What does this measure?

The proportion of household income that goes toward monthly rent, utilities and fuel, calculated by dividing median rent by median household income for renters.

Why is this important?

This figure indicates how affordable housing is for renters. The federal Housing and Urban Development Department guideline for affordability is that rent should consume no more than 30% of household income.

How is our county performing?

In 2014-18, Berks County renters spent 33% of their income on rent, slightly more than the state and nation (both at 32%). The proportion in Berks increased 9 percentage points since 2000, a larger increase than in Pennsylvania (6 points) and the U.S. (5 points).

Renting was least affordable for residents in the City of Reading, where renters spent 43% of their income on rent in 2014-18, up from 30% in 2000. In the Central region of the county, renters spent 36% of their income on rent, compared to 26% in the Northeast, 27% in the South, 29% in the Southeast, and 32% in the West.

Surrounding counties were slightly more affordable than Berks. Renters spent a similar proportion of their income on rent in Lehigh County and less in Lebanon (27%), Chester (29%), Lancaster and Montgomery (both at 30%), and Schuylkill (at 31%).

Notes about the data

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 released annually in December.