Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,590, settled in 1873.
West Reading grades B− overall, 713th of 1032 graded towns in Pennsylvania, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. It is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 94% of U.S. towns and 6% of its land is conserved. On the other side, it reports more crime per resident than 81% of U.S. towns, including 17 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. West Reading’s trail density is 2.7 miles per square mile, against 0.4 in Pennsylvania’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. On civic life, just 56 of Pennsylvania’s 1,717 towns do worse.
Where West Reading beats most towns.
Where West Reading’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far West Reading is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 170 in 1880, 4,553 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 8 maps from 1894 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around West Reading. Close and well known come first.
38 mi Theme parkHersheypark3.0M visitors a year
28 mi Theme parkDorney Park & Wildwater Kingdomin town Stadium & arenaSovereign Center
35 mi GardenLongwood Gardens
26 mi Theme parkDutch Wonderland
17 mi MuseumEphrata CloisterHersheypark: Michael Gray, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom: Coasterman1234 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Longwood Gardens: P. Hughes, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dutch Wonderland: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ephrata Cloister: 1549bcp at English Wikipedia, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in West Reading, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in West Reading.
West Reading draws workers from Reading and beyond, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has better schools than Wyomissing or any other neighbor.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. West Reading Playground | 0.6 mi | 11 |
| 2. Museum Arboretum | 0.3 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its B+ is the best School Grade on its borders; Wyomissing (B) is next.
Its public schools are run by Wyomissing Area SD. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Reading El CtrLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–6 | Grades 5–6 | 310 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
8,241 jobs are based in West Reading, 4.1 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 4,158 in 2013 to 8,241.
Most working residents leave West Reading for work: only 11% work in town. 15% of residents live below the poverty line in West Reading, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 7.6% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Since 2013, West Reading has added 4,083 jobs, to 8,241 in 2023.
| West Reading | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $66,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The violent crime rate in West Reading is 3.7 per 1,000 residents. West Reading reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 81% report less. The property crime rate in West Reading is 16.5 per 1,000 residents.
| West Reading | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.7 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 16.5 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 80% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 16 flood insurance claims have been paid out in West Reading.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
West Reading has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 22° and about 27 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
People 65 and older are 12% of residents (20% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 28% of residents (22% statewide). West Reading’s median age is 35.4 years. 32% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 35% across Pennsylvania.
| West Reading | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 12% | 21% | 18% |
| Median age | 35.4 years | 43.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 32% | 29% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 21% | 20% | 22% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±7 points. Across Pennsylvania, 50.7% of residents are women.
| West Reading | PA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.6% | 10.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.7% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 15.7% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.9% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 17.1% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 7.7% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.3% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 6.6% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.3% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9.9% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 33.5% | 32.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 16% | 15.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.6% | 8.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16.3% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 15.6% | 14.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,600, single groups can be off by several points
Against the 10,078 U.S. towns with household incomes like West Reading’s, it is healthier than 84%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income.
West Reading beats the Pennsylvania average on 2 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 41% of West Reading adults sleep under 7 hours.
| West Reading | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 38% | 36% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 6.9% | 8.1% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 34% | 35% |
| What stands out | West Reading | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with COPD | 6.8% | 7.7% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.8% | 8.8% |
| More uninsured adults | 10.7% | 5.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical West Reading home is worth about $242,000, down 0.6% in a year, 16% below the Pennsylvania typical home. 56% of households own their home in West Reading.
| West Reading | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 56% | 78% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,365 a month | $1,114 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
4 within 15 miles of the center of West Reading
About 9 of every 100 West Reading residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
4 notable people were born in West Reading.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
West Reading is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States, located next to the city of Reading. The population was 4,553 at the 2020 census. It contains a vibrant main street (Penn Avenue) and the large Reading Hospital and Medical Center. It was also the site of the VF Outlet Village, one of the largest outlet malls in the United States. The VF Outlet Village was located in the buildings of the former Berkshire Knitting Mills, which was in operation from 1908 to 1975. The VF Outlet closed in 2020.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with West Reading.
Reading next door grades lower for schools (D− to West Reading’s B+) and higher for cost of living (B to C).
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Reading | #713 | B− | C | C− | B+ | B |
| Reading | #1010 | D | B | C | D− | D− |
| Cumru Township | #584 | B | C | — | B− | B+ |
| Wyomissing | #613 | B | D | C+ | B | A |
Cumru Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare West Reading with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
West Reading grades B− overall, better than 48% of U.S. towns and #713 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades B for health, C− for safety and B+ for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a C−.
That is 3 years of the area's median household income ($79,777 across the Reading, PA metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
4 notable people were born here, including Austin Swift and Andrew H. Knoll.
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