Neighborhood Scorecard

Source:

19602 — Reading, PA

The neighborhood scorecard for ZIP 19602 in Reading, PA blends seven federal datasets into a single letter grade of F (30/100). The underlying inputs pulled for this ZIP include a median household income of $34,582, a median home value of $96,000, 10.1% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher, and an average commute of 27 minutes. Every value comes directly from Census ACS 5-Year Estimates tied to ZIP 19602, not a national average mapped onto the ZIP.

Cross-agency inputs extend the score beyond Census demographics. If any of these feeds is missing for 19602, the scorecard transparently drops that dimension rather than inventing a score.

Reading the grade means reading the dimensions together. The overall F score for 19602 reflects a weighted blend — Income (20%), Safety (20%), Housing (15%), Rent (15%), Education (10%), Commute (10%), and Childcare (10%) — and each dimension is benchmarked against national percentiles rather than in-state-only comparisons. Strengths visible in the raw data include housing. Areas pulling the overall grade down are income, education, commute, rent. The 6 nearby ZIP codes listed below provide immediate geographic context — two adjacent ZIPs can land several grade letters apart due to school-district boundaries, zoning, and commute arteries.

F
Overall Score
30/100
19602 — Reading, PA
Income F
$34,582
Median household income
Education F
10.1%
Bachelor's degree or higher
Housing B+
2.8x
Home value $96,000 vs income
Commute D
27 min
Average commute time
Rent F
$1,575/mo
2BR fair market rent (55% of income)
Safety N/A
N/A
Violent crime rate (county)
Childcare N/A
N/A
Center-based infant care cost

Score Breakdown

Income

F
$34,582

Median household income

Score: 18/100

Education

F
10.1%

Bachelor's degree or higher

Score: 10/100

Housing

B+
2.8x

Home value $96,000 vs income

Score: 75/100

Commute

D
27 min

Average commute time

Score: 44/100

Rent

F
$1,575/mo

2BR fair market rent (55% of income)

Score: 6/100

Safety

N/A
N/A

Violent crime rate (county)

Childcare

N/A
N/A

Center-based infant care cost

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What This Means

Reading, PA (19602) receives an overall grade of F based on publicly available data from the Census Bureau, HUD, FBI, and Department of Labor. This area performs well in housing. Challenges include income and education and rent. Data was unavailable for safety, childcare — these dimensions were excluded from the overall score.

Nearby ZIP Scorecards

Side-by-side: Compare 19602 vs 19611 →

Full ZIP Code Data
Demographics, housing, income, and more for 19602
View Details →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the overall score for ZIP 19602?
ZIP 19602 (Reading, PA) has an overall neighborhood score of 30/100, earning a grade of F. This score combines 7 dimensions: income, education, housing affordability, commute, rent, safety, and childcare costs.
Is 19602 a good place to live?
Based on Census, HUD, FBI, and DOL data, 19602 scores F overall. Strengths include housing. Areas that score lower: income, education, commute, rent.
How is the neighborhood scorecard calculated?
The scorecard evaluates 7 dimensions weighted by importance: Income (20%), Safety (20%), Housing affordability (15%), Rent (15%), Education (10%), Commute (10%), and Childcare (10%). Each metric is compared against national benchmarks to produce a percentile score.

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates. Source: HUD Fair Market Rents. Source: FBI Uniform Crime Report. Source: DOL Childcare Costs. Verify with HUD →