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ZIP Code19601

Reading, PA

Berks County · Pennsylvania · United States
Home to 36,493 people across 3.762 square miles.

EasternTop 5% densityRenter-majority53 ZIPs in county

At a glance

19601 by the numbers

Every figure below comes from the 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the Census Gazetteer, or is computed from those. Margins of error are shown where they matter.

Population
36k
±1,761 · top 10% nationally
Median household income
$41,133
US median $70,109 · bottom 10%
Median home value
$110,700
US median $207,500 · bottom 25%
Median age
32
US median 42 years
Population density
9,700/mi²
top 5% most dense
Land area
3.762 mi²
plus 0.201 mi² water

Location

Where 19601 is

40.360982, -75.936935 · Census ZCTA internal pointOpen larger map →
Coordinates40.360982, -75.936935
Time zoneAmerica/New_York
CountyBerks County
StatePennsylvania (PA)
Land area3.762 mi²
Coordinate sourceCensus ZCTA internal point

Local time

America/New_York

—:—:—

Current weather

Live from the National Weather Service

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Distance to major cities

Straight-line, computed from coordinates

Philadelphia, PA49.6 mi
New York, NY104.3 mi
Boston, MA288.2 mi
Chicago, IL617.1 mi

People

Who lives in 19601

36,493 residents in 12,788 households, averaging 2.85 people per household. The largest age group is under 18 at 29.5% of residents.

Age distribution

Share of residents by age band

Under 1829.5%
18-249.6%
25-3415.0%
35-4413.7%
45-5411.8%
55-649.4%
65+11.0%

Households

Composition and size

Total households12,788
Average household size2.85
Family households63.2%
Living alone30.2%
Median age32 years
Households with internet81.9%

Race & ethnicity

Census race categories. Hispanic or Latino origin is asked separately and overlaps these groups.

White26.3%
Black10.2%
Asian1.8%
Native American1.8%
Other32.6%
Two or more27.2%
Hispanic / Latino70.2%

Income & work

What people earn in 19601

The median household here earns $41,133 a year, below the US median of $70,109, which puts 19601 ahead of 7% of American ZIP codes. 29.8% of residents live below the poverty line.

Compared to the US

This ZIP against the national median

Median household income$41,133
LowestHighest
Higher than 7% of all US ZIP codes.
Median household income$41,133 ±$4,231
Per capita income$20,249
Poverty rate29.8%
Unemployment rate13.2%
Labor force participation61.6%

Household income distribution

Share of households in each bracket

<$25k33.1%
$25-50k23.3%
$50-75k17.8%
$75-100k12.0%
$100-150k8.7%
$150-200k3.5%
$200k+1.6%

Educational attainment among residents 25 and older: 11.5% hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 72.6% finished high school.

Housing

Homes and rent in 19601

A typical home is valued at $110,700, and median rent runs $986 a month. This is a renter-majority area — 62.7% of occupied homes are rented, and the typical building went up in 1938.

Costs

Typical values

Median home value$110,700
Median gross rent$986/mo
Median year built1938
Housing units14,024
Vacancy rate8.8%

Own vs. rent

Of 12,788 occupied units

Owner-occupied37.3%
Renter-occupied62.7%
Owner households4,768
Renter households8,020

Building types

Units by structure size

Single family60.7%
2-4 units18.7%
5-19 units11.0%
20+ units9.6%

Getting to work

How 19601 commutes

59.5% of workers drove alone, and the average one-way trip takes 26.2 minutes.

Mode of transport

Workers 16 and older

Drove alone59.5%
Carpooled16.4%
Public transit3.6%
Walked6.4%
Bike0.1%
Worked from home5.5%

Travel time

Mean commute 26.2 minutes

<10 min10.2%
10-1935.7%
20-2923.3%
30-4418.5%
45-594.9%
60+7.3%

Overview

Understanding ZIP code 19601

ZIP code 19601 is assigned to Reading, PA, and falls within Berks County. Like every US postal code, it began as a mail-routing device rather than a geographic boundary — the US Postal Service groups delivery routes under a single code so carriers and sorting equipment can process mail efficiently. Today it also serves as a practical shorthand for the area itself: roughly 36,493 people live inside it.

