Berks Vital Signs

Why is this important?

Free public education was long ago embraced as a cornerstone of a fair society. Schools must prepare the next generation to become productive members of society and compete in the global economy. Yet the cost of public education has been rising more rapidly than many other goods and services and can become a burden to taxpayers, particularly those on fixed incomes or whose incomes are not keeping pace with tax increases

How is our region doing?

Schools in Berks County spent $2,915 per resident in 2019, up 44% from $2,024 in 2001. Berk's spent more per resident than Pennsylvania in 2019, and has spent more than the state each year since 2001.

Compared to neighboring counties, Berks spent more per resident than Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, and Schuylkill in 2019, but less than Chester and Montgomery. At $3,215, Chester County had the highest school spending per resident, while Schuylkill County (at $2,089) spent the least.

Spending of School Districts

	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Pennsylvania	$1,864	$1,932	$1,985	$2,074	$2,114	$2,170	$2,207	$2,234	$2,297	$2,342	$2,348	$2,284	$2,334	$2,348	$2,467	$2,516	$2,653	$2,568	$2,630
Berks County	$2,024	$2,054	$2,111	$2,178	$2,270	$2,340	$2,471	$2,457	$2,577	$2,667	$2,621	$2,632	$2,698	$2,605	$2,864	$2,766	$2,912	$2,857	$2,915
Berks County Regions
Central
Northeast
South
Southeast
West
Reading city
Berks County Peers
Chester County	$2,180	$2,263	$2,360	$2,505	$2,574	$2,664	$2,758	$2,808	$2,941	$3,000	$2,984	$2,995	$3,104	$3,059	$3,290	$3,291	$3,109	$3,134	$3,215
Lancaster County	$1,685	$1,707	$1,754	$1,791	$1,798	$1,826	$1,922	$1,956	$2,028	$2,019	$1,986	$1,948	$1,991	$2,013	$2,103	$2,116	$2,198	$2,203	$2,238
Lebanon County	$1,651	$1,731	$1,707	$1,746	$1,791	$1,820	$1,924	$2,016	$2,036	$2,111	$1,965	$1,949	$2,052	$2,051	$2,042	$2,126	$2,188	$2,247	$2,221
Lehigh County	$1,742	$1,792	$1,829	$1,901	$1,964	$2,005	$2,073	$2,085	$2,185	$2,234	$2,263	$2,232	$2,250	$2,321	$2,396	$2,512	$2,595	$2,630	$2,734
Montgomery County	$2,061	$2,148	$2,241	$2,367	$2,422	$2,541	$2,577	$2,605	$2,662	$2,673	$2,643	$2,620	$2,648	$2,689	$2,802	$2,841	$3,092	$3,049	$3,074
Schuylkill County	$1,567	$1,638	$1,838	$1,683	$1,899	$1,804	$1,733	$1,761	$1,886	$2,030	$1,873	$2,072	$1,882	$2,042	$2,343	$2,271	$2,132	$2,221	$2,089

Source: Pennsylvania Department of Education
Notes: Figures are in constant 2019 dollars.

Total Spending of School Districts

	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Pennsylvania	$22,925,343,784	$23,826,534,128	$24,563,279,087	$25,740,533,802	$26,321,620,082	$27,145,912,921	$27,731,575,572	$28,181,661,563	$29,093,396,612	$29,752,478,652	$29,931,244,847	$29,161,417,243	$29,821,976,185	$30,027,970,192	$31,534,640,901	$32,155,718,825	$33,929,444,133	$32,869,295,843	$33,670,156,109
Berks County	$764,183,985	$783,262,244	$814,526,859	$851,203,112	$898,955,343	$940,130,510	$1,001,150,290	$1,001,658,677	$1,056,476,347	$1,097,620,893	$1,082,323,134	$1,088,207,600	$1,116,636,139	$1,079,850,121	$1,188,780,018	$1,150,052,341	$1,215,992,868	$1,201,335,521	$1,227,524,469
Berks County Regions
Central
Northeast
South
Southeast
West
Reading city
Berks County Peers
Chester County	$961,482,328	$1,013,345,844	$1,073,976,599	$1,159,465,769	$1,211,132,257	$1,276,228,048	$1,340,959,487	$1,379,971,124	$1,459,612,082	$1,497,524,404	$1,502,286,233	$1,515,888,416	$1,580,350,238	$1,568,516,990	$1,694,383,035	$1,700,653,708	$1,613,257,622	$1,636,354,081	$1,688,075,559
Lancaster County	$800,990,778	$819,403,339	$850,837,037	$877,543,496	$889,477,500	$914,590,475	$973,856,222	$1,001,636,261	$1,047,372,866	$1,048,544,917	$1,040,710,309	$1,026,481,445	$1,055,002,754	$1,073,426,781	$1,126,590,805	$1,138,895,285	$1,189,762,497	$1,198,337,740	$1,221,488,065
Lebanon County	$199,688,884	$210,625,522	$210,272,322	$217,673,365	$225,964,346	$233,480,315	$250,467,296	$265,246,169	$270,768,728	$281,990,367	$264,358,007	$264,122,006	$278,662,891	$279,985,795	$280,754,044	$294,476,164	$305,355,543	$317,570,009	$314,891,685
Lehigh County	$548,493,020	$568,631,536	$588,180,277	$619,871,657	$650,645,370	$675,317,480	$706,482,282	$718,728,357	$758,857,618	$781,259,229	$799,878,111	$791,751,033	$799,526,736	$830,024,331	$861,824,818	$910,028,436	$948,782,445	$968,813,195	$1,009,579,558
Montgomery County	$1,565,169,566	$1,645,352,226	$1,731,371,108	$1,838,119,993	$1,887,753,537	$1,986,160,798	$2,023,408,562	$2,056,151,959	$2,117,601,052	$2,137,715,060	$2,128,517,735	$2,118,600,709	$2,151,652,490	$2,193,567,161	$2,289,611,057	$2,329,208,069	$2,548,725,082	$2,521,692,483	$2,554,122,638
Schuylkill County	$233,692,450	$243,620,960	$271,641,648	$247,517,302	$279,156,814	$267,053,222	$257,189,172	$261,399,471	$279,744,079	$301,033,822	$276,269,851	$304,880,084	$275,964,970	$296,907,090	$337,669,874	$325,937,775	$303,952,200	$314,990,540	$295,265,242

