Reading is a medium-sized town located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 25,428 people and four associated neighborhoods, Reading is the 77th largest community in Massachusetts. Housing costs in Reading are among some of the highest in the nation, although real estate prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive communities in Massachusetts.Reading is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 92.59% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Reading is a town of professionals, managers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Reading who work in management occupations (16.41%), business and financial occupations (13.12%), and teaching (9.25%). Also of interest is that Reading has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 27.70% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. In addition, Reading is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates". Urban sophisticates are educated, wealthy, executives and professionals, who have urbane tastes in books, food, and travel, whether they actually live in a big city, or choose to reside in a small town. In big or medium-sized cities, urban sophisticates tend to frequent art institutions such as opera, symphonies, ballet, live theatre, and museums. Because of many things, Reading is a great place for families with children to consider. First of all, many other families with children live here, making Reading a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families, as well as find family-oriented services and community. The town’s good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic values. With regard to real estate, Reading has a high rate of owner-occupied single family homes, which tends to reflect stability in the local community. Finally, Reading’s overall crime rate is lower than average for the country. One downside of living in Reading, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 31.18 minutes every day commuting to work. However, local public transit is widely used. For those who would prefer to avoid driving entirely and leave their car at home, it may be an option to use the transit instead. Although the majority of commuting trips in the town are by private automobile, Reading is somewhat unusual for a town of its size for having a substantial number of people who use public transportation. For a lot of people, the train helps to get to and from their jobs every morning, which benefits everyone in the Reading area by reducing both traffic and air pollution.If knowledge is power, Reading is a pretty powerful place. 65.08% of the adults in Reading have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns. The per capita income in Reading in 2022 was $71,474, which is upper middle income relative to Massachusetts, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $285,896 for a family of four. Reading is a somewhat ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Reading home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Reading residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Reading include Irish, Italian, English, German, and French Canadian. The most common language spoken in Reading is English. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese and Langs. of India.
