Reading, PA (District 3 / Alvernia University)

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 District 3 / Alvernia University neighborhood in Reading are lower-middle income, making it a below average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's research shows that this neighborhood has an income lower than 75.5% of U.S. neighborhoods. With 12.3% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 55.4% of U.S. neighborhoods.

What we choose to do for a living reflects who we are. Each neighborhood has a different mix of occupations represented, and together these tell you about the neighborhood and help you understand if this neighborhood may fit your lifestyle.

In the District 3 / Alvernia University neighborhood, 43.0% 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 executive, management, and professional occupations, with 24.2% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (21.4%), and 11.4% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.

Languages

The most common language spoken in the District 3 / Alvernia University neighborhood is English, spoken by 60.3% of households. Some people also speak Spanish (37.0%).

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 District 3 / Alvernia University neighborhood in Reading, PA, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Puerto Rican (19.0%). There are also a number of people of German ancestry (12.4%), and residents who report Dominican roots (8.8%), and some of the residents are also of Italian ancestry (8.4%), along with some Irish ancestry residents (5.4%), among others. In addition, 20.5% of the residents of this neighborhood were born in another country.

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 District 3 / Alvernia University neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (52.9% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.

Here most residents (66.0%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors to get to work (20.9%) and 8.7% of residents also hop out the door and walk to work 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.