Berks County, Pennsylvania

Berks County is a located in the  of. As of the, the population was 373,638. Its is. Berks County is part of the Reading, PA and as of 2005, is also considered part of the.

History
Reading developed during the when the inhabitants of northern  sent several petitions requesting that a separate county be established. With the help of, the county was formed on , from parts of , Lancaster County, and  and named after 's family home of ,. Berks County began much larger than it is today. The northwestern parts of the county went to the founding of in 1772 and  in 1811, when it reached its current size. In 2005, Berks County was added to the due to a fast-growing population and close proximity to the other Delaware Valley counties.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 2,242 (866 ). 2,224 km² (859 sq mi) of it is land and 18 km² (7 sq mi) of it (0.78%) is water.

Adjacent counties

 * (north)
 * (northeast)
 * (southeast)
 * (south)
 * (southwest)
 * (west)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 373,638 people, 141,570 households, and 98,532 families residing in the county. The was 168/km² (435/sq mi). There were 150,222 housing units at an average density of 68/km² (175/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county in 2004 was 82.5%, 4.6% or , 0.2% , 1.2% , 0.02% , 6.3% from , and 1.2% from two or more races. Hispanics/Latinos made up 11.8%. 35.1% were of, 8.6% , 7.1% , 6.8% and 5.4%  ancestry according to. Historically there was a large population and it is known as a part of.

There were 141,570 households out of which 31.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.50% were living together, 9.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.40% were non-families. 24.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the county, the population was spread out with 24.60% under the age of 18, 8.80% from 18 to 24, 28.90% from 25 to 44, 22.60% from 45 to 64, and 15.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 95.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.70 males.

Politics
As of, there are 236,726 registered voters in Berks County.


 * : 104,976 (44.35%)
 * : 97,148 (41.04%)
 * Other Parties: 34,602 (14.62%)

Municipalities
Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities:, , townships, and, in at most two cases,. The following cities, boroughs and townships are located in Berks County:

Unincorporated or Census-designated places
s are geographical areas designated by the for the purposes of compiling demographic data. They are not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law. Other unincorporated communities, such as villages, may be listed here as well.

Colleges and universities




Private High Schools

 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 

Notable residents

 * , from Pennsylvania, resided in Berks County.
 * , governor of 1820-1823
 * , Illustrator, Author and Artist, lived in Boyertown from 1948 until his death in 2006.
 * , American writer, born 1932.
 * , American writer, born 1932.

Recreation
There are 2 in Berks County.
 * is south of on land once owned by  a prominent Reading businessman and Pennsylvania environmentalist.
 * a former that straddles the Berks and Chester County line.