Berks County (Pennsylvania German: Barricks Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 428,849.^[2] The county seat is Reading, the fourth-most populous city in the state.^[3] The county is part of the South Central Pennsylvania region of the state.^{[lower-alpha 1]}

Quick Facts Country, State ...

Berks County
County
Reading, the largest city in the county and fourth-largest in Pennsylvania, in October 2010
Flag Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 40°25′N 75°56′W
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
Founded	March 11, 1752
Named for	Berkshire
Seat	Reading
Largest city	Reading
Area
• Total	866 sq mi (2,240 km2)
• Land	857 sq mi (2,220 km2)
• Water	9.2 sq mi (24 km2)  1.1%
Population  (2020)
• Total	428,849
• Density	495/sq mi (191/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional districts	4th, 6th, 9th
Website	www.berkspa.gov
Pennsylvania Historical Marker
Designated	May 12, 1982[1]

Close

The county borders Lehigh County to its north and its east, Schuylkill County to its north, Lebanon and Lancaster counties to its west, and Chester County to its south. The county is approximately 26 miles (42 km) southwest of Allentown, the state's third-largest city, and 64 miles (103 km) northwest of Philadelphia, the state's largest city.

The Schuylkill River, a 135-mile-long (217 km) tributary of the Delaware River, flows through Berks County. The county is part of the Reading, PA metropolitan statistical area (MSA), which in turn is part of the Greater Philadelphia metropolitan area known as the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD combined statistical area (CSA).

Reading developed during the 1740s when inhabitants of northern Lancaster County sent several petitions requesting that a separate county be established. With the help of German immigrant Conrad Weiser, the county was formed on March 11, 1752, from parts of Chester County, Lancaster County, and Philadelphia County.^[4]

It was named after the English county in which William Penn's family home lay, Berkshire, which is often abbreviated to Berks. Berks County began much larger than it is today. The northwestern parts of the county went to the founding of Northumberland County in 1772 and Schuylkill County in 1811, when it reached its current size.

In 2005, Berks County was added to the Delaware Valley Planning Area due to a fast-growing population and close proximity to the other communities.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 866 square miles (2,240 km²), 857 square miles (2,220 km²) of which is land and 9.2 square miles (24 km²) (1.1%) of which is water.^[5]

Most of the county is drained by the Schuylkill River, but an area in the northeast is drained by the Lehigh River via the Little Lehigh Creek and areas are drained by the Susquehanna River via the Swatara Creek in the northwest and the Conestoga River, which starts in Berks County between Morgantown and Elverson in the county's extreme south. It has a humid continental climate (Dfa except for some Dfb on Blue Mountain at the northern boundary.) The hardiness zone is mostly 7a with 6b in some higher northern and eastern areas.

As of the 2010 census, the county was 76.9% White non-Hispanic, 4.9% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 1.3% Asian, and 2.5% were two or more races. 16.4% of the population was of Hispanic or Latino ancestry.^[10] Historically there is a large Pennsylvania Dutch population. It is known as part of Pennsylvania Dutch Country. More recently there is a large Puerto Rican population centered in the city of Reading. There were 411,442 people, 154,356 households, and 106,532 families residing in the county. The population density was 479 inhabitants per square mile (185/km²). There were 164,827 housing units at an average density of 191.9 per square mile (74.1/km²).

According to Muninet Guide's 2010 analysis, the median household income for Berks County is $54,105.

There were 154,356 households, out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.1% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.9% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.1 years. For every 100 females there were 95.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.70 males.

Berks County is home to an Old Order Mennonite community consisting of about 160 families, located in the East Penn Valley near Kutztown and Fleetwood.^[11] The Old Order Mennonites first bought land in the area in 1949.^[12] In 2012, Old Order Mennonites bought two large farms in the Oley Valley. The Old Order Mennonites in the area belong to the Groffdale Conference Mennonite Church and use the horse and buggy as transportation. There are several farms in the area belonging to the Old Order Mennonite community and meetinghouses are located near Kutztown and Fleetwood.^[13]

The Office of Management and Budget^[15] has designated Berks County as the Reading, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). As of the 2010 U.S. census^[16] the metropolitan area is the 10th-most populous in Pennsylvania and the 128th-most populous in the U.S. with a population of 413,491.

Berks County is part of the larger Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD Combined Statistical Area (CSA), the largest in Pennsylvania and eighth-most populous in the nation with a population of 7,067,807.

As of September 21, 2023, there were 253,186 registered voters in Berks County.^[18]

• Republican: 107,690 (42.53%)
• Democratic: 104,430 (41.24%)
• Independent: 30,154 (11.91%)
• Minor parties: 10,912 (4.31%)

As of 2023, the Republican Party maintained a total registration edge over Democrats in Berks County. At the top of the Pennsylvania ticket in November 2022, Berks County split its votes, supporting Democrat Josh Shapiro for governor and Republican Mehmet Oz for U.S. Senate.

The first time since 1964 that a Democrat carried Berks in a Presidential election occurred in 2008, with Barack Obama receiving 53.9% of the vote to John McCain's 44.7%. The other three statewide winners (Rob McCord for treasurer, Jack Wagner for auditor general, and Tom Corbett for attorney general) also carried it.^[20] While Republicans have controlled the commissioner majority most of the time and continue to control most county row offices, Democrats have become more competitive in Berks in recent years. In the 2012 Presidential election, Mitt Romney carried the county by approximately a one-percent margin, 49.6% to 48.6%, however, in 2016, Donald Trump carried Berks by a much larger margin of 52.9% to 42.7%.^[21]

Reading Public Museum in Reading is an art, science, and history museum.

