County outline
Where Berks County is located
Area breakdown
Land accounts for 98.9% of Berks County’s measured area and water for 1.1%. Its combined area converts to 2,242.3 square kilometers or approximately 554,083 acres.
Green: land · blue: water
| Measurement | Square miles | Square kilometers | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land | 856.404 | 2,218.076 | 548,098.6 |
| Water | 9.351 | 24.219 | 5,984.6 |
| Total | 865.755 | 2,242.295 | 554,083.2 |
How Berks County compares
By original Census land area, Berks County ranks #19 of 67 in Pennsylvania and #973 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Its land area is 1.311 times the Pennsylvania county-equivalent median of 653.3 square miles. It accounts for 1.9% of the combined county land area in the state.
See the complete Pennsylvania ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?
Population and density of Berks County
The Census Bureau estimates that 440,072 people lived in Berks County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #171 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #9 of 67 in Pennsylvania. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 428,836, the population has grown by 11,236 (+2.6%), compared with +0.4% for Pennsylvania as a whole.
With 856.4 square miles of land, that is 514 people per square mile (198 per km²), placing Berks County #334 nationally for density and #12 in Pennsylvania. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Pennsylvania median is 137. Put another way, there are about 1.2 acres of land per resident.
| July 1 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | 428,651 | 429,671 | 432,214 | 435,061 | 438,379 | 440,072 |
| Change | — | +1,020 | +2,543 | +2,847 | +3,318 | +1,693 |
U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates. Estimates are revised each year and are not decennial census counts. Density divides the whole population by the whole county’s land area, so it describes an average, not how settlement is distributed within the county. Population sources and methods.
Cities and towns in Berks County
Berks County is divided into 73 municipalities and townships. In Pennsylvania, county subdivisions are local governments, and together they cover all of the county’s land and residents.
The most populous is Reading city, with 95,832 residents (21.8% of the county). The largest by land is Bethel township, at 42.2 mi², or 4.9% of the county’s land. Among those with at least 1,000 residents in 2020, Ontelaunee township grew fastest since then (+21.4%).
| County subdivision | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading cityCounty seat | 95,832 | +0.8% | 9.843 | 1.1% |
| Spring township | 28,873 | +1.7% | 18.4 | 2.1% |
| Exeter township | 26,069 | +2.4% | 24.2 | 2.8% |
| Muhlenberg township | 22,504 | +2.8% | 11.8 | 1.4% |
| Cumru township | 15,927 | +1.8% | 20.9 | 2.4% |
| Amity township | 13,585 | +1.7% | 18.1 | 2.1% |
| Wyomissing borough | 11,285 | +1.5% | 4.509 | 0.5% |
| Maidencreek township | 9,309 | +1.8% | 13.5 | 1.6% |
| Maxatawny township | 8,396 | +17.1% | 26.1 | 3% |
| South Heidelberg township | 7,942 | +3% | 13.8 | 1.6% |
| Robeson township | 7,805 | +3.4% | 33.9 | 4% |
| Lower Heidelberg township | 6,901 | +10.9% | 14.8 | 1.7% |
| Bern township | 6,780 | +1.8% | 19.3 | 2.3% |
| Longswamp township | 5,716 | +2.6% | 22.7 | 2.7% |
| Shillington borough | 5,542 | +1.3% | 0.999 | 0.1% |
Show the other 58 subdivisions
| Name | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colebrookdale township | 5,184 | +1.7% | 8.425 |
| Birdsboro borough | 5,161 | +1% | 1.324 |
| Lower Alsace township | 4,886 | +3.8% | 4.793 |
| Brecknock township | 4,670 | +1.3% | 17.7 |
| West Reading borough | 4,590 | +0.8% | 0.594 |
