Reading, PA

The affordability dashboard for Reading, PA aggregates Census ACS 5-Year Estimates across 10 ZIP codes covering 213,013 residents, then layers in county-level federal data to produce an overall grade of C+ (60/100). The headline inputs are median household income of $71,825, median home value of $207,674, median rent of $1,253 per month, and 26.7% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher. These four metrics alone explain most of the variance between city dashboards.

Cross-agency feeds widen the picture beyond Census demographics. HUD publishes a Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom in this county at $1,575 per month (studio $1,086, 1BR $1,237, 3BR $1,937, 4BR $2,085).

Reading the overall grade requires reading all seven dimensions together. The score weights Income 20%, Safety 20%, Housing 15%, Rent 15%, Education 10%, Commute 10%, and Childcare 10%, with each sub-score benchmarked against national percentiles rather than state averages — so the grade is genuinely comparable across any city in the country. Unemployment currently reads 7.7% and poverty 16.3% — numbers worth keeping alongside the headline grade.