Source: Pennsylvania Department of Education
Notes: Figures are in constant 2019 dollars.

INDICATORS	TREND \| BERKS COUNTY
Adults Who are Overweight or Obese	Not Applicable
Students in K-6 Overweight or Obese	Not Applicable
Students in 7-12 Overweight or Obese	Not Applicable
Physically Inactive Adults	Not Applicable
Students Eligible for Free/Reduced Price Lunch	Increasing
Early Prenatal Care	Increasing
Early Prenatal Care by Mother's Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Children Living in Poverty	Increasing
Children Living in Poverty, by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Single-Parent Families	Increasing
Single-Parent Families by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Disengaged Youth	Decreasing
Live Births to Teen Mothers	Decreasing
Population by Age	Not Applicable
Children with Elevated Blood Lead Levels	Maintaining
Change in Population by Age and Gender	Not Applicable
Change in Total Population by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Households by type	Not Applicable
Foreign-Born Population	Increasing
Seniors Living Alone	Maintaining
Language Diversity	Increasing
Unemployment Rate	Decreasing
Change in Labor Force	Decreasing
Employment to Population ratio	Decreasing
Change in Jobs by Sector	Not Applicable
Sector Share of Total Jobs	Not Applicable
Average Salary by Sector	Not Applicable
Change in Average Salary by Sector	Not Applicable
People Entering/Leaving County/Region for Work	Not Applicable
Public Assistance	Maintaining
Spending for Local Governments	Maintaining
Spending for Counties	Maintaining
Spending for School Districts	Maintaining
Prekindergarten Participation	Increasing
English Language Learners	Increasing
Students Receiving Special Education Services	Increasing
Per Student Spending	Maintaining
High School Cohort Graduation Rate	Increasing
Education Levels of Adults	Not Applicable
Education Levels of Adults, by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Brain Drain/Gain	Maintaining
Plans of High School Graduates	Not Applicable
Enrollment in Local Colleges	Decreasing
Median Household Income	Maintaining
Median Household Income by Household Type	Not Applicable
Living Wage	Not Applicable
People Living in Poverty	Increasing
Working Poor	Maintaining
People Receiving Federal Food Assistance	Increasing
People Receiving Supplemental Security Income	Increasing
Health Status	Not Applicable
People Enrolled in Medicaid Managed Care	Increasing
People Without Health Insurance	Decreasing
Cancer Incidence	Decreasing
Prevalence of Mental Illness	Maintaining
Vacant Housing Units	Increasing
Homeownership Rates	Decreasing
Cost of Homeownership	Maintaining
Cost of Homeownership, by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Cost of Rent	Increasing
Cost of Rent, by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Single-Family Home Sales	Increasing
Median Single-Family Home Sale Price	Maintaining
Tourism Spending	Maintaining
Voter Registration Rate	Decreasing
Voter Participation Rate	Decreasing
Average Charitable Giving	Maintaining
Contributions as a Percentage of Income	Maintaining
Households With Internet Access	Not Applicable
Arts, Entertainment and Recreation Establishments	Maintaining
Toxic Chemical Releases	Decreasing
Violent Crimes	Maintaining
Property Crimes	Decreasing
Incarceration Rates	Maintaining
Drug Abuse Offenses	Increasing
Drug Abuse Arrests	Increasing
Protection from Domestic Abuse	Maintaining
Average Travel Time to Work	Increasing
Crashes Involving Alcohol	Decreasing
Households Without Vehicles	Decreasing

INDICATORS

TREND | BERKS COUNTY