Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Pennside

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Carsonia Avenue nb past Park Avenue, Lower Alsace Township, PA, Sept. 2025
Pennsylvania›Berks County

PennsidePA

A town of 5,407.

5 bordering townsMap →
Photo of Pennside

Pennside, PA · Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source ↗

Is Pennside a good place to live?

Pennside’s trail density is 5.0 miles per square mile, above both the Pennsylvania town median (0.4) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). The biggest place to walk is Carsonia Park, 29 acres with 1 miles of trail. We don’t grade Pennside yet; the figures below are still real.

A growing town

Pennside has grown 23% from 2010 to 2020

4,215 counted in 2010 and 5,190 in 2020.

4,2152010
5,1902020

U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts

Nearby attractions

Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom and 67 more within 40 miles

Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Pennside. Close and well known come first.

All 228 attractions →
Sources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits

Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom: Coasterman1234 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Longwood Gardens: P. Hughes, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library: Photo by and (c)2007 Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man), CC BY-SA 2.5 · Dutch Wonderland: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Valley Forge National Historical Park: The original uploader was JGHowes at English Wikipedia. (Original text: en:User, Attribution

Getting set up

Moving to Pennside: who provides what

Pennside is unincorporated, so Berks County and regional agencies provide most services.

PowerMet-EdEIAHIFLD · EIA
WaterMt Penn Boro Muni Auth water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet4 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesBerks CountyBerks County provides services here
SchoolsAntietam School DistrictExeter Township School District2 districts serve Pennside; which school depends on your address and gradeNCES
Register to voteOnlineIn Pennsylvania you can register online until 15 days before Election Day, in person until 15 days before Election Day, or by mail (received 15 days before).vote.gov
Who runs elections hereBerks County Board of ElectionsBerks County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jun 2025
ZIP code1960619606 100%Census 2020

EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.

The data

Ordered by what stands out in Pennside.

Work & commute

Pennside has 0.1 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out

Among working residents in Pennside, 1.3% work locally, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 6.3% and U.S. towns at 8%. Jobs in Pennside grew by 68 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 277. The town’s average commute stands at 28 minutes. The top destinations are Reading (12%), Exeter Township (6%) and Wyomissing (4%).

1%work in town
PennsidePennsylvania townsU.S. towns
Working residents who work in town1.3%6.3%8%
Work from home8.6%12%11%
Average trip to work28 minutes26 minutes25 minutes
Below the poverty line6.1%7.6%9.6%

Where working residents work

In Pennside1%
Reading12%
Exeter Township6%
Wyomissing4%
Maxatawny Township4%
9 mi
median commute distance
277
jobs based in Pennside
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents

Census LEHD 2023 · ACS

Natural hazards

Top of a low hazard risk in Pennside: inland flooding

Expected losses in Pennside break down as 57% from inland flooding and 10% from cold waves. FEMA expects less storm and flood damage here than in 71% of U.S. communities.

29risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
29Low riskLowerHigher
Inland floodingCold wavesHurricanes

FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA

Climate

Pennside: four seasons and pleasant summers

The range runs from 21° on a January night to 86° on a July afternoon, with about 27 inches of snow a winter.

27″snow a winter

Typical low → high °F

Winter24–41°
Spring40–62°
Summer62–83°
Fall44–65°
Oct 19
typical first frost
Apr 26
typical last frost
+1.7°
vs. the 20th-century average

NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020

Who lives here

Fewer middle-aged adults than Pennsylvania overall

Adults 35 to 64 are just over a third of residents (38% statewide). Just over a quarter of adults 25 and older hold at least a bachelor’s degree, against 35% across Pennsylvania. Pennside’s age of the median resident is 39.1 years.

39.1median age · PA 40.9
PennsidePennsylvania townsU.S. towns
Median age39.1 years43.2 years40.5 years
Under 1822%20%22%
Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+26%29%29%
Aged 65 or older18%21%18%
PennsidePennsylvaniaUnited States

Ages · share of residents

Education · adults 25 and older

No diploma6%
High school43%
Some college15%
Associate’s11%
Bachelor’s14%
Graduate11%

Women and men · all residents

51% women, 49% men

That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.7 points. Across Pennsylvania, 50.7% of residents are women.

