Reading, Pennsylvania Cost Of Living

Buy Rent

B+

Overall 15%

Goods & Services 4%

Housing 50%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2022 and was released from C2ER in January, 2022; this is the most current data available.

The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	Reading	Pennsylvania	National
Cost of living	85	100	100
Goods & Services	104	102	100
Groceries	93	105	100
Health care	110	98	100
Housing	50	91	100
Transportation	104	105	100
Utilities	89	106	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Reading is 15% lower than the Pennsylvania average
The cost of living in Reading is 15% lower than the national average
Reading housing is 50% lower than the national average
Pennsylvania general sales tax is 18% higher than the national average
Pennsylvania state income tax is 24% higher than the national average

Most Affordable Places to Live in and Around Reading

See all the best places to live around Reading

Compare Reading, PA Cost of Living

See all Reading poll results

The best places in Pennsylvania

Here are the best places to live in Pennsylvania

See the best places to live in & around Reading

Top 10 best public schools in Reading

These are the 10 most affordable cities in Pennsylvania

Salary Calculator

This is how much you would need to earn in

Price difference in compared to

Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$43,499	$3,625	$1,015	$1,305
Renters	$19,807	$1,651	$462	$594

The percent of monthly income spent on housing can be a good indicator of the affordability of housing in Reading, PA, as well as the overall cost of living. As a general rule of thumb, the debt-to-income ratio (DTI) for homeowners or renters should be not more than 28 percent of gross income to be spent on housing related costs and not more than 36 percent of income on all expenses, including debts. The median income for Reading homeowners, is $43,499. This would allow for a maximum of $1,015 per month to be spent on housing costs. For renters, the median monthly income is $19,807 which would result in a maximum of $462 to be spent on rental costs.

Pennsylvania Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Pennsylvania	6%	8%

Pennsylvania Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Pennsylvania	3.07%	3.07%

Goods & Services

Item	Reading	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$21.05	$20.27	3.8%
Beauty Salon	$42.57	$40.39	5.4%
Toothpaste	$2.13	$2.36	9.7%
Shampoo	$1.09	$1.08	0.8%
Movie	$11.33	$10.99	3.1%
Bowling	$14.91	$15.49	3.7%

Groceries

Item	Reading	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$3.99	$4.30	7.2%
Fried Chicken	$1.18	$1.40	15.5%
Milk	$2.20	$2.20	0.0%
Potatoes	$3.70	$3.22	14.8%
Pizza	$10.45	$10.74	2.7%
Beer	$10.54	$9.60	9.8%

Health Care

Item	Reading	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$87.60	$109.73	20.2%
Doctor	$107.13	$118.34	9.5%
Dentist	$148.82	$100.94	47.4%
Ibuprofen	$9.71	$9.93	2.2%
Lipitor	$416.42	$469.53	11.3%

Housing

Item	Reading	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$68,400.00	$184,700.00	63.0%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,134.94	$1,229.62	7.7%
Apartment Rent	$752.00	$949.00	20.8%

Transportation

Item	Reading	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.85	$2.71	5.0%
Tire Balancing	$53.73	$51.86	3.6%

Utilities

Item	Reading	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$132.75	$170.84	22.3%
Phone	$192.46	$187.18	2.8%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Kutztown University, PA	3,811	100	0.2%
Walnuttown, PA	587	100	0.2%
Hyde Park borough, PA	451	85	15.0%
Alsace Manor, PA	344	87	13.4%
Baumstown, PA	469	88	12.5%
Reading, PA	87,899	85	15.0%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Nampa, ID	87,896	91	9.0%
Norwalk, CT	87,930	146	46.2%
Fort Smith, AR	87,712	84	15.7%
Repentigny, QC	87,645	n/a
Waukegan, IL	88,159	98	2.2%
Reading, PA	87,899	85	15.0%

Source: This data reflects 2021 and was released from C2ER in January, 2022; this is the most current data available.