Reading is a medium-sized town located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 25,205 people and four associated neighborhoods, Reading is the 77th largest community in Massachusetts. Reading home prices are not only among the most expensive in Massachusetts, but Reading real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.Reading is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 91.58% 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 (15.25%), business and financial occupations (13.35%), and teaching (9.18%). 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. A relatively large number of people in Reading telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 22.21% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. 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 is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Reading, the average commute to work is 31.89 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average. On the other hand, local public transit is widely used in the town, so leaving the car at home and taking transit is often a viable alternative. Like elsewhere in America, most people in Reading use a private automobile to get to work. But notably, a substantial number of Reading‘s citizens do make use of public transit in their daily commute, primarily riding the train. This helps more people get to work with less air pollution, and require fewer highways to get them there.If knowledge is power, Reading is a pretty powerful place. 64.65% 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 $66,745, which is upper middle income relative to Massachusetts, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $266,980 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.
