The percentage of the voting-age population (18 and over) that is registered to vote.
Voting is a basic right of all citizens. Registration indicates the citizenry's interest, commitment and belief in the value of participating in our political process.
In 2018, 76% of voting-age Berks County residents were registered to vote, less than the 84% in Pennsylvania as a whole. The county's voter registration rate was up 2 percentage points since 2000, a larger increase than the statewide rate during the same period.
Among neighboring counties, Lancaster and Lebanon had voter registration rates in 2018 that were similar to Berks. Rates were higher in Lehigh (82%), Montgomery (88%) and Chester (89%). Only Schuylkill was lower, at 75%. Since 2000, Lebanon's voter registration rate increased 4 percentage points, while Lancaster, Lehigh and Schuylkill had smaller increases of 2 percentage points. Registration in Chester declined 3 percentage points while Montgomery dropped by 2 points.
Comparable national data are not available.
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| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 83% | 83% | 83% | 81% | 88% | 84% | 85% | 83% | 89% | 86% | 85% | 82% | 85% | 82% | 82% | 80% | 86% | 83% | 84% |
| Berks County | 75% | 76% | 75% | 73% | 80% | 80% | 78% | 78% | 84% | 79% | 80% | 76% | 79% | 78% | 77% | 75% | 81% | 77% | 76% |
| Berks County Regions | |||||||||||||||||||
| Central | |||||||||||||||||||
| Northeast | |||||||||||||||||||
| South | |||||||||||||||||||
| Southeast | |||||||||||||||||||
| West | |||||||||||||||||||
| Reading city | |||||||||||||||||||
| Berks County Peers | |||||||||||||||||||
| Chester County | 91% | 87% | 87% | 87% | 95% | 83% | 84% | 81% | 89% | 88% | 88% | 84% | 88% | 86% | 86% | 82% | 89% | 87% | 89% |
| Lancaster County | 78% | 78% | 78% | 78% | 86% | 80% | 80% | 80% | 85% | 81% | 81% | 76% | 79% | 77% | 77% | 76% | 82% | 78% | 80% |
| Lebanon County | 74% | 72% | 70% | 71% | 77% | 76% | 76% | 76% | 82% | 81% | 81% | 76% | 78% | 77% | 77% | 76% | 81% | 78% | 79% |
| Lehigh County | 80% | 81% | 82% | 74% | 80% | 80% | 80% | 79% | 85% | 84% | 82% | 79% | 83% | 80% | 80% | 78% | 84% | 81% | 82% |
| Montgomery County | 90% | 86% | 87% | 87% | 96% | 91% | 91% | 91% | 96% | 94% | 94% | 86% | 88% | 86% | 86% | 84% | 90% | 86% | 88% |
| Schuylkill County | 73% | 75% | 75% | 74% | 78% | 79% | 78% | 77% | 80% | 79% | 75% | 72% | 73% | 72% | 72% | 72% | 76% | 74% | 75% |
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 7,781,997 | 7,773,541 | 7,835,775 | 7,688,295 | 8,366,663 | 8,073,337 | 8,182,876 | 8,112,998 | 8,755,588 | 8,473,823 | 8,478,509 | 8,168,254 | 8,508,015 | 8,223,473 | 8,251,050 | 8,073,175 | 8,722,977 | 8,435,015 | 8,549,048 |
| Berks County | 210,944 | 216,852 | 215,040 | 211,811 | 235,166 | 238,697 | 237,355 | 238,188 | 259,102 | 247,228 | 252,248 | 240,843 | 250,356 | 247,453 | 246,433 | 240,766 | 259,800 | 249,788 | 248,719 |
| Berks County Regions | |||||||||||||||||||
| Central | |||||||||||||||||||
| Northeast | |||||||||||||||||||
| South | |||||||||||||||||||
| Southeast | |||||||||||||||||||
| West | |||||||||||||||||||
| Reading city | |||||||||||||||||||
| Berks County Peers | |||||||||||||||||||
| Chester County | 293,425 | 282,669 | 288,722 | 292,684 | 324,747 | 290,269 | 300,832 | 292,265 | 325,692 | 327,936 | 332,031 | 320,604 | 337,822 | 331,893 | 335,581 | 325,158 | 354,459 | 346,137 | 358,230 |
| Lancaster County | 269,874 | 272,598 | 274,504 | 278,806 | 312,878 | 293,573 | 299,487 | 303,184 | 326,501 | 313,654 | 317,635 | 301,562 | 314,567 | 307,481 | 311,498 | 309,581 | 335,791 | 320,884 | 330,605 |
| Lebanon County | 68,415 | 66,711 | 65,334 | 66,721 | 73,618 | 73,247 | 74,985 | 76,187 | 82,440 | 82,894 | 83,838 | 78,909 | 81,476 | 80,026 | 80,717 | 80,183 | 86,878 | 84,092 | 85,883 |
| Lehigh County | 189,278 | 194,337 | 197,473 | 181,059 | 197,797 | 200,739 | 205,754 | 205,974 | 224,029 | 223,051 | 219,772 | 214,881 | 226,453 | 217,992 | 219,898 | 216,439 | 236,081 | 227,294 | 233,941 |
| Montgomery County | 514,214 | 496,089 | 507,311 | 513,063 | 564,958 | 540,151 | 543,939 | 546,614 | 584,396 | 576,927 | 583,229 | 532,726 | 551,105 | 541,723 | 545,605 | 536,061 | 577,418 | 555,513 | 571,058 |
| Schuylkill County | 87,237 | 88,485 | 88,656 | 87,300 | 91,571 | 92,042 | 92,136 | 91,577 | 94,105 | 93,752 | 88,399 | 84,632 | 86,316 | 84,642 | 84,344 | 82,637 | 87,989 | 85,062 | 86,007 |
| INDICATORS | TREND | BERKS COUNTY |
|---|---|
| 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 |
Increasing
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