Photo: BerksCountyUpdate · CC BY-SA 4.0Penn State Berks is a college town: 99 of every 100 residents are students
No college sits inside Penn State Berks’ boundary, but Reading Area Community College’s campus in Reading, with 3,588 students on campus, is 2.8 miles from the center of town. Across Pennsylvania, 6 of every 100 residents are enrolled in college.
From the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard, June 2026; IPEDS fall 2023 enrollment) and the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, 2020–24. Straight-line distances from the center of Penn State Berks. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Penn State Berks
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
What it’s like to live in Penn State Berks
How much the colleges shape the town, from the Census Bureau’s survey of residents.
99 of every 100 Penn State Berks residents are in college (PA: 6).
How students change Penn State Berks’ other numbers
Read the town’s other grades with this in mind. How TownRatings handles college towns →
The Cost grade leaves out the share of renters paying 30% or more of income on rent wherever students are a quarter of residents or more (99% here): it would mostly measure student incomes.
CDC’s estimates follow each place’s age mix, and Penn State Berks’ median age is 19.5 (Pennsylvania 40.9), so the adult figures describe a young population.
Crime is counted per resident, and students who live here count as residents. A college with its own police department reports its incidents under that department, not the city.
Colleges within 15 miles of Penn State Berks
Three private colleges within 4.1 miles, two public colleges within 14.6 miles, and Reading Area Community College 2.8 miles away.
Degree-granting colleges with 100 or more students on campus (fall 2023 enrollment, minus students who study only online). Admitted: share of applicants offered a place. Net price: the average a year after grants, for students on federal aid. Graduate: within 6 years (4-year colleges) or 3 (2-year). Earnings: median, 10 years after starting.
What would your family pay?
The average a year after grants, for families on federal aid, at the colleges within 15 miles. Pick your family’s income.
Starts at Under $30k; the Census has no median household income for Penn State Berks.
The average a year after grants and scholarships, for first-time, full-time students on federal aid, from the College Scorecard. Your own price depends on your aid package; every college has a net price calculator. For community colleges the net price counts housing and food at full cost, so tuition is shown beside it. “—”: not reported for that income.
Do students finish, and does it pay?
Each dot is a college within 15 miles of Penn State Berks: across is the share who graduate, up is what they earn ten years after starting.
Graduation: first-time, full-time students within 6 years (4-year colleges) or 3 years (2-year). Earnings: median, 10 years after starting, for students who got federal aid. *Reported for all the campuses that file together: Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Berks (22); Miller-Motte College-Berks Technical Institute (22).
Questions about college near Penn State Berks
Is Penn State Berks a college town?
Yes. 99 of every 100 Penn State Berks residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), against 6 across Pennsylvania. The nearest campus, Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Berks, is 0.2 miles away in Reading.
What colleges are near Penn State Berks?
Within 15 miles: Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Berks (0.2 miles, 1,934 students on campus), Miller-Motte College-Berks Technical Institute (1.2 miles, 452), Reading Area Community College (2.8 miles, 3,588), Albright College (3.5 miles, 1,315), Alvernia University (4.1 miles, 2,166) and Kutztown University of Pennsylvania (14.6 miles, 6,812).
What is the closest community college to Penn State Berks, and what does it cost?
Reading Area Community College in Reading, 2.8 miles away. Tuition and fees are $6,480 a year for Pennsylvania residents; the federal net price, $9,228, counts housing and food at full cost.
Neighbors talk college
Students, parents, alumni and the neighbors next door.
Colleges: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS (Scorecard 06/10/2026 · IPEDS 2024 · fall 2023 enrollment). “On campus” is fall enrollment minus students who study only online. Distances are straight-line from the center of Penn State Berks. Residents in college, age, rent and poverty (including poverty without college students, table B14006): U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–24. Colleges are described, not graded; the College town label marks towns where 15% or more of residents are enrolled. How TownRatings describes colleges →