The percentage of households comprised of married couples (with and without children), singles, and other variations.
Changes in the types of households in a community can provide insight into the changing structure of families and the proportions of singles living alone.
The composition of households in the Berks changed little from 2000 to 2014-18. The most notable change was a decrease in married-couple households with children, from 24% in 2000 to 20% in 2014-18. The share of individuals living alone also stayed the same at 25%. Married couples without children remained the most common type of household in Berks County (31%). The percentages were similar to the state and U.S.
Within the county, the breakdown of households was similar. The share of married-couple households with children was lowest in the Central region (17%) followed by the Northeast (20%) and the West and South (21%), and higher in the Southeast (23%). The percentage of married-couple families without children was highest in the Northeast, Southeast and West (all at 37%). Reading had a particularly high share of single with children (25%) and living alone households (30%) in 2014-18.
Among local counties, the proportion of married without children households was highest in Lancaster and Lebanon (both at 34%), while Schuylkill had a particularly high share of living alone households (30%).
For additional detail as to how the Berks County regions are defined and which boroughs and townships are included in each, see the About Us page.
There may be additional research available on this topic. Click on Reports and Resources to learn more.
Multiyear figures are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. The bureau combined five years of responses to the survey to provide estimates for smaller geographic areas and increase the precision of its estimates. The survey provides data on characteristics of the population that used to be collected only during the decennial census. Data for this indicator are expected to be released in the fourth quarter.
| Living Alone | Living with Nonrelatives | Living with Relatives | Married with Children | Married without Children | Single with Children | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 28% | 7% | 7% | 20% | 28% | 11% | ||||||
| Pennsylvania | 30% | 6% | 7% | 18% | 30% | 10% | ||||||
| Berks County | 25% | 6% | 7% | 20% | 31% | 11% | ||||||
| Berks County Regions | ||||||||||||
| Central | 29% | 7% | 9% | 17% | 19% | 21% | ||||||
| Northeast | 25% | 7% | 5% | 20% | 37% | 6% | ||||||
| South | 25% | 5% | 6% | 21% | 33% | 9% | ||||||
| Southeast | 23% | 5%* | * | 6% | 23% | 37% | 7% | |||||
| West | 23% | 5% | 6% | 21% | 37% | 8% | ||||||
| Reading city | 30% | 6% | 9% | 16% | 13% | 25% | ||||||
| Berks County Peers | ||||||||||||
| Chester County | 23% | 6% | 5% | 26% | 32% | 7% | ||||||
| Lancaster County | 24% | 6% | 6% | 22% | 34% | 8% | ||||||
| Lebanon County | 25% | 5% | 6% | 19% | 34% | 11% | ||||||
| Lehigh County | 27% | 6% | 7% | 20% | 28% | 12% | ||||||
| Montgomery County | 26% | 5% | 6% | 24% | 31% | 8% | ||||||
| Schuylkill County | 30% | 5% | 7% | 17% | 31% | 10% |
| Living Alone | Living with Nonrelatives | Living with Relatives | Married with Children | Married without Children | Single with Children | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 33,212,256 | 7,820,769 | 8,110,309 | 24,459,152 | 33,357,796 | 12,769,846 | ||||||
| Pennsylvania | 1,484,446 | 308,616 | 335,528 | 921,267 | 1,487,402 | 487,873 | ||||||
| Berks County | 38,954 | 8,867 | 10,365 | 31,173 | 47,723 | 17,385 | ||||||
| Berks County Regions | ||||||||||||
