What does this measure?

The share of the population between the ages of 25 and 34 with a bachelor's or higher college degree.

Why is this important?

The presence of young adults provides a regional economy with a supply of young workers starting out in careers. A region with a vibrant economy, particularly in technology and/or innovation, will tend to attract more young adults, while a more stagnant region is likely to lose them.

How is our county performing?

Berks County had a little more than 13,000 young adults in 2015-19 with a bachelor's or higher, making up 4.0% of the total population, below the state and nation. This young, educated slice of the population grew in Berks from 3.5% in 2000, but growth was stronger in the state and nation.

The south region of Berks had the highest share of residents 25 to 34 with a bachelor's degree or higher (6.0%) and the central region had the lowest (2.4%).

Among neighboring counties in 2015-19, Lebanon (3.7%) and Schuylkill (3.3%) were lower than Berks, while Chester (8.2%), Lancaster (5.5%), Lehigh (5.4%) and Montgomery (8.9%) counties had larger shares than Berks.

Notes about the data

The multi-year 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. However, because the information came from a survey, the samples responding to the survey were not always large enough to produce reliable results, especially in small geographic areas. CGR has noted on data tables the estimates with relatively large margins of error. Estimates with three asterisks have the largest margins, plus or minus 50% or more of the estimate. Two asterisks mean plus or minus 35%-50%, and one asterisk means plus or minus 20%-35%. For all estimates, the confidence level is 90%, meaning there is 90% probability the true value (if the whole population were surveyed) would be within the margin of error (or confidence interval). The survey provides data on characteristics of the population that used to be collected only during the decennial census. Data for this indicator are released annually in December.

There may be additional research available on this topic. Click on Reports and Resources to learn more.