By Aaron Gantz, GRCA
Location drives where people want to live, work and grow a business. We know Greater Reading, PA has a great northeast U.S. location, but there is a bigger story to tell than a place on a map. Greater Reading is a community where diversity is one of our greatest assets — in industry, in people, in housing and in cultural amenities.
Energy storage, customized logistics solutions, world-renowned gourmet desserts and chocolates —what do they have in common? They are all made and headquartered in Greater Reading. This diverse base of growing companies provides stability to the local economy. The continued stability of the area’s largest industry sector, manufacturing, is evidenced in the industry’s large contribution to the County’s GDP at over $3.9B.
Key industries in Greater Reading:
• Manufacturing
• Healthcare
• Agriculture
• Hospitality
• Construction
Greater Reading’s diverse companies can continue to grow because its population is growing. As of 2020, the City of Reading is the fourth largest city in Pennsylvania. It is also one of the youngest and most diverse cities in the state — the median age is 30 and the growing Latino population accounts for nearly 70% of the population. The community at large continues to experience growth and population migration from the New York/New Jersey metro areas because the area offers a high quality of life, opportunity jobs and a lower cost of living.
How do we know the cost of living is lower in Greater Reading? The Greater Reading Chamber Alliance (GRCA) participates in collection of local data for the Cost of Living Index (COLI) compiled on a quarterly basis by the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER). C2ER uses more than 60 carefully selected goods and services across six weighted categories — each of which contribute to the composite index or the area’s cost of living number.
1. Groceries - 13.4%
2. Housing – 28.0%
3. Utilities – 10.3%
4. Transportation – 11.1%
5. Healthcare – 4.0%
6. Miscellaneous good and services – 32.8%
The cost of housing is a significant portion of index calculation, and while we are seeing price increases nationally, the Greater Reading median household price remains lower than neighboring metropolitan areas.
Median Home Price
• Reading, PA: $265,000
• Philadelphia, PA: $339,450
• Allentown, PA: $359,900
• Baltimore, MD: $352,495
• Washington, D.C.: 572,800
• New York, NY-NJ: $699,000
Source: Realtor.com
All of this data adds up and as a result, Greater Reading has earned top spots in the U.S. News & World Report’s Best Places to Live 2022-23 rankings.
• #1 Hottest Housing Market in Pennsylvania
• Top 100 Best Places to Live in the United States
• Top 8 Best Places to Live in Pennsylvania
• Top 10 Best Places to Retire in the United States
• Top 25 Safest Places to Live in the United States
This data allows both people and businesses to make informed decisions about their next steps.
We know the cost of living is critical for people making decisions on where to live and for businesses making decisions on where to grow and locate. These costs affect people’s quality of life and business’ bottom lines. Your money goes further in Greater Reading.
Visit MeetGreaterReading.org to learn more about living and doing business in Greater Reading, Pennsylvania.
Aaron Gantz is senior director of economic development at GRCA.