| Central | 11,754 | 2,677 | 3,542 | 7,041 | 7,637 | 8,452 | ||||||
| Northeast | 6,053 | 1,663 | 1,202 | 4,794 | 8,916 | 1,470 | ||||||
| South | 10,780 | 2,256 | 2,796 | 9,338 | 14,367 | 4,012 | ||||||
| Southeast | 4,889 | 1,031* | * | 1,242 | 4,970 | 7,857 | 1,427 | |||||
| West | 5,509 | 1,240 | 1,586 | 5,048 | 8,996 | 2,041 | ||||||
| Reading city | 8,674 | 1,776 | 2,730 | 4,622 | 3,877 | 7,126 | ||||||
| Berks County Peers | ||||||||||||
| Chester County | 43,842 | 11,677 | 10,024 | 49,184 | 61,610 | 13,255 | ||||||
| Lancaster County | 47,998 | 11,981 | 11,065 | 44,377 | 68,449 | 16,019 | ||||||
| Lebanon County | 13,546 | 2,780 | 3,246 | 10,129 | 17,886 | 5,694 | ||||||
| Lehigh County | 36,615 | 8,742 | 9,471 | 27,847 | 38,742 | 16,591 | ||||||
| Montgomery County | 81,032 | 16,608 | 18,015 | 76,235 | 98,285 | 23,774 | ||||||
| Schuylkill County | 17,808 | 2,743 | 4,398 | 10,129 | 18,011 | 5,644 |
| Living Alone | Living with Nonrelatives | Living with Relatives | Married with Children | Married without Children | Single with Children | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 26% | 6% | 7% | 24% | 28% | 9% |
| Pennsylvania | 28% | 5% | 7% | 22% | 30% | 8% |
| Berks County | 25% | 6% | 6% | 24% | 32% | 8% |
| Berks County Regions | ||||||
| Central | 30% | 6% | 8% | 18% | 23% | 14% |
| Northeast | 19% | 7% | 5% | 29% | 36% | 4% |
| South | 26% | 5% | 4% | 25% | 35% | 6% |
| Southeast | 20% | 4% | 5% | 29% | 35% | 5% |
| West | 21% | 5% | 5% | 27% | 37% | 5% |
| Reading city | 32% | 7% | 9% | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Berks County Peers | ||||||
| Chester County | 23% | 5% | 5% | 30% | 31% | 6% |
| Lancaster County | 23% | 5% | 5% | 27% | 33% | 7% |
| Lebanon County | 25% | 4% | 5% | 24% | 35% | 7% |
| Lehigh County | 27% | 5% | 6% | 23% | 31% | 8% |
| Montgomery County | 26% | 5% | 6% | 27% | 31% | 5% |
| Schuylkill County | 30% | 4% | 7% | 20% | 32% | 7% |
| Living Alone | Living with Nonrelatives | Living with Relatives | Married with Children | Married without Children | Single with Children | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 27,203,724 | 6,073,618 | 7,243,508 | 25,674,582 | 29,783,869 | 9,559,821 |
| Pennsylvania | 1,319,987 | 233,492 | 340,995 | 1,073,402 | 1,431,262 | 380,048 |
| Berks County | 34,851 | 7,876 | 8,210 | 34,337 | 45,300 | 11,035 |
| Berks County Regions | ||||||
| Central | 12,572 | 2,506 | 3,409 | 7,501 | 9,609 | 5,937 |
| Northeast | 4,090 | 1,565 | 1,102 | 6,101 | 7,589 | 897 |
| South | 9,549 | 1,857 | 1,622 | 9,152 | 13,058 | 2,078 |
| Southeast | 3,681 | 799 | 961 | 5,298 | 6,380 | 876 |
| West | 4,550 | 1,072 | 1,012 | 5,866 | 8,041 | 1,168 |
| Reading city | 9,529 | 1,963 | 2,776 | 5,155 | 5,501 | 5,180 |
| Berks County Peers | ||||||
| Chester County | 35,661 | 8,273 | 7,876 | 47,668 | 49,715 | 8,832 |
| Lancaster County | 39,758 | 8,157 | 8,321 | 46,837 | 57,773 | 11,934 |
| Lebanon County | 11,743 | 1,978 | 2,414 | 11,023 | 16,113 | 3,340 |
| Lehigh County | 32,996 | 6,610 | 7,337 | 28,099 | 37,304 | 9,601 |
| Montgomery County | 73,031 | 14,353 | 16,870 | 77,578 | 88,811 | 15,612 |
| Schuylkill County | 18,088 | 2,175 | 4,485 | 12,342 | 19,371 | 4,039 |
| INDICATORS | TREND | BERKS COUNTY |
|---|---|
| Population by Age | Not Applicable |
| Change in Population by Age and Gender | Not Applicable |
| Change in Total Population by Race/Ethnicity | Not Applicable |
| Households by type | Not Applicable |
| Foreign-Born Population |  Increasing |
| Seniors Living Alone |  Decreasing |
| Language Diversity | Increasing |
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