The Reading Buccaneers Drum and Bugle Corps are an all-age drum corps based in Berks County. Founded in 1957, the corps is a charter member Drum Corps Associates and an 11-time DCA World Champion.

Reading is home to Berks Opera Company, founded in 2007 as Berks Opera Workshop.

There are two Pennsylvania state parks and one natural area in Berks County.

• French Creek State Park, a former Recreational Demonstration Area, straddles the Berks and Chester County line.
• Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center is south of Reading on land once owned by Jacob Nolde, a Reading businessman and Pennsylvania environmentalist.
• Ruth Zimmerman Natural Area, part of the William Penn Forest District in Oley.^[23]

There are two Pennsylvania Historic Sites in Berks County.

• Conrad Weiser Homestead near Womelsdorf
• Daniel Boone Homestead near Birdsboro

The Old Morlatton Village in Douglassville is maintained by the Historic Preservation Trust of Berks County. The village is composed of four historic structures: White Horse Inn, George Douglass Mansion, Bridge keeper's House, and the Mouns Jones House, constructed in 1716, which is the oldest recorded building in the county.^[24]

West Reading in home to the annual Art on the Avenue, which reached its 25th year in 2019.^[25]

Berks County is home to several media outlets, including:

• Berks Community Television (BCTV)^[26]
• Reading Eagle, the daily newspaper, based in Reading and founded in 1867
• WEEU (830 AM), a radio station broadcasting news and conservative talk shows
• WFMZ-TV, an Allentown-based news channel that covers the region
• WRFY-FM (102.5 FM "Y102"), a commercial radio station licensed to serve Reading

Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: cities, boroughs, townships, and towns. The following cities, boroughs and townships are located in Berks County:

• William Addams, former U.S. Congressman^[27]
• Priscilla Ahn, folk musician, singer, and songwriter
• John Barrasso, U.S. Senator
• Douglas Carter Beane, playwright
• Chad Billingsley, former professional baseball player, Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies
• Daniel Boone, American pioneer, explorer, and frontiersman
• Kenny Brightbill, professional race car driver
• Steve Burns, musician and former Blue's Clues host
• James Henry Carpenter, Civil War sailor, officer, founder of Carpenter Technology Corporation
• Jack Coggins, illustrator, author and artist, lived in Boyertown from 1948 to 2006
• Rocky Colavito, former Major League Baseball player
• Kerry Collins, professional football player (Panthers, Saints, Giants, Raiders, Titans, and Colts)
• Michael Constantine, actor, star of Room 222 and My Big Fat Greek Wedding
• Amy Cuddy, Harvard psychologist and TED Talks speaker
• Lisa Eichhorn, actress
• Wayne Ellington, NBA Basketball Player
• Carl Furillo, former professional baseball player, Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers
• John Henry Gilmore, Jr., former professional football player, Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Jon Gosselin, reality television personality, Jon & Kate Plus 8
• Kate Gosselin, reality television personality, Jon & Kate Plus 8
• Keith Haring, former artist
• Chad Henne, football professional football player, Miami Dolphins
• Chris Hero, professional wrestler
• Joseph Hiester, governor of Pennsylvania 1820–1823
• Tommy Hinnershitz (1912–1999), auto racing pioneer
• Chad Hurley, co-founder of YouTube
• Mildred Jordan (1901–1982), novelist
• Chip Kidd (born 1964), book jacket designer at Knopf Publishing Group^[28]
• Abraham Lincoln (1744–1786), grandfather of 16th U.S. president Abraham Lincoln
• Matt Lytle (born 1975), professional football player
• Donyell Marshall, former NBA player
• James H. Maurer (1864-1944), Labor leader and two-time Vice Presidential nominee
• Kelly McGillis, actress, [Top Gun/Witness/The Accused]
• Gordon McKellen, Jr., former U.S. figure skating champion and Hall of Fame member
• Morton L. Montgomery (1846–1933), Reading attorney and author of multiple history books about Berks County^[29][30]
• Lenny Moore, NFL Hall of Fame
• Thomas Morris, Democratic politician, served in the United States Senate^[31]
• Jillian Murray (b. June 4, 1989), model and actress
• Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg, architect, founder of Muhlenberg Greene Architects, American military and political leader 1887–1980
• Jacob Nolde, conservationist
• Bodo Otto, Senior Surgeon of the Continental Army during the American Revolution (1711–1787)
• William Sands, U.S. Medal of Honor winner (Civil War)^[32]
• Martin Cruz Smith, novelist
• Carl Spaatz, World War II general
• Wallace Stevens, major American Modernist poet (1879–1955)
• Taylor Swift (born 1989), Grammy Award-winning country/pop singer-songwriter
• Ross Tucker, professional football player
• John Updike, writer, 1932–2009
• Lonnie Walker, NBA player
• Alex Anzalone (born 1994), Detroit Lions lineman
• Gus Yatron, former U.S. Representative

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Berks County, Pennsylvania