · 2025 data
Getting aroundNear US average
24 min average commute
Commutes run about average, at 24.1 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 6% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are warm, with highs around 84°F, and winters are cold, with lows around 25°F and snow a regular occurrence. Rainfall is regular throughout the year.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Healthcare
3 hospitals
There are 3 Medicare-certified hospitals inside city limits. They average 3.0 out of 5 on Medicare's star rating.
Medicare-certified hospitals
Education & workforce▼ 68% below US
11% bachelor's degree or higher
This is a working-class city, and college degree rates reflect that. Trades, manufacturing, and service industries tend to dominate the local economy, which is a strength for some fields and a real constraint for others.
Schools
19 public schools inside the boundary
There are 19 public schools inside the boundary and 7 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 15:1, close to the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site (12 miles away). There are 8 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Reading's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are unemployment above the national average and household incomes below the national average. A year of median rent ($1,067/mo) equals 29% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget. It may be a harder fit for anyone moving without a job lined up.
Other places near Reading
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