Berks County, Pennsylvania
Berks County | |
|---|---|
Reading, the largest city in the county and fourth-largest in Pennsylvania, in October 2010 | |
Location within the U.S. state of Pennsylvania | |
Pennsylvania's location within the U.S. | |
| Coordinates: 40°25′N 75°56′W / 40.42°N 75.93°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| Founded | March 11, 1752 |
| Named after | Berkshire, England |
| Seat | Reading |
| Largest city | Reading |
| Area | |
• Total | 866 sq mi (2,240 km2) |
| • Land | 857 sq mi (2,220 km2) |
| • Water | 9.2 sq mi (24 km2) 1.1% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 428,849 |
| • Density | 495/sq mi (191/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Congressional districts | 4th, 6th, 9th |
| Website | www |
| Designated | May 12, 1982 |
Berks County (Pennsylvania Dutch: Barricks Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 428,849. The county seat is Reading, the fourth-most populous city in the state. The county is part of the South Central region of the commonwealth.
The county borders Lehigh County to its north, Schuylkill County to its north, Lebanon and Lancaster counties to its west, Chester County to its south, and Montgomery County to its east. The county is approximately 26 miles (42 km) southwest of Allentown, the state's third-largest city, and 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Philadelphia, the state's largest city.
The Schuylkill River, a 135-mile-long (217 km) tributary of the Delaware River, flows through Berks County. The county is part of the Reading, PA metropolitan statistical area (MSA), which in turn is part of the Greater Philadelphia metropolitan area known as the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD combined statistical area (CSA).