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 under $940 per resident in 2015, down from $1,030 in 2000. Spending by the county government peaked in 2002 at $1,510 per resident. County government spending across Pennsylvania has been consistently lower than Berks since 2000, and the statewide county government spending per resident was 15% lower than Berks in 2015.
Berks had higher spending per resident than all neighboring counties except Lehigh in 2016, and has substantially higher spending than Chester, Lancaster, Lebanon, Montgomery, and Schuylkill. At $655 per resident, Lancaster County had the lowest spending per resident in 2016.
Figures are in constant 2017 dollars.
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| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | $714 | $808 | $880 | $914 | $921 | $544 | $826 | $693 | $691 | $730 | $759 | $748 | $694 | $713 | $698 | $751 |
| Berks County | $1,063 | $1,114 | $1,557 | $1,409 | $1,418 | $1,045 | $1,178 | $1,030 | $1,168 | $999 | $994 | $967 | $1,053 | |||
| Berks County Regions | ||||||||||||||||
| Central | ||||||||||||||||
| Northeast | ||||||||||||||||
| South | ||||||||||||||||
| Southeast | ||||||||||||||||
| West | ||||||||||||||||
| Reading city | ||||||||||||||||
| Berks County Peers | ||||||||||||||||
| Chester County | $916 | $1,192 | $1,065 | $1,215 | $1,073 | $1,079 | $1,043 | $1,038 | $935 | $858 | $824 | $807 | $791 | $795 | $819 | $811 |
| Lancaster County | $627 | $711 | $683 | $729 | $728 | $625 | $671 | $658 | $621 | $568 | $714 | $689 | $686 | $652 | $657 | $655 |
| Lebanon County | $559 | $524 | $534 | $541 | $731 | $770 | $731 | $794 | $773 | $757 | $742 | $684 | $661 | $690 | $778 | $769 |
| Lehigh County | $1,155 | $1,329 | $1,425 | $1,303 | $1,507 | $1,272 | $1,395 | $1,426 | $1,205 | $1,191 | $1,092 | $1,066 | $1,014 | $1,003 | $1,077 | |
| Montgomery County | $769 | $889 | $829 | $802 | $836 | $865 | $874 | $863 | $836 | $789 | $763 | $705 | $686 | $720 | $676 | $674 |
| Schuylkill County | $801 | $983 | $1,145 | $1,090 | $1,066 | $847 | $914 | $842 | $781 | $659 | $705 | $586 | $605 | $693 | $690 |
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | $8,768,330,774 | $9,937,167,056 | $10,849,295,203 | $11,307,710,419 | $11,428,340,579 | $6,811,215,242 | $10,381,997,765 | $8,736,649,093 | $8,751,906,655 | $9,278,045,408 | $9,669,540,474 | $9,544,381,657 | $8,866,373,511 | $9,123,498,693 | $8,932,256,964 | $9,606,129,011 |
| Berks County | $397,108,481 | $420,367,631 | $593,694,081 | $543,773,882 | $554,075,261 | $423,376,972 | $480,141,419 | $425,139,896 | $483,059,841 | $413,541,717 | $412,350,936 | $401,466,557 | $437,655,333 | |||
| Berks County Regions | ||||||||||||||||
| Central | ||||||||||||||||
| Northeast | ||||||||||||||||
| South | ||||||||||||||||
| Southeast | ||||||||||||||||
| West | ||||||||||||||||
| Reading city | ||||||||||||||||
| Berks County Peers | ||||||||||||||||
| Chester County | $396,861,580 | $525,842,653 | $476,998,731 | $552,801,002 | $496,661,589 | $517,120,293 | $506,883,037 | $509,915,120 | $463,910,057 | $428,188,646 | $414,958,237 | $408,329,269 | $402,726,838 | $407,963,409 | $422,043,630 | $418,624,554 |
| Lancaster County | $295,337,196 | $337,912,836 | $328,047,810 | $353,800,596 | $356,740,440 | $312,886,393 | $339,903,620 | $336,868,664 | $320,606,198 | $295,149,349 | $373,803,325 | $363,228,837 | $363,571,994 | $348,161,565 | $352,393,990 | $353,063,023 |
| Lebanon County | $67,163,367 | $63,413,654 | $64,946,649 | $66,623,459 | $91,140,640 | $98,839,879 | $95,196,244 | $104,501,419 | $102,714,057 | $101,169,991 | $99,714,720 | $92,633,923 | $89,684,983 | $94,152,780 | $107,015,206 | $106,611,553 |
| Lehigh County | $360,027,002 | $418,434,147 | $452,036,525 | $418,949,891 | $491,649,274 | $428,245,998 | $475,490,443 | $491,449,970 | $421,277,361 | $420,734,018 | $387,492,983 | $379,044,204 | $363,302,674 | $361,577,301 | $391,250,272 | |
| Montgomery County | $575,953,325 | $675,177,898 | $635,275,357 | $619,719,056 | $648,914,426 | $675,674,442 | $686,280,864 | $681,349,134 | $665,374,380 | $631,543,016 | $614,321,628 | $570,030,251 | $557,461,214 | $587,155,193 | $553,081,952 | $553,368,693 |
| Schuylkill County | $120,375,890 | $146,653,271 | $170,339,786 | $161,072,238 | $156,794,479 | $125,301,524 | $135,665,960 | $124,963,225 | $115,740,850 | $97,238,554 | $103,619,135 | $85,839,455 | $87,862,607 | $99,726,359 | $98,915,201 |
| INDICATORS | TREND | BERKS COUNTY |
|---|---|
| Unemployment Rate |  Maintaining |
| Change in Labor Force |  Decreasing |
| Employment to Population ratio | Maintaining |
| Change in Jobs by Sector | Not Applicable |
| Sector Share of Total Jobs | Not Applicable |
| Average Salary by Sector | Not Applicable |
| Change in Average Salary Since 2000 |  Increasing |
| 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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