What does this measure?

The net gain or loss of people between the ages of 25 and 34 over a decade.

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?

While Berks County had slight losses in its young adult population during the early 2000s, this trend has since reversed. The young adult population surpassed its 2008-12 level in 2013-17. As of 2013-17, this population had increased 6% compared to 2000, a gain of about 2,840 people. Pennsylvania had steeper losses during 2008-13, but has also since experienced growth level similar to Berks. The U.S. outpaced both the county and state with an increase in its young adult population of 11% during the same period.

Berks' increase in young adults was similar to Lebanon County and less than Chester (8%), Lancaster (16%), Lehigh (14%) counties and the City of Reading (9%). Montgomery's young adult population increased 1% and Schuylkill had a 14% loss, or nearly 2,700 people.

Notes about the data

These data do not reflect the education levels of people in this age range; therefore, it is not a strictly accurate picture of brain drain or gain.

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

These data do not reflect the education levels of people in this age range; therefore, it is not a strictly accurate picture of brain drain or gain. 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.