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Real Estate Prices & Overview

Median real estate price in the City Center of Reading is $166,667, which is less expensive than 79.5% of Pennsylvania neighborhoods and 84.9% of all U.S. neighborhoods.

The average rental price in Reading City Center is currently $1,402, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. Rents here are currently lower in price than 70.3% of Pennsylvania neighborhoods.

Reading City Center is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Reading, Pennsylvania.

Real estate in the City Center of Reading, PA is primarily made up of small (studio to two bedroom) to medium sized (three or four bedroom) apartment complexes/high-rise apartments and small apartment buildings. Most of the residential real estate is renter occupied. Many of the residences in the City Center neighborhood are relatively historic, built no later than 1939, and in some cases, quite a bit earlier. A number of residences were also built between 1970 and 1999.

Reading City Center has a 14.5% vacancy rate, which is well above average compared to other U.S. neighborhoods (higher than 76.9% of American neighborhoods). Most vacant housing here is vacant year round. This could either signal that there is a weak demand for real estate in the neighborhood or that large amount of new housing has been built and not yet occupied. Either way, if you live here, you may find many of the homes or apartments are empty.

Notable & Unique Neighborhood Characteristics

Many things matter about a neighborhood, but the first thing most people notice is the way a neighborhood looks and its particular character. For example, one might notice whether the buildings all date from a certain time period or whether shop signs are in multiple languages. This particular neighborhood in Reading, the City Center neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.

People

One of the unique characteristics of the Reading City Center neighborhood revealed by analysis is that the per capita income of residents here is lower than that found in 99.1% of the neighborhoods in America. The Reading City Center neighborhood also has a greater percentage of children living in poverty (76.5%) than found in 99.1% of all U.S. neighborhoods. Children living in poverty is one of the challenges facing America, and the world, and in this neighborhood in particular, the problem can be considered acute.

Modes of Transportation

In the Reading City Center neighborhood, walking to work is a real option for many. In fact, NeighborhoodScout's exclusive research reveals walking to and from work is the chosen way to commute for 22.1% of residents here. This is a higher proportion of walking commuters than we found in 98.5% of American neighborhoods. Get ready to put on your walking shoes if you move here!

Real Estate

Renter-occupied real estate is dominant in the Reading City Center neighborhood. The percentage of rental real estate here, according to exclusive NeighborhoodScout analysis, is 93.0%, which is higher than 97.6% of the neighborhoods in America. If you were to buy and live in the property you bought here, you would be almost alone in doing so.

In addition, even if you drive or take transit to your place of employment, many people enjoy being able to walk in their neighborhood. What many people don't realize is that most of America's premier vacation locations are also very walkable. The Reading City Center neighborhood is among the top 5% of American neighborhoods in terms of walkability.

Occupations

It used to be that most Americans lived on the farm, or otherwise made their living from the land, the forests, or the sea. With global trade and an economy increasingly based on providing services to one another, fewer people farm, fish or harvest timber now than at any time in American history. But according to NeighborhoodScout's leading analysis, the Reading City Center neighborhood stands apart from most American neighborhood due to the proportion of its residents still working in these fields. With 5.5% of the workforce so employed, this neighborhood has a greater concentration of such workers than 97.3% of U.S. neighborhoods.

Car Ownership

Most American households own a car or other vehicle. Many own two cars or perhaps three. In the United States, it is useful to have an automobile not only for commuting, but also for shopping and getting to other services one needs. But NeighborhoodScout's analysis revealed that households in the Reading City Center neighborhood have a highly unusual car ownership. 22.5% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 95.9% of U.S. neighborhoods.

Diversity

Did you know that the Reading City Center neighborhood has more Puerto Rican and Dominican ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 46.8% of this neighborhood's residents have Puerto Rican ancestry and 8.2% have Dominican ancestry.

The Neighbors

How wealthy a neighborhood is, from very wealthy, to middle income, to low income is very formative with regard to the personality and character of a neighborhood. Equally important is the rate of people, particularly children, who live below the federal poverty line. In some wealthy gated communities, the areas immediately surrounding can have high rates of childhood poverty, which indicates other social issues. NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals both aspects of income and poverty for this neighborhood.

The neighbors in the City Center neighborhood in Reading are low income, making it among the lowest income neighborhoods in America. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 99.1% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 76.5% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 99.1% of U.S. neighborhoods.

A neighborhood is far different if it is dominated by enlisted military personnel rather than people who earn their living by farming. It is also different if most of the neighbors are clerical support or managers. What is wonderful is the sheer diversity of neighborhoods, allowing you to find the type that fits your lifestyle and aspirations.

In the Reading City Center neighborhood, 32.8% of the working population is employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is manufacturing and laborer occupations, with 26.2% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations (20.6%), and 14.9% in executive, management, and professional occupations.

Languages

The languages spoken by people in this neighborhood are diverse. These are tabulated as the languages people preferentially speak when they are at home with their families. The most common language spoken in the Reading City Center neighborhood is English, spoken by 51.6% of households. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Italian.

Ethnicity / Ancestry

Culture is the shared learned behavior of peoples. Undeniably, different ethnicities and ancestries have different cultural traditions, and as a result, neighborhoods with concentrations of residents of one or another ethnicities or ancestries will express those cultures. It is what makes the North End in Boston so fun to visit for the Italian restaurants, bakeries, culture, and charm, and similarly, why people enjoy visiting Chinatown in San Francisco.

In the City Center neighborhood in Reading, PA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Puerto Rican (46.8%). There are also a number of people of Dominican ancestry (8.2%), and residents who report Mexican roots (5.7%), and some of the residents are also of Irish ancestry (3.4%), along with some Asian ancestry residents (2.5%), among others. In addition, 13.0% of the residents of this neighborhood were born in another country.

Getting to Work

How you get to work – car, bus, train or other means – and how much of your day it takes to do so is a large quality of life and financial issue. Especially with gasoline prices rising and expected to continue doing so, the length and means of one's commute can be a financial burden. Some neighborhoods are physically located so that many residents have to drive in their own car, others are set up so many walk to work, or can take a train, bus, or bike. The greatest number of commuters in Reading City Center neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (30.6% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.

Here most residents (46.7%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also hop out the door and walk to work to get to work (22.1%) and 18.2% of residents also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors for their daily commute. In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.


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