Reading, PA Metro Area — Elections 1876–2024

2024 presidential election

Reading, PA

TrumpR+12.1

—

How it voted

Share of the 2024 vote

Donald Trump ✓Republican	55.4%	116,677
Kamala HarrisDemocratic	43.3%	91,125
OtherAll other candidates	1.2%	2,624

D+60

R+60

A single county, filled by its 2024 D-vs-R margin. Hover it for the full result.

presidential history

Presidential margin, 1876–2024

Democratic minus Republican, by election

Presidential margin over time
Year	Margin (D minus R)
1876	No data
1880	No data
1884	No data
1888	No data
1892	+29.4%
1896	+11.4%
1900	+15.1%
1904	+2.4%
1908	+11.2%
1912	+38.8%
1916	+21.1%
1920	−8.3%
1924	−20.0%
1928	−38.2%
1932	+3.7%
1936	+34.2%
1940	+24.4%
1944	+10.6%
1948	+9.1%
1952	−5.9%
1956	−14.9%
1960	−9.9%
1964	+33.2%
1968	−0.7%
1972	−27.9%
1976	−3.2%
1980	−22.5%
1984	−32.5%
1988	−25.9%
1992	−5.3%
1996	−5.3%
2000	−9.0%
2004	−6.6%
2008	+9.2%
2012	−1.0%
2016	−9.9%
2020	−8.2%
2024	−12.1%

DemocraticRepublican

38 presidential elections

Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
Year	Won	Democratic	Republican	Other	Margin	Total
2024	R	43.3%Harris91,125	55.4%Trump116,677	1.2%	−12.1%	210,426
2020	R	45.2%Biden92,895	53.4%Trump109,736	1.4%incl. Jorgensen	−8.2%	205,540
2016	R	42.6%Clinton78,437	52.5%Trump96,626	4.9%incl. Johnson	−9.9%	184,085
2012	R	48.6%Obama83,011	49.6%Romney84,702	1.7%	−1.0%	170,676
2008	D	53.9%Obama97,047	44.7%McCain80,513	1.4%	+9.2%	180,000
2004	R	46.4%Kerry76,309	53.0%Bush87,122	0.6%	−6.6%	164,487
2000	R	43.7%Gore59,150	52.7%Bush71,273	3.6%incl. Nader	−9.0%	135,297
1996	R	41.0%Clinton49,887	46.2%Dole56,289	12.8%incl. Perot	−5.3%	121,718
1992	R	35.0%Clinton46,031	40.3%Bush52,939	24.7%incl. Perot	−5.3%	131,407
1988	R	36.5%Dukakis41,040	62.4%Bush70,153	1.1%	−25.9%	112,444
1984	R	33.5%Mondale37,849	65.9%Reagan74,605	0.6%	−32.5%	113,145
1980	R	33.9%Carter36,449	56.4%Reagan60,576	9.6%incl. Anderson	−22.5%	107,385
1976	R	47.4%Carter50,994	50.6%Ford54,452	2.0%	−3.2%	107,553
1972	R	34.5%McGovern36,563	62.4%Nixon66,172	3.2%	−27.9%	106,127
1968	R	45.8%Humphrey49,877	46.5%Nixon50,623	7.7%incl. Wallace	−0.7%	108,924
1964	D	66.4%Johnson73,444	33.2%Goldwater36,726	0.4%	+33.2%	110,646
1960	R	44.9%Kennedy50,572	54.8%Nixon61,743	0.3%	−9.9%	112,706
1956	R	42.4%Stevenson42,349	57.3%Eisenhower57,258	0.3%	−14.9%	99,927
1952	R	46.5%Stevenson45,874	52.4%Eisenhower51,720	1.1%	−5.9%	98,668
1948	D	52.7%Truman43,075	43.6%Dewey35,608	3.7%incl. Thurmond	+9.1%	81,726
1944	D	53.9%Roosevelt43,889	43.3%Dewey35,274	2.8%	+10.6%	81,410
1940	D	61.3%Roosevelt53,301	36.9%Willkie32,111	1.8%	+24.4%	86,942
1936	D	64.4%Roosevelt56,907	30.2%Landon26,699	5.3%	+34.2%	88,327
1932	D	40.8%Roosevelt29,763	37.1%Hoover27,073	22.2%	+3.7%	73,023
1928	R	25.8%Smith18,960	64.0%Hoover47,073	10.2%	−38.2%	73,514
1924	R	31.4%Davis17,220	51.3%Coolidge28,186	17.3%incl. La Follette	−20.0%	54,893
1920	R	39.4%Cox18,361	47.7%Harding22,221	12.9%	−8.3%	46,591
1916	D	55.4%Wilson19,267	34.3%Hughes11,937	10.3%	+21.1%	34,769
1912	D	47.5%Wilson16,430	8.8%Taft3,032	43.7%incl. Roosevelt	+38.8%	34,560
1908	D	52.2%Bryan17,381	41.0%Taft13,642	6.7%	+11.2%	33,268
1904	D	48.7%Parker16,357	46.3%Roosevelt15,539	5.0%	+2.4%	33,579
1900	D	56.6%Bryan19,013	41.5%McKinley13,952	1.9%	+15.1%	33,593
1896	D	54.7%Bryan18,099	43.3%McKinley14,318	2.0%	+11.4%	33,082
1892	D	64.2%Cleveland18,602	34.8%Harrison10,077	1.1%incl. Weaver	+29.4%	28,991
1888	—	—	—	—	No data	—
1884	—	—	—	—	No data	—
1880	—	—	—	—	No data	—
1876	—	—	—	—	No data	—

