Photo: Nimbesi · CC BY-SA 4.0West Reading draws 8,020 commuters a day, with 4.1 jobs for every working resident
West Reading has 8,241 jobs; 2,005 of its residents have a job. Jobs and income earn West Reading B−; getting around on foot earns it A. Home is the office for 8% of workers, next to 16% for Pennsylvania as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in West Reading: the figures worth knowing
West Reading fills up on a workday
West Reading has 8,241 jobs, 4.1 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 11,000 people are in town, more than double the 4,600 who live here. Day and night ↓
West Reading has added jobs fast
Jobs based in West Reading went from 4,158 in 2013 to 8,241 in 2023, +98%. The jobs ↓
Nearly all the work in West Reading is services
90% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 6% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
How West Reading earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, West Reading is better than 49% of U.S. towns, #703 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Job access by car holds West Reading’s grade up (ahead of 88% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (14.8%, U.S. 12.5%).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, West Reading could be anywhere from C to A−.
A workday in West Reading: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 1,784 residents head out to work and 221 work right here.
About 11,000 people are in West Reading on a workday afternoon, 136% more than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Services make up most of the work in West Reading
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Reading, 2013 → 2023: 4,158 → 8,241. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs West Reading’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip into West Reading
Where West Reading clocks in
13% of workers
8% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Commuting from West Reading: about 22 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Reading workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,811 commuters (the 8% who work from home are left out). Across Pennsylvania: 81% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How many miles West Reading commutes
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Walkable streets, thin transit: West Reading
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, West Reading is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns, #126 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Both inputs place West Reading near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,958 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 9.2% of West Reading households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of West Reading’s commuters take a bus or train.
West Reading next to U.S. towns of 3,200 to 6,200: 2,138th of 3,938 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Wallace Township PA | 3,759 | $183K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Edgmont Township PA | 4,706 | $137K | 2.4% | 1.1% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 68 | Pocopson Township PA | 4,480 | $230K | 1.3% | 2.2% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,136 | Fulton Township PA | 3,227 | $79K | 7.3% | 4.3% | 6% | B− |
| 2,137 | Calcutta OH | 4,754 | $59K | 9.1% | 3.1% | 7% | B− |
| 2,138 | West Reading PA | 4,590 | $66K | 14.8% | 4.6% | 11% | B− |
| 2,139 | Rockport ME | 3,628 | $87K | 5.3% | 6.6% | 24% | B− |
| 2,140 | Silvercreek Township OH | 3,839 | $69K | 9.9% | 4.4% | 11% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,938 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of West Reading, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
The towns next door employ 24% of West Reading
The biggest share goes to Reading (13%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | West Reading workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Reading | – | B− | A | 22 min | $65,885 |
| Reading | 13% | C− | A | 24 min | $44,091 |
| Cumru Township | 3% | A | B− | 23 min | $90,797 |
| Wyomissing | 8% | A | B+ | 20 min | $93,203 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of West Reading’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in West Reading: questions
What is the median household income in West Reading?
$65,885 (±$9,023) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Reading?
14.8%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Reading?
22 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Reading work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Reading (13%, 1 mi), Wyomissing (8%, 1 mi), Spring Township (5%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is West Reading walkable?
West Reading is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.1 out of 20, and 14% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around West Reading without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West Reading, from the people who make the trip.
More of West Reading
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.