At 9,700 residents per square mile spread over 3.762 square miles, 19601 reads as a densely built-up area. It is a populous postal code, and density shapes almost everything else on this page — how people get to work, whether they own or rent, and what housing costs.

Household earnings are well below the national median. At $41,133, 19601 ranks among the lower-income postal codes, ahead of 7% of them. The US median for comparison is $70,109. Bear in mind that median income describes the midpoint household, not the average — it is not pulled upward by a handful of very high earners the way a mean would be.

Living here

What life in Reading looks like

Housing in 19601 costs below the national median. A typical home is valued at $110,700 against a US median of $207,500, and median gross rent runs $986 a month. The split between owning and renting is fairly even at 37.3% owner-occupied, which tends to indicate a mix of housing types rather than one dominant form.

The building stock is dominated by detached single-family houses, which account for 60.7% of housing units here. The median construction year is 1938, making the housing here largely pre-war.

The population skews younger than the country as a whole, with a median age of 32 against 42 nationally. The average household holds 2.85 people, and 63.2% are family households.

Getting to work takes 26.2 minutes on average one way. The dominant mode is drove alone at 59.5% of workers.

Where to stay

Where to stay in Reading, PA

Reading is a built-up area, so you will generally find a mix of chain hotels near the main approach roads and a smaller number of independent properties closer to the centre. Staying in 19601 itself often costs less than an equivalent room in the nearest downtown while keeping you close to it.

Median rent in 19601 is $986 a month, which sits in the middle of the national range; accommodation pricing locally tends to be similarly mid-market. For reference, Philadelphia, PA is about 49.6 miles away in a straight line, which is worth factoring in if you are comparing a stay here against one closer to the city centre.

Availability and pricing change constantly, so the live search below will give you a more accurate picture than any figure we could publish here. It opens results for this area on Booking.com.

Book a Hotel →

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Practical uses

What ZIP code 19601 is used for

Beyond addressing mail, 19601 does a lot of quiet administrative work. Retailers use it to calculate shipping and sales tax at checkout. Insurers use it to set premiums, since risk profiles vary geographically. Employers and marketers use it to define service areas. Government agencies use it to route benefits and organise reporting. If you have ever been asked for a postal code by a form that clearly does not intend to send you anything, this is why.

For anyone weighing a move, 19601 offers a compact profile of Reading: 36,493 residents, a median household income of $41,133, 11.5% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and an unemployment rate of 13.2%. A handful of figures like these answer more relocation questions than most neighbourhood guides do.

One caution worth repeating: a postal code is not a neighbourhood. 19601 may cover parts of several distinct areas, and a single neighbourhood in Reading may be split across more than one code. Boundaries also shift as USPS adjusts delivery routes. Treat the figures here as describing a delivery area, which is what they actually measure.

Nearby

ZIP codes near 19601

The eight closest postal codes by centroid distance, each with its own full profile. You can also browse every Pennsylvania ZIP code or use the ZIP Express Lookup to search by city, county or time zone.

19604Reading1.5 mi away19603Reading2.3 mi away19610Reading2.4 mi away19611Reading2.5 mi away19602Reading2.5 mi away19605Reading2.6 mi away19609Reading3.9 mi away19560Temple4.2 mi away

Other ZIP codes in Reading

Reading is served by 12 postal codes.