| Sinking Spring borough | 4,584 | +7.1% | 1.241 |
| Washington township | 4,569 | +2.7% | 14.1 |
| Caernarvon township | 4,561 | +7.8% | 8.864 |
| Hamburg borough | 4,551 | +6.1% | 1.887 |
| Laureldale borough | 4,352 | +1.9% | 0.81 |
| Boyertown borough | 4,333 | +1% | 0.773 |
| Centre township | 4,264 | +2.6% | 21.4 |
| Kutztown borough | 4,255 | +2.1% | 1.599 |
| Bethel township | 4,160 | +2.7% | 42.2 |
| Fleetwood borough | 4,094 | +1.2% | 1.044 |
| Ruscombmanor township | 4,077 | +2.1% | 13.7 |
| Union township | 4,047 | +4.2% | 23.4 |
| Alsace township | 3,937 | +2.8% | 12.2 |
| Douglass township | 3,874 | +5.6% | 12.6 |
| Oley township | 3,874 | +2.5% | 23.9 |
| Richmond township | 3,751 | +3.2% | 23.7 |
| Tilden township | 3,718 | +3.2% | 18.9 |
| Rockland township | 3,704 | +1.8% | 17 |
| Tulpehocken township | 3,703 | +8.2% | 23.5 |
| Greenwich township | 3,496 | +2.6% | 30.9 |
| Mount Penn borough | 3,269 | +0.9% | 0.409 |
| Earl township | 3,184 | +2.7% | 13.7 |
| Ontelaunee township | 3,157 | +21.4% | 8.67 |
| Hereford township | 3,127 | +4.9% | 15.3 |
| Kenhorst borough | 3,028 | +0.9% | 0.586 |
| Womelsdorf borough | 2,986 | +2.9% | 0.866 |
| Mohnton borough | 2,939 | +1% | 0.764 |
| Wernersville borough | 2,831 | +2.2% | 0.752 |
| Windsor township | 2,585 | +3.1% | 23 |
| Perry township | 2,524 | +2.3% | 18 |
| Jefferson township | 2,425 | +1.5% | 15.9 |
| Penn township | 2,307 | +7.1% | 18.5 |
| Robesonia borough | 2,181 | +7.4% | 0.891 |
| Topton borough | 2,062 | +0.9% | 0.693 |
| Leesport borough | 1,964 | +1.1% | 0.725 |
| Marion township | 1,962 | +6.9% | 15.1 |
| St. Lawrence borough | 1,962 | +1.1% | 0.898 |
| Upper Tulpehocken township | 1,904 | +2.4% | 23.2 |
| Heidelberg township | 1,770 | +1.7% | 14.3 |
| Albany township | 1,723 | +2.7% | 39.8 |
| Pike township | 1,632 | +1.9% | 14 |
| Upper Bern township | 1,613 | +2.3% | 17.7 |
| District township | 1,407 | +2.2% | 11.6 |
| Shoemakersville borough | 1,387 | +2.1% | 0.538 |
| North Heidelberg township | 1,263 | +2.7% | 13.5 |
| Bally borough | 1,243 | +1.7% | 0.513 |
| Bechtelsville borough | 888 | +1.4% | 0.528 |
| Bernville borough | 876 | +1% | 0.425 |
| Lyons borough | 444 | +0.9% | 0.356 |
| Centerport borough | 321 | +1.3% | 0.174 |
| Lenhartsville borough | 180 | +1.1% | 0.185 |
| New Morgan borough | 46 | 0% | 5.508 |
| Adamstown borough | 21 | 0% | 0.02 |
Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each subdivision inside Berks County. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer. How communities are listed.
Metropolitan area
Berks County is a central county of the Reading, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Berks County is the area’s only county equivalent, so the metro area has the same 856.4 square miles of land. By combined land it ranks #299 of 393 metropolitan areas, and #126 by population. It belongs to the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD Combined Statistical Area.
ZIP codes
64 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Berks County; 51 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.
17026170671708717555175691801118031180411805618062180701809219464195011950319504195051950619507195081951019511195121951619518195201952219523195251952619529195301953319534195351953619538195391954019541195431954419545195471955019551195541955519559195601956219564195651956719601196021960419605196061960719608196091961019611
ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are the Census Bureau’s approximations of USPS ZIP Code service areas, from the 2020 Census relationship files. Lighter codes have less than half of their land in this county. Post-office-box and single-address ZIP Codes have no tabulation area.
