The annual per capita spending by county governments, adjusted for inflation.
Government provides critical services to communities, but the cost to taxpayers can be burdensome and can hinder efforts to attract and retain business.
The Berks County government spent just over $1,050 per resident in 2017, down from $1,090 in 2000. Spending by the county government peaked in 2002 at $1,600 per resident. County government spending across Pennsylvania has been consistently lower than Berks since 2000, and the statewide county government spending per resident was 26% lower than Berks in 2017.
Berks had higher spending per resident than all neighboring counties except Lehigh in 2017, and has substantially higher spending than Chester, Lancaster, Lebanon, Montgomery, and Schuylkill. At $680 per resident, Lancaster County had the lowest spending per resident in 2017.
Figures are in constant 2018 dollars.
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| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | $731 | $828 | $901 | $936 | $943 | $558 | $847 | $710 | $708 | $748 | $777 | $766 | $711 | $731 | $716 | $770 | $778 |
| Berks County | $1,089 | $1,141 | $1,595 | $1,444 | $1,452 | $1,070 | $1,206 | $1,055 | $1,197 | $1,023 | $1,019 | $991 | $1,078 | $1,053 | |||
| Berks County Regions | |||||||||||||||||
| Central | |||||||||||||||||
| Northeast | |||||||||||||||||
| South | |||||||||||||||||
| Southeast | |||||||||||||||||
| West | |||||||||||||||||
| Reading city | |||||||||||||||||
| Berks County Peers | |||||||||||||||||
| Chester County | $938 | $1,221 | $1,091 | $1,244 | $1,099 | $1,106 | $1,068 | $1,063 | $958 | $879 | $844 | $827 | $810 | $815 | $839 | $830 | $839 |
| Lancaster County | $643 | $728 | $700 | $747 | $746 | $640 | $687 | $674 | $636 | $582 | $731 | $706 | $703 | $669 | $674 | $672 | $678 |
| Lebanon County | $572 | $537 | $547 | $554 | $749 | $789 | $749 | $814 | $791 | $776 | $760 | $700 | $677 | $706 | $797 | $789 | $825 |
| Lehigh County | $1,183 | $1,362 | $1,460 | $1,335 | $1,544 | $1,303 | $1,429 | $1,460 | $1,234 | $1,220 | $1,119 | $1,093 | $1,040 | $1,030 | $1,107 | $1,131 | |
| Montgomery County | $787 | $911 | $850 | $822 | $856 | $886 | $895 | $884 | $857 | $809 | $782 | $722 | $703 | $737 | $693 | $691 | $794 |
| Schuylkill County | $821 | $1,007 | $1,173 | $1,116 | $1,092 | $867 | $936 | $863 | $800 | $675 | $722 | $600 | $619 | $709 | $706 | $716 |
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | $8,982,495,250 | $10,179,880,091 | $11,114,286,759 | $11,583,898,662 | $11,707,475,187 | $6,977,577,618 | $10,635,575,689 | $8,950,039,751 | $8,965,669,975 | $9,504,659,548 | $9,905,716,791 | $9,777,500,998 | $9,082,932,659 | $9,346,338,064 | $9,150,425,300 | $9,840,756,517 | $9,949,265,203 |
| Berks County | $406,807,765 | $430,635,014 | $608,194,924 | $557,055,434 | $567,608,423 | $433,717,858 | $491,868,763 | $435,523,840 | $494,858,467 | $423,642,379 | $422,422,514 | $411,272,286 | $448,344,965 | $439,835,189 | |||
| Berks County Regions | |||||||||||||||||
| Central | |||||||||||||||||
| Northeast | |||||||||||||||||
| South | |||||||||||||||||
| Southeast | |||||||||||||||||
| West | |||||||||||||||||
| Reading city | |||||||||||||||||
| Berks County Peers | |||||||||||||||||
| Chester County | $406,554,834 | $538,686,240 | $488,649,316 | $566,303,041 | $508,792,434 | $529,750,838 | $519,263,539 | $522,369,680 | $475,240,954 | $438,647,056 | $425,093,498 | $418,302,618 | $412,563,349 | $417,927,822 | $432,351,949 | $428,849,363 | $435,593,917 |
| Lancaster County | $302,550,740 | $346,166,280 | $336,060,303 | $362,442,094 | $365,453,743 | $320,528,572 | $348,205,689 | $345,096,604 | $328,436,931 | $302,358,304 | $382,933,386 | $372,100,618 | $372,452,157 | $356,665,332 | $361,001,133 | $361,686,507 | $366,722,189 |
| Lebanon County | $68,803,817 | $64,962,518 | $66,532,956 | $68,250,722 | $93,366,730 | $101,254,020 | $97,521,391 | $107,053,842 | $105,222,824 | $103,641,045 | $102,150,229 | $94,896,486 | $91,875,518 | $96,452,440 | $109,629,028 | $109,215,515 | $115,077,677 |
| Lehigh County | $368,820,579 | $428,654,306 | $463,077,414 | $429,182,646 | $503,657,695 | $438,705,809 | $487,104,188 | $503,453,523 | $431,566,965 | $431,010,350 | $396,957,411 | $388,302,272 | $372,176,259 | $370,408,744 | $400,806,471 | $413,252,394 | |
| Montgomery County | $590,020,854 | $691,668,964 | $650,791,812 | $634,855,552 | $664,764,013 | $692,177,636 | $703,043,118 | $697,990,931 | $681,625,997 | $646,968,310 | $629,326,294 | $583,953,109 | $571,077,076 | $601,496,324 | $566,590,852 | $566,884,597 | $654,559,791 |
| Schuylkill County | $123,316,043 | $150,235,244 | $174,500,297 | $165,006,391 | $160,624,148 | $128,361,985 | $138,979,570 | $128,015,424 | $118,567,794 | $99,613,584 | $106,150,009 | $87,936,064 | $90,008,631 | $102,162,153 | $101,331,182 | $102,169,971 |
| INDICATORS | TREND | BERKS COUNTY |
|---|---|
| Unemployment Rate |  Decreasing |
| Change in Labor Force |  Increasing |
| Employment to Population ratio | Increasing |
| Change in Jobs by Sector | Not Applicable |
| Sector Share of Total Jobs | Decreasing |
| Average Salary by Sector | Not Applicable |
| Change in Average Salary by Sector | Not Applicable |
| People Entering/Leaving County/Region for Work | Increasing |
| Public Assistance |  Maintaining |
| Spending for Local Governments | Maintaining |
| Spending for Counties | Maintaining |
| Spending for School Districts | Maintaining |
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