Demographics

Demographic profile

Demographic Profile

Key indicators compared across containing geographies

Demographic Profile. Key indicators compared across containing geographies. ACS values are survey estimates and may include margins of error. Religion data may be available only at county or larger geographies. Sub-county values are labeled when inherited, modeled, or contextual.
Indicator	Reading, PAMetro area	PennsylvaniaState	United StatesNation
Race & Ethnicity
White	69.6%	74.5%	61.0%
Black	4.6%	10.7%	12.2%
Asian	1.4%	3.8%	6.0%
Two or more races	15.0%	7.1%	12.6%
Other race	9.4%	3.9%	8.2%
Hispanic or Latino	24.8%	8.7%	19.3%
Income & Age
Median household income	$79,777	$77,971	$84,427
Poverty rate	12.2%	11.7%	12.5%
Median age	39.9	41.2	39.1
Age 18–24	9.6%	8.9%	9.2%
Age 65 and older	17.9%	19.5%	17.2%
Education & Language
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)	27.7%	35.2%	35.6%
Speaks a non-English language at home	21.3%	12.4%	22.3%
Spanish	17.6%	5.6%	13.6%
Ancestry
Largest ancestry	German 27.9%	German 21.6%	German 12.5%
2nd-largest ancestry	Puerto Rican 10.5%	Irish 14.8%	Mexican 11.3%
3rd-largest ancestry	Irish 10.1%	Italian 10.6%	English 9.5%
Religion
Catholic	19.6%	21.9%	18.6%
Evangelical Protestant	10.4%	9.3%	16.5%
Unaffiliated or unclaimed	54.4%	53.1%	51.5%
Mainline Protestant	13.0%	10.3%	5.2%

ACS values are survey estimates and may include margins of error.

Religion data may be available only at county or larger geographies. Sub-county values are labeled when inherited, modeled, or contextual.

2024 ACS

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry

Click any group to see the origins and ancestries reported within it.

Reported ancestry · ACS B04006

German

27.9%

Irish

10.1%

Italian

8.2%

English

6.3%

Polish

4.6%

American

3.7%

Dutch

1.3%

French

1.2%

Specific origin · ACS B03001

Puerto Rican

10.5%

Dominican

7.0%

Mexican

3.9%

Colombian

0.6%

Guatemalan

0.4%

Salvadoran

0.4%

Peruvian

0.3%

Spaniard

0.3%

The ACS does not publish subgroup detail for people reporting two or more races.

Tribal grouping · detailed group · ACS B02020 · B02016

American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and other single-race responses combined.

