19602 — Reading, Pennsylvania
Area Profile
Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 19602. Its median household income runs 22% below Reading as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 15 sourcesEmployment conditions sit below most comparable ZIP areas measured: unemployment is 6.1% and the Opportunity signal places 19602 in the bottom 14%. The unemployment rate is published for Reading, PA, which contains 19602, rather than for 19602 alone.
In the public schools here, 11% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.4 students for every teacher.
Rent takes 39% of renter income here, above the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 1.5 times what its owners earn.
These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment across Reading, PA, which contains 19602, is 6.1% — higher than in all but 7% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.
Employment across Reading, PA, which contains 19602, grew 3.5% over the past year, to 38,982 employed residents.
Median household income of $34,582 is lower than in 97% of measured US ZIP areas.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsBerks County, PA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $57,706 | 27th percentileof 2,996 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftBerks County, PA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $62,255 | 35th percentileof 2,996 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$4,4212024 ACS 5-Year | $34,582 | Bottom 3%of 31,049 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$1,9272024 ACS 5-Year | $19,090 | Bottom 5%of 32,822 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year | 34.9% | Bottom 4%of 32,846 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±2.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 29.5 min | Bottom 40%of 32,887 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 10.1% | Bottom 12%of 33,193 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±8%2024 ACS 5-Year | 60.8% | 14th percentileof 32,798 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentReading, PA’s figureJuly 2026 | 38,982 | Bottom 41%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)Reading, PA’s figureJuly 2026 | +1.6% | Top 28%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)Reading, PA’s figureJuly 2026 | +3.5% | Top 2%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceReading, PA’s figureJuly 2026 | 41,519 | 42nd percentileof 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 69.8% | Bottom 23%of 32,883 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Mean annual wageReading, PA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $60,950 | Bottom 27%of 2,760 | 2025 OEWS |
| Median annual wageReading, PA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $49,440 | Bottom 47%of 2,760 | 2025 OEWS |
| Public transit to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 7.2% | 96th percentileof 32,798 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)Reading, PA’s figureJuly 2026 | +0.5% | Bottom 22%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateReading, PA’s figureJuly 2026 | 6.1% | Bottom 7%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 4.3% | 22nd percentileof 32,798 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Median household income, successive ACS releases
Largest occupations — Reading, PA
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 5,820 | $29,830 |
| Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | 5,280 | $46,040 |
| Retail Salespersons | 4,430 | $33,010 |
| General and Operations Managers | 4,290 | $99,920 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 4,280 | $28,090 |
| Stockers and Order Fillers | 4,190 | $37,990 |
Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.
Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Reading, PA, the city containing this ZIP code.
11% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 24% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 13.4 students for every full-time teacher across 5 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amanda E Stout El Sch | Reading SD | 758 | 13.5 | 15% | 33% |
| Southern MS | Reading SD | 661 | 12.7 | 6% | 18% |
| Southwest MS | Reading SD | 574 | 12.2 | — | — |
| Sixteenth & Haak El Sch | Reading SD | 527 | 16.5 | 8% | 19% |
| Tyson-Schoener El Sch | Reading SD | 408 | 12.8 | 15% | 25% |
97.0% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.
Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Pennsylvania’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →Prices for everything a household buys run about 4% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 96.5, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Reading, PA Metro Area is up 54% over five years, and up 4.6% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.
Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,160 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.21% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,575, some 51% above the $1,041 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,575 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $63,000 a year, about 182% of the median household income here of $34,582.
The typical renter household here spends 39% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,041 a month.
A median home at $96,000 costs 1.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $63,106, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.
Prices here run about 4% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.
Published for the Reading, PA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.
The figures above are measured against 19602’s median household income of $34,582, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of living indexthe Reading, PA Metro Area’s figure2023 | 96.5 | Top 42%of 2,737 | 2023 |
| Home price change (1 year)the Reading, PA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +4.6% | 76th percentileof 3,071 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the Reading, PA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +54.0% | 86th percentileof 3,071 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the Reading, PA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +105.9% | 66th percentileof 3,071 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year | 1.5 | Top 9%of 29,275 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 26.5% | 3rd percentileof 32,750 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±4562024 ACS 5-Year | 8,034 | 80th percentileof 33,460 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $1,237 | Top 48%of 3,031 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $1,937 | Top 48%of 3,031 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $1,575 | Bottom 48%of 3,031 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$802024 ACS 5-Year | $1,041 | Bottom 48%of 26,396 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$12,4442024 ACS 5-Year | $96,000 | 9th percentileof 30,812 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$1452024 ACS 5-Year | $1,160 | 24th percentileof 28,935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$9,8242024 ACS 5-Year | $63,106 | Bottom 21%of 29,802 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.22%2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.21% | 69th percentileof 24,099 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 38.5% | Bottom 11%of 26,247 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±182024 ACS 5-Year | 12 | 42nd percentileof 33,772 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.1% | 33rd percentileof 32,961 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 14.7% | 82nd percentileof 32,788 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±3322024 ACS 5-Year | 1,194 | 90th percentileof 33,772 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.
64% of the 0 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses. The multifamily share is published for Reading, PA, which contains 19602, rather than for 19602 alone.
At 0.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Reading, PA, which contains 19602, rather than for 19602 alone.
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- Montgomery County, PA 1,723 people · 13% of arrivals
- Lancaster County, PA 1,003 people · 7.6% of arrivals
- Lehigh County, PA 855 people · 6.5% of arrivals
- Chester County, PA 818 people · 6.2% of arrivals
- Bronx County, NY 616 people · 4.7% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- Lancaster County, PA 1,224 people · 9.4% of departures
- Montgomery County, PA 1,189 people · 9.1% of departures
- Lehigh County, PA 766 people · 5.9% of departures
- Schuylkill County, PA 697 people · 5.3% of departures
- Chester County, PA 607 people · 4.6% of departures
Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Berks County, PA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.
The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Reading, PA, the city containing this ZIP code.
Weather & climate
6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 87°F and January a low of 23°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 45.2 inches.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| 90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year | 62 | 2024 calendar year |
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 45.2" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 23°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 87°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 6 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year | 2 | 2024 calendar year |
| Median air quality index2024 calendar year | 43 | 2024 calendar year |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 45°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Air quality
A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 58% of it. Inland flooding and cold wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.
Overall hazard risk is lower than 85% of measured US ZIP areas.
Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, strong wind, lightning, inland flooding, heat wave, cold wave, tornado, ice storm, hail, wildfire, avalanche, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.
Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.
Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around 19602 (Berks County) rather than 19602 itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.
What this profile does not cover
Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.
- Reported crime
- Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Reading carries the figure where its department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
- Taxes
- Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
- Anything about a specific address
- Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.
Access
6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Harrisburg Intl at 46 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 86.7% | Bottom 37%of 32,663 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 46 mi | Bottom 16%of 3,127 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 6 | Top 26%of 3,127 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 10.2% | Bottom 38%of 32,663 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harrisburg Intl | MDT | 46 mi | 10,001 ft |
| Philadelphia Intl | PHL | 48 mi | 12,000 ft |
| Dover AFB | DOV | 86 mi | 9,602 ft |
Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.
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Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyData & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Housing | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional price parities and county personal income | 2023 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | 2025 OEWS |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Safety | U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics Provisional county-level mortality by intent | March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Climate | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System Daily Air Quality Index by county | 2024 calendar year |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA National Weather Service National Weather Service current conditions | Live observation, read when the page opens |
Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.
19602 vs Reading
How this ZIP area compares with Reading as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.
Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.