Berks Vital Signs

Berks County residents rely heavily on personal automobiles to commute, travel and run errands. The vast majority commute to work by driving alone, with an average travel time of 25 minutes. However, about 1 in 10 households lack access to a vehicle. There were 10 alcohol-related crashes per 10,000 residents in 2016, higher than the statewide rate.

Commuting patterns reflect the transportation choices available to workers in a region. This can affect residents’ access to jobs and public services. These patterns also impact environmental and transportation planning in a region. In 2013-17, 83% of Berks County residents drove to work alone, 10% carpooled, 2% used public transit, and 5% biked, walked or used other means of transportation. These commuting patterns have not changed since 2000. Slightly more people used public transportation at the state and national levels.

Travel time to work is another reflection of transportation options, as well as the availability of desirable and affordable housing near employers. In 2013-17, Berks County’s average travel time of 25 minutes was up 3 minutes from 2000. This was still slightly less than the statewide and U.S. average.

Access to a vehicle can have a major impact on a person’s ability to work, conduct daily errands such as grocery shopping and get involved in civic life. In 2013-17, 8% of households in Berks County lacked access to a vehicle, down 3 percentage points since 2000. This was lower than Pennsylvania and similar to the nation.

Alcohol-related crashes are preventable, and they cost millions of dollars in health care, legal services and lost worker productivity. The county’s 2018 alcohol-related crash rate of 8.7 per 10,000 was down 36% from 14 per 10,000 in 2000, but has been flat since 2009. This was higher than the statewide rate of 7.7 crashes per 10,000 residents.

Transportation Indicators

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INDICATORS	TREND \| BERKS COUNTY
Early Prenatal Care	Increasing
Early Prenatal Care by Mother's Race/Ethnicity	Increasing
Children Living in Poverty	Increasing
Children Living in Poverty, by Race/Ethnicity	Maintaining
Single-Parent Families	Increasing
Single-Parent Families by Race/Ethnicity	Decreasing
Disengaged Youth	Maintaining
Live Births to Teen Mothers	Decreasing
Change in Population by Age and Gender	Maintaining
Change in Total Population by Race/Ethnicity	Increasing
Population by Age and Race/Ethnicity	Decreasing
Foreign-Born Population	Increasing
Language Diversity	Increasing
Unemployment Rate	Decreasing
Change in Labor Force	Increasing
Employment to Population ratio	Increasing
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	Increasing
Public Assistance	Maintaining
Spending for Local Governments	Maintaining
Spending for Counties	Maintaining
Spending for School Districts	Maintaining
Quality Early Childhood Centers	Not Applicable
Prekindergarten Participation	Increasing
Students Eligible for Free/Reduced Price Lunch	Increasing
English Language Learners	Increasing
Students Receiving Special Education Services	Increasing
Per Student Spending	Maintaining
Historically Underperforming Student Performance on Grade 3 English	Decreasing
Historically Underperforming Student Performance on Grade 3 Math	Increasing
Historically Underperforming Student Performance on Grade 8 English	Increasing
Historically Underperforming Student Performance on Grade 8 Math	Decreasing
Student Performance on High School English	Decreasing
Student Performance on High School Math	Increasing
High School Cohort Graduation Rate	Increasing
Education Levels of Adults, by Race/Ethnicity	Maintaining
Brain Drain/Gain	Increasing
Plans of High School Graduates	Increasing
Median Household Income	Maintaining
Median Household Income by Household Type	Maintaining
Living Wage	Maintaining
People Living in Poverty	Increasing
Working Poor	Maintaining
People Receiving Federal Food Assistance	Increasing
People Enrolled in Medicaid Managed Care	Increasing
People Without Health Insurance	Decreasing
Physically Inactive Adults	Not Applicable
Adults Who are Overweight or Obese	Not Applicable
Students in 7-12 Overweight or Obese	Increasing
Vacant Housing Units	Increasing
Homeownership Rates	Decreasing
Housing Affordability for Homeowners	Maintaining
Housing Affordability for Homeowners by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Housing Affordability for Renters	Increasing
Housing Affordability for Renters, by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Age of Housing Stock	Decreasing
Single-Family Home Sales	Increasing
Median Single-Family Home Sale Price	Maintaining
Tourism Spending	Maintaining
Voter Registration Rate	Decreasing
Voter Participation Rate	Increasing
Average Charitable Giving	Maintaining
Contributions as a Percentage of Income	Maintaining
Households With Internet Access	Increasing
Dams	Not Applicable
Violent Crimes	Maintaining
Property Crimes	Decreasing
Incarceration Rates	Maintaining
Drug Abuse Offenses	Increasing
Drug Abuse Arrests	Increasing
Protection from Domestic Abuse	Maintaining
Means of Transportation to Work	Maintaining
Average Travel Time to Work	Increasing
Crashes Involving Alcohol	Decreasing
Households Without Vehicles	Decreasing