Aztec

0.2%

Reported ancestry · ACS B04006

African American identity is recorded by the ACS race question; the ancestry item enumerates specific African and Caribbean ancestries only.

Haitian

0.3%

African

0.2%

Nigerian

0.2%

Jamaican

0.2%

Detailed group · ACS B02015

Asian Indian

0.3%

Chinese

0.2%

Filipino

0.2%

Vietnamese

0.2%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Race shares: B02001 · B03003. Subgroup detail: B03001 (Hispanic or Latino specific origin), B02015 (Asian groups), B02020 · B02016 (American Indian/Alaska Native tribes and Pacific Islander groups), B04006 (reported ancestry). Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so group shares can total more than 100%. All subgroup rows are shares of total population; ancestry is self-reported and multiple-response, so rows do not sum to the parent group's share.

2024 ACS

Age distribution by sex

Median age: 39.9 in this county, 39.1 nationally

Male

Age

Female

0.8%

85+

1.6%

2.3%

75–84

2.8%

5.0%

65–74

5.4%

6.8%

55–64

6.8%

6.0%

45–54

6.1%

35–44

6.1%

6.4%

25–34

6.1%

4.8%

18–24

4.8%

8.5%

5–17

8.0%

2.8%

2.7%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

2024 ACS

Median household income

Inflation-adjusted dollars

$79,777

Reading, PA$79,777

Pennsylvania$77,971

United States$80,734

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

2024 ACS

Poverty rate

All persons below federal poverty line

12.2%

Children face moderate poverty.

Children under 1818.0%

Working age (18–64)10.6%

Seniors (65+)10.7%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

2024 ACS

Language at home

Population aged 5 and older

78.7%

speak English only

Spanish17.6%

Other Indo-European0.9%

German or other West Germanic0.8%

French (incl. Cajun & Haitian)0.5%

Russian, Polish, or other Slavic0.3%

Other languages0.3%

Chinese (incl. Mandarin & Cantonese)0.2%

Vietnamese0.2%

Other Asian & Pacific Island0.2%

Tagalog (incl. Filipino)0.1%

Arabic0.1%

Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.

2020 religion census

Religious adherents

Adherents per capita by tradition

Catholic

19.6%

Mainline Protestant

13.0%

Evangelical Protestant

10.4%

Other Christian

1.1%

Latter-day Saints

0.4%

Orthodox Christian

0.3%

Black Protestant

0.3%

Jewish

0.2%

Muslim

0.2%

Buddhist

0.1%

Unaffiliated or not counted54.4%

Source · 2020 US Religion Census. The unaffiliated-or-not-counted share is everyone not claimed as an adherent by any reporting body — uncounted congregations as well as the religiously unaffiliated.

Reading's population is now majority Hispanic, one of the highest shares of any mid-sized northeastern city, and that demographic shift has gradually altered turnout patterns and party registration trends across Berks County.

Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 38.8 points in 1912 and a Republican high of 38.2 points in 1928. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved 3.9 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 12.1 points.

A population of 433,015, a 70% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $79,777 describe the metro.

Compare two places, side by side

Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →

Cite this page

All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.

Reading, PA, Pennsylvania. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/39740/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.

License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Reading, PA, Pennsylvania vote in 2024?

In 2024, Reading, PA, Pennsylvania voted Republican by 12.1 points (R+12.1), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 210,426 votes cast, 91,125 went Democratic and 116,677 went Republican.

When did Reading, PA, Pennsylvania last vote Democratic?

The most recent presidential election in which Reading, PA, Pennsylvania voted Democratic was 2008.

How many people live in Reading, PA, Pennsylvania?

Reading, PA, Pennsylvania has a population of 433,015 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.

What is the median household income in Reading, PA, Pennsylvania?

Median household income in Reading, PA, Pennsylvania is $79,777 — below the national median of $80,734. The Pennsylvania state median is $77,971.

What is the political history of Reading, PA, Pennsylvania?

Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Reading, PA, Pennsylvania from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 14 went Democratic and 20 went Republican.

Reading, PA delivered R+12.1 in 2024.

Demographics

Demographic Profile

Compare two places, side by side

Frequently asked questions