Berks County, Pennsylvania

County Distress Index: Elevated · 53.7 | 432,821 people · 13th most distressed in Pennsylvania

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Berks County, PA registers elevated household financial distress with a score of 53.7 — 1311th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Housing Cost Burden, where a large share of households spend more than 30% of income on housing. Within Pennsylvania, it ranks 13th of 67 counties. It scores higher than all 6 of its neighboring counties.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Berks County's primary driver is Housing Cost Burden at 79.5 — worse than roughly 80% of U.S. counties.

Housing Cost Burden Primary driver 79.5
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 84
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 80
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 87
Homeownership Rate 66
Rent-to-Income Ratio 80
Employment & Wages 63.0
Unemployment Rate 49
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 79
Business Formation Rate 61
Debt & Delinquency 56.4
Debt in Collections 53
Medical Debt 71
Student Loan Delinquency 48
Auto Loan Delinquency 59
Credit Card Delinquency 57
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 50
Community Vulnerability 35.2
Uninsured Rate 37
Disability Rate 33
Income & Poverty 34.7
Poverty Rate 37
Income vs. State Median 17
Child Poverty Rate 50

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Berks County compares to its 6 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Berks County
Berks County, PA 53.7 Elevated
Schuylkill County, PA 52.7 Elevated -1.0
Lehigh County, PA 52.3 Elevated -1.4
Lebanon County, PA 47.1 Normal -6.7
Lancaster County, PA 42.5 Normal -11.2
Montgomery County, PA 26.9 Healthy -26.9
Chester County, PA 23.8 Healthy -30.0

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Berks County
Manatee County, FL 53.8 Elevated +0.1
Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT 53.4 Elevated -0.4
Spartanburg County, SC 54.1 Elevated +0.4
Guilford County, NC 54.2 Elevated +0.5
Lake County, IN 54.4 Elevated +0.6

Download Data

Export all distress indicators for Berks County as a CSV file.

Find Help in Berks County

HUD-Approved Housing Counselors

Free foreclosure prevention and financial counseling near Berks County.

BERKS COMMUNITY ACTION PROGRAM, INC.
Reading
Foreclosure PreventionHomeless/DisplacementRental Help
NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING SERVICES OF GREATER BERKS, INC.
Reading
Foreclosure PreventionFinancial CounselingPre-PurchaseHomebuyer Education

Find an Attorney

Pennsylvania Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service offers a lawyer referral service for bankruptcy, foreclosure defense, and consumer rights.

Free Legal Aid

Legal aid organizations serving Berks County residents at no cost.

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