Counties bordering Berks County
Berks County shares a land border with 6 county equivalents. It has more land than 5 of them. The largest neighbor is Lancaster County (943.9 mi²) and the smallest is Lehigh County (345.3 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Berks County forms a block of 4,519.8 mi² of land, of which it holds 18.9%.
| Bordering county equivalent | Land mi² | Size vs. Berks | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lancaster County | 943.9 | 1.1× larger | Compare |
| Schuylkill County | 778.8 | 1.1× smaller | Compare |
| Chester County | 750.6 | 1.1× smaller | Compare |
| Montgomery County | 482.9 | 1.8× smaller | Compare |
| Lebanon County | 361.8 | 2.4× smaller | Compare |
| Lehigh County | 345.3 | 2.5× smaller | Compare |
How big is Berks County compared with U.S. states?
Berks County has less land than any of the 50 states. Rhode Island, the smallest state by land area, has 1,033.9 mi², about 1.2 times as much. Pennsylvania’s county land could hold about 52 areas the size of Berks County.
Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 29.3 miles (47.1 km) on each side. Real county shapes are rarely square, so this is a scale reference rather than a width or driving distance.
State figures are the sums of each state’s county-equivalent land measurements in the same Census release, so states and counties are compared on the same basis. Published state totals can differ slightly because of rounding. Compare all states · Counties bigger than entire states.
What stands out about Berks County?
Berks County has more land than 2,249 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.
A median is the middle county-equivalent measurement, not the average of the largest and smallest. All three bars use the same linear scale. Very small areas may appear as a thin sliver; the labels retain their values.
Does including water change its rank?
Using land plus water places Berks County at #1,052 nationally by total area, 79 places farther from the top than its land rank. Other county equivalents gain more area when their water measurements are included.
Its water share is 1.1%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2%. The two percentages are within 0.1 percentage points of each other. This describes the statistical geography’s land/water mix, not flood exposure or developable land.
Closest positions in the national land ranking
These entries sit immediately beside Berks County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.
| Land rank | County equivalent | Land mi² | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| #972 | Polk County, Arkansas | 856.8 | Compare |
| #973 | Berks County, Pennsylvania | 856.4 | This county |
| #974 | Robertson County, Texas | 855.2 | Compare |
Calculated from the same Census release as the area table. Total-area order uses original ALAND + AWATER; water shares and chart labels use published square miles. Calculation details.
Representative coordinates
The Census internal point is 40.413538, -75.927085. It represents a location inside the geography; it is not necessarily the centroid or the address of a courthouse.
Source and precision
U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files, Counties. Original ALAND: 2,218,077,232 m²; AWATER: 24,220,131 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.
Common questions
How big is Berks County?
Berks County, Pennsylvania has 856.4 square miles (2,218.1 km²) of land and 9.351 square miles of water, for a total area of 865.8 square miles. It ranks #973 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.
Is Berks County the largest county in Pennsylvania?
No. Berks County ranks #19 of 67 in Pennsylvania by land area. The largest is Lycoming County, with 1,228.9 square miles of land.
What counties border Berks County?
Berks County shares a land border with Schuylkill County, Lehigh County, Lebanon County, Lancaster County, Montgomery County, and Chester County.
What is the population of Berks County?
The Census Bureau estimates Berks County had 440,072 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #171 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 514 people per square mile of land.
What is the county seat of Berks County?
The county seat of Berks County is Reading.
What cities and towns are in Berks County?
Berks County has 73 county subdivisions (cities, towns and townships). The most populous five are Reading city, Spring township, Exeter township, Muhlenberg township, and Cumru township.
Is Berks County part of a metropolitan area?
Yes. It is a central county of the Reading, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area.
How many ZIP codes are in Berks County?
64 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Berks County, and 51 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.
How does Berks County compare with U.S. states?
It has less land than every state. Rhode Island, the smallest, has 1.2 times as much land.
How many acres of land are in Berks County?
The land measurement converts to approximately 548,099 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 554,083 acres. One square mile equals 640 acres.
Why might another source show a different area?
Check whether it reports land or total area, its Census vintage, and its rounding. Our guide explains how to reconcile county area figures.
Can this establish a property boundary?
No. Statistical measurements and generalized maps do not establish property lines. Consult the relevant local surveying or land-records authority.