Ages and education in Pennside
PennsidePAU.S.
Under 1013.1%10.8%11.6%
10 to 178.9%9.7%10.3%
18 to 244.3%9%9.1%
25 to 3421.5%13%13.7%
35 to 448.2%12.6%13.2%
45 to 5411%11.9%12.2%
55 to 6414.8%13.6%12.7%
65 to 7410.8%11.4%10.2%
75 and older7.5%8.1%7%
No diploma5.7%7.9%10.4%
High school42.5%32.9%26%
Some college15%15.1%19.1%
Associate’s11.2%8.9%8.8%
Bachelor’s14.2%20.9%21.6%
Graduate11.4%14.3%14.1%

U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates

Health

How healthy Pennside is

In Pennside, nearly a fifth of adults binge drink, and 32% have high blood pressure. Pennside: just over two in five adults sleep under 7 hours.

PennsidePennsylvania townsU.S. towns
Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES)41%38%36%
Binge drink (CDC PLACES)19%18%16%
High blood pressure (CDC PLACES)32%34%35%
Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES)17%17%14%
26 measures vs. Pennsylvania
0 better25 too close to call1 worse
What stands outPennsidePA
More uninsured adults9.1%5.8%
Reading Hospital
3.8 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage

CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA

Outdoors

Open space protected for good: 5.1% of Pennside

3 parks and preserves cover 40 acres in Pennside.

5.1%conserved
5.1%
conserved · 33 of 652 acres
5.0 mi
of trails · 5 per sq mi
Biggest places to walkTrailsAcres
1. Carsonia Park1 mi29
2. Antietam Athletic Field0.4 mi8
3. Mountain Park Playground—3

Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US

Housing

A home in Pennside sells for about $263K at the median

A home in Pennside typically sold within 5 days of listing. In Pennside, 50% of sales closed above the list price. The rent at the middle of the market for Pennside comes to $1,203 a month.

$263Kmedian sale price
PennsidePennsylvania townsU.S. towns
Households that own their home78%78%73%
Median rent$1,203 a month$1,115 a month$1,185 a month
Market temperature
Seller’s marketA strong seller's marketBuyer’sSeller’s
5
days on market
100.6%
sale-to-list price
8
homes sold in May

Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center

Keep exploring

Everything we know about Pennside

15pages on Pennside
After high school

Colleges nearby

5 within 15 miles of the center of Pennside

A commuter town

99% of working residents leave Pennside for work

Where Pennside’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.

12% → Reading Reading 12% 6% → Exeter Township Exeter Township 6% 4% → Wyomissing Wyomissing 4% 4% → Maxatawny Township Maxatawny Township 4% 4% → Muhlenberg Township Muhlenberg Township 4% 3% → West Reading West Reading 3% Pennside · 1% stay
277jobs based in Pennside
1%of working residents work in town
9 mimedian commute distance

Census LEHD 2023

About Pennside

Unincorporated community in Pennsylvania, US

Pennside is a census-designated place in Lower Alsace and Exeter Townships in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located approximately four miles (6.4 km) east of the city of Reading. As of the 2010 census, the population was 4,215 residents.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)

Area
0.9 sq mi
Elevation
354 ft

Pennside’s neighbors

5 towns share a border with Pennside.

Explore the map →
How the neighbors grade
TownPA rankOverallCostSafetySchoolsHealth
Pennside——————
Mount Penn#514B+B—C−B+
Lower Alsace Township#677B−C+—C−B+
Stony Creek Mills——————
Exeter Township#591BC−BA−B+
St. Lawrence——B−—A−A−

St. Lawrence has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Mount Penn, Lower Alsace Township and St. Lawrence report no FBI crime data of their own. Pennside and Stony Creek Mills aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Pennside with a neighbor →

Questions about Pennside

Short answers, built from the data on this page.

Is Pennside, PA a good place to live?

We don’t grade Pennside yet; the figures below are still real.