439,117 people (2024 Census estimate, +2.4% since 2020)
856 square miles of land · 513 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
77 active community water systems list Berks County in the area they serve, reporting 304,550 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| READING AREA WATER AUTHORITY surface water · local government · PA3060059 | 95,100 served |
| PAW PENN DISTRICT groundwater · private · PA3060069 | 28,508 served |
| PAW GLEN ALSACE DIV buys surface water · private · PA3060088 | 24,951 served |
| MUHLENBERG TWP MUNI AUTH groundwater · local government · PA3060038 | 22,400 served |
| KUTZTOWN BOROUGH WATER groundwater (surface-influenced) · local government · PA3060041 | 14,200 served |
| SHILLINGTON MUNI AUTH buys surface water · local government · PA3060067 | 13,300 served |
| MT PENN BORO MUNI AUTH groundwater · local government · PA3060082 | 10,400 served |
| WYOMISSING BORO WATER SYSTEM buys surface water · local government · PA3060083 | 8,500 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 725 people were held in Berks County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 262 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 1,044.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
18 school districts have their office in Berks County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $350.9 million — $280.1 million to run schools, about $16,133 per student, plus $35.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $50.8 million local (mostly property tax), $261.9 million state, $64.5 million federal. Long-term debt: $293.1 million.
Spent $121.8 million — $115.2 million to run schools, about $17,314 per student, plus $1.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $97.3 million local (mostly property tax), $42.2 million state, $3.9 million federal. Long-term debt: $93.9 million.
Spent $119.5 million — $110.4 million to run schools, about $17,287 per student, plus $2.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $98 million local (mostly property tax), $31.1 million state, $5.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $93.9 million.
Spent $68.9 million — $61.5 million to run schools, about $14,421 per student, plus $1.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $47.7 million local (mostly property tax), $23.9 million state, $7.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $20.7 million.
Spent $98.7 million — $68.3 million to run schools, about $16,597 per student, plus $24.6 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $56.4 million local (mostly property tax), $22.6 million state, $7.5 million federal. Long-term debt: $103.9 million.
Spent $82.1 million — $72.6 million to run schools, about $18,510 per student, plus $5.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $56 million local (mostly property tax), $25.9 million state, $4 million federal. Long-term debt: $48.7 million.
Spent $59.2 million — $53.4 million to run schools, about $17,451 per student, plus $774,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $43.1 million local (mostly property tax), $19.7 million state, $2.2 million federal. Long-term debt: $66.9 million.
Spent $82.3 million — $60.8 million to run schools, about $20,050 per student, plus $15.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $54.5 million local (mostly property tax), $18.1 million state, $4.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $44.7 million.
And 10 more.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Moderate compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Berks County about $119.5 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very High; social vulnerability: Relatively Moderate.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
667 bridges in Berks County: 148 in good condition, 416 fair, and 103 poor (15.4%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| SR 422 (LR793) over THUN RECREATIONAL TRAIL · built 1963 | 71,101 vehicles a day |
| SR 422(LR 793) over SCHUYLKILL RIVER · built 1963 | 59,527 vehicles a day |
| I-78 (LR 285) over READING/NORTHERN RR T571 · built 1955 | 55,285 vehicles a day |
| PA 61(LR 160) over KAERCHERS CK · built 1952 | 22,738 vehicles a day |
| WASHING. ST(06233) over NORFOLK/SOUTHERN RR · built 1882 | 13,104 vehicles a day |
| SR 1010(LR 06117) over WILLOW CREEK · built 1915 | 11,268 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $101.6 million of work in Berks County in fiscal 2025, about $237 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Pennsylvania are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Berks County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Berks County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Pennsylvania: the state government and every county in Pennsylvania.
Nearby counties: Lehigh County (22 mi) · Schuylkill County (25 mi) · Lebanon County (28 mi) · Lancaster County (31 mi) · Chester County (32 mi) · Montgomery County (32 mi).