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ZIP Code19602

Reading, PA

Berks County · Pennsylvania · United States
Home to 18,001 people across 2.041 square miles.

EasternTop 5% densityRenter-majority53 ZIPs in county

At a glance

19602 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
18k
±1,193 · top 25% nationally
Median household income
$38,179
US median $70,109 · bottom 10%
Median home value
$73,000
US median $207,500 · bottom 10%
Median age
33.4
US median 42 years
Population density
8,820/mi²
top 5% most dense
Land area
2.041 mi²
plus 0.077 mi² water

Location

Where 19602 is

40.327563, -75.916724 · Census ZCTA internal pointOpen larger map →
Coordinates40.327563, -75.916724
Time zoneAmerica/New_York
CountyBerks County
StatePennsylvania (PA)
Land area2.041 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, PA47.4 mi
New York, NY103.8 mi
Boston, MA288.4 mi
Chicago, IL618.7 mi

People

Who lives in 19602

18,001 residents in 6,697 households, averaging 2.69 people per household. The largest age group is under 18 at 29.3% of residents.

Age distribution

Share of residents by age band

Under 1829.3%
18-2410.0%
25-3412.5%
35-4413.8%
45-5413.1%
55-6410.7%
65+10.6%

Households

Composition and size

Total households6,697
Average household size2.69
Family households61.0%
Living alone30.8%
Median age33.4 years
Households with internet83.7%

Race & ethnicity

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

White28.7%
Black10.0%
Asian0.1%
Native American0.6%
Other21.1%
Two or more39.5%
Hispanic / Latino67.6%

Income & work

What people earn in 19602

The median household here earns $38,179 a year, below the US median of $70,109, which puts 19602 ahead of 5% of American ZIP codes. 33.7% of residents live below the poverty line.

Compared to the US

This ZIP against the national median

Median household income$38,179
LowestHighest
Higher than 5% of all US ZIP codes.
Median household income$38,179 ±$4,106
Per capita income$19,870
Poverty rate33.7%
Unemployment rate14.3%
Labor force participation59.6%

Household income distribution

Share of households in each bracket

<$25k36.7%
$25-50k24.1%
$50-75k17.0%
$75-100k10.7%
$100-150k8.6%
$150-200k1.6%
$200k+1.3%

Educational attainment among residents 25 and older: 10.9% hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 70.7% finished high school.

Housing

Homes and rent in 19602

A typical home is valued at $73,000, and median rent runs $978 a month. This is a renter-majority area — 73.2% of occupied homes are rented, and the typical building went up in 1938.

Costs

Typical values

Median home value$73,000
Median gross rent$978/mo
Median year built1938
Housing units7,907
Vacancy rate15.3%

Own vs. rent

Of 6,697 occupied units

Owner-occupied26.8%
Renter-occupied73.2%
Owner households1,792
Renter households4,905

Building types

Units by structure size

Single family54.5%
2-4 units22.2%
5-19 units14.1%
20+ units9.2%

Getting to work

How 19602 commutes

63.2% of workers drove alone, and the average one-way trip takes 27.4 minutes.

Mode of transport

Workers 16 and older

Drove alone63.2%
Carpooled14.9%
Public transit7.3%
Walked5.3%
Worked from home3.9%

Travel time

Mean commute 27.4 minutes

<10 min12.5%
10-1931.3%
20-2921.3%
30-4418.7%
45-598.6%
60+7.6%

Overview

Understanding ZIP code 19602

ZIP code 19602 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 18,001 people live inside it.

At 8,820 residents per square mile spread over 2.041 square miles, 19602 reads as a densely built-up area. It is a mid-sized postal code by population, 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 $38,179, 19602 ranks among the lower-income postal codes, ahead of 5% 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 19602 costs well below the national median. A typical home is valued at $73,000 against a US median of $207,500, and median gross rent runs $978 a month. This is firmly renter territory — 73.2% of occupied homes are rented, a pattern typical of city centres, student areas and neighbourhoods with a lot of apartment stock.

The building stock is dominated by detached single-family houses, which account for 54.5% 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 33.4 against 42 nationally. The average household holds 2.69 people, and 61.0% are family households.

Getting to work takes 27.4 minutes on average one way. The dominant mode is drove alone at 63.2% 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 19602 itself often costs less than an equivalent room in the nearest downtown while keeping you close to it.

Median rent in 19602 is $978 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 47.4 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 19602 is used for

Beyond addressing mail, 19602 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, 19602 offers a compact profile of Reading: 18,001 residents, a median household income of $38,179, 10.9% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and an unemployment rate of 14.3%. 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. 19602 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 19602

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.

19611Reading1.4 mi away19604Reading2.2 mi away19601Reading2.5 mi away19607Reading2.9 mi away19610Reading3.2 mi away19606Reading3.2 mi away19609Reading4.2 mi away19603Reading4.9 mi away

Other ZIP codes in Reading

Reading is served by 12 postal codes.

1960119603196041960519606196071960819609196101961119612

More in Berks County

180561950319504195051950619507195081951019511195121951619518

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Questions

Common questions about 19602

What city is ZIP code 19602 in?
19602 serves Reading, Pennsylvania, in Berks County, United States.
What is the population of 19602?
About 18,001 people live in ZIP code 19602, according to the US Census Bureau's 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. The margin of error on that figure is ±1,193. That works out to roughly 8,820 people per square mile.
What is the average income in 19602?
The median household income in 19602 is $38,179 per year, compared with a US median of $70,109. Per capita income is $19,870. 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 19602?
The median home value is $73,000 and median gross rent is $978 a month. 26.8% of occupied homes are owner-occupied.
Is 19602 a good place to live?
That depends on what you're looking for, but here are the facts: 10.9% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, the unemployment rate is 14.3%, and the median age is 33.4. The average commute is 27.4 minutes. We publish the numbers and let you weigh them.
What time zone is 19602 in?
19602 observes Eastern Time (America/New_York). This zone observes daylight saving time.
How big is ZIP code 19602?
ZIP code 19602 covers 2.041 square miles of land plus 0.077 square miles of water, per the US Census Bureau's 2023 Gazetteer files.
Is 19602 urban, suburban or rural?
By population density, 19602 reads as a densely built-up area. It holds 8,820 people per square mile across 2.041 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 19602?
Median gross rent in 19602 is $978 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 6,697 occupied homes here, 4,905 are rented.
What is the commute like from 19602?
The average one-way commute from 19602 takes about 27.4 minutes. The most common way to travel is drove alone, used by 63.2% 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 19602?
About 6,823 residents of 19602 are employed. Labor force participation stands at 59.6% and the unemployment rate is 14.3%. 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 19602?
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 19602 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 19602 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 19602. 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 19602, the Census approximation of the USPS delivery area.