County profile
Berks County, PA
United States · GDP 2024
#212 of 3,127 US counties by GDP53rd-percentile growthmore diversified than 84% of counties
EA Place Score
——methodology in progress
GDP 2024 (USD)
$26.6B
BEA · 2024
GDP growth (YoY)
+4.7%
BEA · 2024
Jobs tracked
172,167
Census CBP · 2023
Employers
8,521
Census CBP · 2023
Avg. wage
$61.4k
BLS QCEW · 2023
Population
440,072
Census PEP · 2025
Labor, income & education
Unemployment
4.2%
Median HH income
$79.8k±$1.2k
Bachelor's degree+
27.7%±0.8%
Poverty rate
12.2%±0.7%
Business applications
4,256 · 2025
Retail establishments
1,099
25.1/10k pop
Public companies headquartered here
SEC EDGAR · FMPCompanySectorRevenueEA
1PENN Entertainment, Inc.Consumer Cyclical$7.0B53D2EnerSysIndustrials$3.8B71B3Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc.Real Estate$1.6B71B4Hydrofarm Holdings Group, Inc.Industrials$134.3M25D5Customers Bancorp, Inc.Financial Services$40.2M47D6Fleetwood Bank CorporationFinancial Services$16.8M45D7USA Recycling Industries, Inc.Industrials$0——8BlaqClouds Inc.Technology———HQ-based placement with total (global) headcount — local employment attribution needs firmographic data; the industry mix at right is measured county data (CBP).
Industry mix · employment
Health care29%
Manufacturing28%
Retail trade17%
Food & accommodation11%
Transportation8%
Admin & support7%
share of top-6 sector employment · CBP 2023
Population & migration
Census PEP · 2020–2025
440,072
residents · 2025 · +2.7% since 2020
Income per capita $62.9k · BEA 2024
COMPONENTS OF CHANGE · 2021–2025
Domestic migration+1,271
International migration+9,494
Natural change+589
GDP trend
2019–2024 · nominal
$21.2B2019
$20.7B2020
$22.2B2021
$24.1B2022
$25.4B2023
$26.6B2024
Real estate & risk
FHFA · ACS · FEMA
Median home value
$257.3k±$3.6k
Median gross rent
$1.2k/mo±$20/mo
Vacancy rate
4.9%±0.4%
Affordability
4.2× wages
Residential permits
$120.6M
582 units · 1.3/1k pop
FEMA risk score
92.7
HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR):$1.6k/mo · 2026
TOP PERILS · FEMA NRI
Winter weather 99Strong wind 98Lightning 96
FHFA HOUSE PRICE INDEX · 2016–2025
3232016
3372017
3512018
3632019
3802020
4242021
4882022
5372023
5742024
6062025
RESIDENTIAL PERMITS · 2021–2025
↑ 18% since 20214932021
3862022
3522023
3972024
5822025
Transport access
BTS · FAA · USACE
Nearest interstate
12.4 km
I-176
Nearest freight rail
0.2 km
NS
Nearest port
79.8 km
Metro Machine Corp. of Pennsylvania, Pier No. 3A.
Nearest commercial airport
5.3 km
READING RGNL/CARL A SPAATZ FLD
Filing activity
SEC EDGAR7 filings from 5 companies here in the last 90 days.
Wage trend
BLS QCEW · 2019–2023$61.4k
avg. annual pay · +20% since 2019
Similar US counties
nearest by GDPNearby & same-state counties
by GDP rankThe read
What is the GDP of Berks?
Berks's economy produced $26.6B in 2024, growing 4.7% year over year — about the middle of the pack among US counties. Its largest employment sector is health care.
GDP: BEA (2024), USD-normalized · Jobs/employers/wages & industry mix: Census CBP (2023) · Population & migration: Census PEP · Income: BEA CAINC1 · Companies: SEC EDGAR + FMP, by HQ.