Berks County, Pennsylvania: Texan Right county. In 2024, voted R+12%. Democratic peak: D+39 in 1912.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+12MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Texan RightAkashic typology
- Population
- 433,0152024 5-year
- Median household income
- $79,7772024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 69.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 4.6%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 24.8%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+39 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+38 in 1928MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Berrien County, MI · similarity 0.96
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Berks CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Berks County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
—
Margin—
Turnout—
Harris +50Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1876–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1876 | No data |
| 1880 | No data |
| 1884 | No data |
| 1888 | No data |
| 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 | −12.1% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 91,125 | 116,677 | 210,426 | ||
| R | 92,895 | 109,736 | 205,540 | ||
| R | 78,437 | 96,626 | 184,085 | ||
| R | 83,011 | 84,702 | 170,676 | ||
| D | 97,047 | 80,513 | 180,000 | ||
| R | 76,309 | 87,122 | 164,487 | ||
| R | 59,150 | 71,273 | 135,297 | ||
| R | 49,887 | 56,289 | 121,718 | ||
| R | 46,031 | 52,939 | 131,407 | ||
| R | 41,040 | 70,153 | 112,444 | ||
| R | 37,849 | 74,605 | 113,145 | ||
| R | 36,449 | 60,576 | 107,385 | ||
| R | 50,994 | 54,452 | 107,553 | ||
| R | 36,563 | 66,172 | 106,127 | ||
| R | 49,877 | 50,623 | 108,924 | ||
| D | 73,444 | 36,726 | 110,646 | ||
| R | 50,572 | 61,743 | 112,706 | ||
| R | 42,349 | 57,258 | 99,927 | ||
| R | 45,874 | 51,720 | 98,668 | ||
| D | 43,075 | 35,608 | 81,726 | ||
| D | 43,889 | 35,274 | 81,410 | ||
| D | 53,301 | 32,111 | 86,942 | ||
| D | 56,907 | 26,699 | 88,327 | ||
| D | 29,763 | 27,073 | 73,023 | ||
| R | 18,960 | 47,073 | 73,514 | ||
| R | 17,220 | 28,186 | 54,893 | ||
| R | 18,361 | 22,221 | 46,591 | ||
| D | 19,267 | 11,937 | 34,769 | ||
| D | 16,430 | 3,032 | 34,560 | ||
| D | 17,381 | 13,642 | 33,268 | ||
| D | 16,357 | 15,539 | 33,579 | ||
| D | 19,013 | 13,952 | 33,593 | ||
| D | 18,099 | 14,318 | 33,082 | ||
| D | 18,602 | 10,077 | 28,991 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
27.9%
Irish
10.1%
Italian
8.2%
English
6.3%
Polish
4.6%
American
3.7%
French
1.2%
African American
3.7%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
2024 ACS
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 39.9 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$79,777
Berks County ranks in the top 25% of US counties.
Berks County$79,777
Pennsylvania$77,971
United States$80,734
Berks County ranks in the top 25% of US counties by median household income.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
12.2%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1818.0%
Working age (18–64)10.6%
Seniors (65+)10.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
78.7%
speak English only
Spanish17.6%
Other Indo-European2.5%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.7%
Other languages0.4%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 54.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Berks County's large Latino population in Reading coexists with a rural and suburban electorate that has shifted sharply rightward over the past decade, producing R+12.2 in 2024 after sitting near even as recently as 2008.
The Republican margin here reached thirty-eight points in 1928. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved four points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was twelve points.
A population of 433,015, a 70% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $79,777 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Berrien County and Porter County. A non-English-speaking share of 21% reflects a meaningful Latino presence that votes, here, with the Republican grain.
Most similar counties
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 →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Berks County, Pennsylvania. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/42011/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in Pennsylvania
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Frequently asked questions
How did Berks County, Pennsylvania vote in 2024?
In 2024, Berks County, Pennsylvania voted Republican by 12.1 points (R+12), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 210,426 votes cast, 91,125 went Democratic and 116,677 went Republican.
What is Berks County, Pennsylvania's political typology?
Akashic places Berks County, Pennsylvania in the "Texan Right" typology — East Texas and the Piney Woods — solidly Republican, with a meaningful Latino presence. The typology is a data-driven cluster built from vote share, vote swing, race and ethnicity, income, language spoken at home, religion, and ancestry. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the county has voted Democratic 14 times, Republican 20 times, and other 0 times.
When did Berks County, Pennsylvania last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Berks County, Pennsylvania voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in Berks County, Pennsylvania?
Berks County, 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 Berks County, Pennsylvania?
Median household income in Berks County, Pennsylvania is $79,777 — below the national median of $80,734. The Pennsylvania state median is $77,971.
What is the political history of Berks County, Pennsylvania?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Berks County, Pennsylvania from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 14 went Democratic and 20 went Republican. The county's typology — "Texan Right" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.