† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles; 2004 predates the ACS and is extrapolated. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
1 counties by 2024 margin · County returns · MIT Election Lab
People and households
Who lives here
Exact values for this place, its state, and the United States.
Race · ethnicity · ancestry
Communities and origins
GroupReading, PAPennsylvaniaUnited States
German27.9%21.6%12.5%
Irish10.1%14.8%9.4%
Italian8.2%10.6%4.8%
English6.3%8.3%9.5%
Polish4.6%5.4%2.2%
American3.7%4.4%5.3%
Dutch1.3%——
French1.2%—1.6%
Puerto Rican10.5%3.7%1.8%
Dominican7.0%1.4%0.7%
Mexican3.9%1.4%11.3%
Colombian0.6%0.2%0.4%
Guatemalan0.4%0.2%0.5%
Salvadoran0.4%—0.7%
Peruvian0.3%——
Spaniard0.3%——
African American†2.8%8.7%9.9%
Haitian0.3%0.2%0.3%
African0.2%0.4%0.5%
Nigerian0.2%—0.2%
Jamaican0.2%0.3%0.4%
Asian Indian0.3%1.2%1.4%
Chinese0.2%0.9%1.3%
Filipino0.2%0.2%0.9%
Vietnamese0.2%0.3%0.6%
Hispanic or Latino counts residents of any race; the race groups count only their non-Hispanic residents, so the groups are mutually exclusive and sum to 100%. Expand a row to see ancestries reported within that group.
Age and life stage
Measure
Reading, PA
Pennsylvania
United States
Median age
39.9
41.2
39.1
Age 18–24
9.6%
8.9%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
17.9%
19.5%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Reading, PA
Pennsylvania
United States
Median household income
$79,777
$77,971
$84,427
Poverty rate
12.2%
11.7%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
27.7%
35.2%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Reading, PA
Pennsylvania
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
21.3%
12.4%
22.3%
Spanish
17.6%
5.6%
13.6%
Religious landscape
Measure
Reading, PA
Pennsylvania
United States
Catholic
19.6%
21.9%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
10.4%
9.3%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
54.4%
53.1%
51.5%
Mainline Protestant
13.0%
10.3%
5.2%
American Community Survey 2024 5-year (CVAP, income, age, poverty, education, language, race, ancestry) · presidential returns from MIT Election Lab through 2024 · 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB) — congregational adherents; unclaimed is the residual not counted by congregations.
Reading, PA
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
1892
+29.4%
1896
+11.4%
1900
+15.1%
1904
+2.4%
1908
+11.2%
1912
+38.8%
1916
+21.1%
1920
−8.3%
1924
−20.0%
1928
−38.2%
1932
+3.7%
1936
+34.2%
1940
+24.4%
1944
+10.6%
1948
+9.1%
1952
−5.9%
1956
−14.9%
1960
−9.9%
1964
+33.2%
1968
−0.7%
1972
−27.9%
1976
−3.2%
1980
−22.5%
1984
−32.5%
1988
−25.9%
1992
−5.3%
1996
−5.3%
2000
−9.0%
2004
−6.6%
2008
+9.2%
2012
−1.0%
2016
−9.9%
2020
−8.2%
2024
−12.2%
DemocraticRepublican
34 presidential elections
Third column names the leading third-party or independent finisher. Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024). Swing · margin change from the prior cycle. vs U.S. · margin relative to the national result that year.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Other
Margin
Swing
vs U.S.
Total
R
43.4%Harris91,125
55.6%Trump116,677
0.5%Oliver1,094 +1
R+12.2
R+4.0
R+10.7
209,838
All 4 candidates in 2024 · 2 minor / independent
Donald J TrumpRepublican55.6%116,677
Kamala D HarrisDemocratic43.4%91,125
Chase OliverLibertarian0.5%1,094
Jill SteinIndependent0.4%942
R
45.2%Biden92,895
53.4%Trump109,736
1.4%
R+8.2
D+1.7
R+12.6
205,540
R
42.6%Clinton78,437
52.5%Trump96,626
4.9%
R+9.9
R+8.9
R+12.0
184,085
R
48.6%Obama83,011
49.6%Romney84,702
1.7%
R+1.0
R+10.2
R+4.8
170,676
D
53.9%Obama97,047
44.7%McCain80,513
1.4%
D+9.2
D+15.8
D+1.9
180,000
R
46.4%Kerry76,309
53.0%Bush87,122
0.6%
R+6.6
D+2.4
R+4.1
164,487
R
43.7%Gore59,150
52.7%Bush71,273
3.6%
R+9.0
R+3.7
R+9.5
135,297
R
41.0%Clinton49,887
46.2%Dole56,289
12.8%
R+5.3
±0.0
R+13.8
121,718
R
35.0%Clinton46,031
40.3%Bush52,939
24.7%
R+5.3
D+20.6
R+10.8
131,407
R
36.5%Dukakis41,040
62.4%Bush70,153
1.1%
R+25.9
D+6.6
R+18.2
112,444
R
33.5%Mondale37,849
65.9%Reagan74,605
0.6%
R+32.5
R+10.0
R+14.3
113,145
R
33.9%Carter36,449
56.4%Reagan60,576
9.6%
R+22.5
R+19.3
R+12.7
107,385
R
47.4%Carter50,994
50.6%Ford54,452
2.0%
R+3.2
D+24.7