1960219603196041960519606196071960819609196101961119612

More in Berks County

180561950319504195051950619507195081951019511195121951619518

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Questions

Common questions about 19601

What city is ZIP code 19601 in?
19601 serves Reading, Pennsylvania, in Berks County, United States.
What is the population of 19601?
About 36,493 people live in ZIP code 19601, according to the US Census Bureau's 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. The margin of error on that figure is ±1,761. That works out to roughly 9,700 people per square mile.
What is the average income in 19601?
The median household income in 19601 is $41,133 per year, compared with a US median of $70,109. Per capita income is $20,249. Median income is more representative than an average because it isn't skewed by a small number of very high earners.
How expensive is housing in 19601?
The median home value is $110,700 and median gross rent is $986 a month. 37.3% of occupied homes are owner-occupied.
Is 19601 a good place to live?
That depends on what you're looking for, but here are the facts: 11.5% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, the unemployment rate is 13.2%, and the median age is 32. The average commute is 26.2 minutes. We publish the numbers and let you weigh them.
What time zone is 19601 in?
19601 observes Eastern Time (America/New_York). This zone observes daylight saving time.
How big is ZIP code 19601?
ZIP code 19601 covers 3.762 square miles of land plus 0.201 square miles of water, per the US Census Bureau's 2023 Gazetteer files.
Is 19601 urban, suburban or rural?
By population density, 19601 reads as a densely built-up area. It holds 9,700 people per square mile across 3.762 square miles of land. For reference, densities above 10,000 per square mile generally indicate an urban core, 1,000–3,000 is typically suburban, and under 200 is rural. These are rules of thumb rather than official designations — the Census Bureau classifies urban and rural areas by census block, not by ZIP code.
How much is rent in 19601?
Median gross rent in 19601 is $986 a month, according to the American Community Survey. Gross rent includes contract rent plus the estimated cost of utilities and fuels, so it is closer to what a tenant actually pays than a headline rent figure. Of 12,788 occupied homes here, 8,020 are rented.
What is the commute like from 19601?
The average one-way commute from 19601 takes about 26.2 minutes. The most common way to travel is drove alone, used by 59.5% of workers aged 16 and over. Commute figures cover people who were employed and working outside the home during the survey period.
How many people work in 19601?
About 14,334 residents of 19601 are employed. Labor force participation stands at 61.6% and the unemployment rate is 13.2%. Note this counts residents by where they live, not by where they work — a ZIP with many offices can have far more jobs than employed residents.
Where should I stay when visiting 19601?
Accommodation in and around Reading, PA ranges with the character of the area. See the 'Where to stay' section on this page for local context, and use the live search there for current availability and pricing.
Does 19601 cover more than one city or county?
This page lists Reading as the primary place and Berks County as the county. ZIP codes follow mail delivery routes rather than municipal or county lines, so a single code can straddle boundaries, and USPS also recognises alternate acceptable city names for many codes. If you need the definitive answer for a specific street address, the USPS ZIP Code Lookup is the authority.
Can ZIP code 19601 change?
Yes. USPS adjusts ZIP codes as delivery volumes shift — codes are occasionally split, merged, retired or newly created, and boundaries move more often than most people assume. The Census Bureau's ZCTA definitions, which underpin the demographic figures on this page, are redrawn only once a decade, so the two can drift apart between censuses.

Methodology

Where this data comes from

  • Postal geography — GeoNames open postal code database (CC BY 4.0), cross-checked against the US Census Gazetteer.
  • Demographics, income, housing, commute — US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-Year Estimates, ZIP Code Tabulation Area 19601. Tables B01001, B01002, B01003, B02001, B03003, B08301, B08303, B11001, B15003, B17001, B19001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25024, B25035, B25064, B25077, B28002.
  • Land and water area — US Census Bureau 2023 Gazetteer Files.
  • Weather — NOAA National Weather Service, fetched live in your browser.
  • Map — OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
On accuracy. ACS figures are survey estimates, not counts. The margin of error shown alongside the population figure means the true value has a 90% chance of falling in that range. For small ZIP codes the error can be large relative to the estimate — treat the direction as more reliable than the exact number. This page reports data for ZCTA 19601, the Census approximation of the USPS delivery area.