R+5.3
107,553
R
34.5%McGovern36,563
62.4%Nixon66,172
3.2%
R+27.9
R+27.2
R+4.7
106,127
R
45.8%Humphrey49,877
46.5%Nixon50,623
7.7%
R+0.7
R+33.9
±0.0
108,924
D
66.4%Johnson73,444
33.2%Goldwater36,726
0.4%
D+33.2
D+43.1
D+10.6
110,646
R
44.9%Kennedy50,572
54.8%Nixon61,743
0.3%
R+9.9
D+5.0
R+10.1
112,706
R
42.4%Stevenson42,349
57.3%Eisenhower57,258
0.3%
R+14.9
R+9.0
D+0.5
99,927
R
46.5%Stevenson45,874
52.4%Eisenhower51,720
1.1%
R+5.9
R+15.1
D+4.8
98,668
D
52.7%Truman43,075
43.6%Dewey35,608
3.7%
D+9.1
R+1.4
D+4.7
81,726
D
53.9%Roosevelt43,889
43.3%Dewey35,274
2.8%
D+10.6
R+13.8
D+3.1
81,410
D
61.3%Roosevelt53,301
36.9%Willkie32,111
1.8%
D+24.4
R+9.8
D+14.4
86,942
D
64.4%Roosevelt56,907
30.2%Landon26,699
5.3%
D+34.2
D+30.5
D+9.9
88,327
D
40.8%Roosevelt29,763
37.1%Hoover27,073
22.2%
D+3.7
D+41.9
R+14.1
73,023
R
25.8%Smith18,960
64.0%Hoover47,073
10.2%
R+38.2
R+18.3
R+20.8
73,514
R
31.4%Davis17,220
51.3%Coolidge28,186
17.3%
R+20.0
R+11.7
D+5.2
54,893
R
39.4%Cox18,361
47.7%Harding22,221
12.9%
R+8.3
R+29.4
D+17.9
46,591
D
55.4%Wilson19,267
34.3%Hughes11,937
10.3%
D+21.1
R+17.7
D+17.9
34,769
D
47.5%Wilson16,430
8.8%Taft3,032
43.7%
D+38.8
D+27.5
D+19.2
34,560
D
52.2%Bryan17,381
41.0%Taft13,642
6.7%
D+11.2
D+8.8
D+20.8
33,268
D
48.7%Parker16,357
46.3%Roosevelt15,539
5.0%
D+2.4
R+12.6
D+22.1
33,579
D
56.6%Bryan19,013
41.5%McKinley13,952
1.9%
D+15.1
D+3.6
D+22.6
33,593
D
54.7%Bryan18,099
43.3%McKinley14,318
2.0%
D+11.4
R+18.0
D+17.5
33,082
D
64.2%Cleveland18,602
34.8%Harrison10,077
1.1%
D+29.4
—
D+27.7
28,991
Congressional elections · 3 Senate races
U.S. Senate
Source · MIT Election Lab (MEDSL), Senate. CC-BY 4.0.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Total
2024
R
43.7%89,063
53.1%108,058
203,642
2022
R
46.0%71,349
50.3%78,019
155,085
2018
D
51.0%73,714
47.2%68,159
144,533
voter registration
Registered voters
By party of registration, over time
Party registration · 2026R+5.0
vs
Presidential vote · 2024R+12.2
Registration leans Republican; the presidential vote runs 7.1 points more Democratic.
Domestic migration in Reading, PA in Reading, PA: net domestic migration by year
Year
Net domestic migration
2011
−1,504
2012
−1,675
2013
−1,812
2014
−2,114
2015
−1,919
2016
−2,110
2017
−675
2018
−70
2019
−871
2021
+485
2022
+1,258
2023
−250
2024
−153
2025
−69
Reading's population is now majority Hispanic, one of the highest shares of any mid-sized northeastern city, and that demographic shift has gradually altered turnout patterns and party registration trends across Berks County.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 38.8 points in 1912 and a Republican high of 38.2 points in 1928. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved 4.0 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 12.2 points.
A population of 433,015, a 67% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $79,777 describe the metro. The metro's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ and East Stroudsburg, PA.
Akashic
Political twins — metros
The metros whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
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Reading, PA, Pennsylvania. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/39740/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
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In 2024, Reading, PA, Pennsylvania voted Republican by 12.2 points (R+12.2), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 209,838 votes cast, 91,125 went Democratic and 116,677 went Republican.
When did Reading, PA, Pennsylvania last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Reading, PA, Pennsylvania voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in Reading, PA, Pennsylvania?
Reading, PA, Pennsylvania has a population of 433,015 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Reading, PA, Pennsylvania?
Median household income in Reading, PA, Pennsylvania is $79,777 — below the national median of $80,734. The Pennsylvania state median is $77,971.
What is the political history of Reading, PA, Pennsylvania?
Akashic tracks 34 presidential elections in Reading, PA, Pennsylvania from 1892 to 2024. Of those, 14 went Democratic and 20 went Republican.
