Town of Reading Massachusetts Equity Dashboard
“Diversity is the landscape, inclusion is the path, equity is the destination.”
Data is a reflection of our history, illustrating the legacy of long-standing barriers and systemic inequity.
We count what we can measure, rather than what truly counts. Look beyond the fundamental limitation of these quantitative analyses and consider that behind every data point is a neighbor.
Our path to systemic equity is forged through intentional action: targeted policies, inclusive resource allocation, and diverse representation in our government and our schools.
Resident Diversity
Civic Inclusion
Raw Data
Town Population summary
Race and Ethnicity
Reading’s racial breakdown clearly shows that there is an absolute majority of White population in the town (~x% of the total population). Racial distribution: <x% are Black or African American, x% are American Indian and Alaska Native, ~x% are Asian, x% are some other race and x% are multiracial.
By ethnicity x% are Hispanic or Latino (of any race).
Source: ACS 5-Year Estimates 2022
Population Trends 2012-2022
Trends in Minority Population
There is now a collective impact of a diverse population that is now a permanent and growing pillar of Reading’s “Patriotic” landscape. The magic number of 30% mathematically signals that the town is transitioning from a “homogenous suburb” to a “pluralistic community.” Of note is the increase in residents identyfing as more than one race.
Place of Birth by Citizenship Status
| reading, MA: Citizenship and Origin Trends (2015–2023) | |||||||||||||||||
| All values (except Total Pop) expressed as a % of Total Town Population | |||||||||||||||||
| Year |
Total Residency
|
Total Pop |
Citizen (Naturalized)
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Not-Yet-Citizen
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born in MA | Foreign Born | Total Naturalized | Total Non-Cit | Europe | Asia | Africa | Oceania | LatAm | NoAm | Europe | Asia | Africa | Oceania | LatAm | NoAm | ||
| 2023 | 72.13 | 8.95 | 5.90 | 3.05 | 25,448 | 1.91 | 2.48 | 0.30 | 0.11 | 0.86 | 0.24 | 0.46 | 1.85 | 0.18 | 0.00 | 0.24 | 0.30 |
| 2022 | 73.95 | 8.52 | 5.59 | 2.93 | 25,415 | 1.44 | 2.70 | 0.26 | 0.07 | 0.85 | 0.26 | 0.52 | 1.82 | 0.19 | 0.00 | 0.26 | 0.13 |
| 2021 | 73.04 | 9.07 | 6.15 | 2.92 | 25,483 | 1.60 | 2.95 | 0.38 | 0.07 | 0.75 | 0.39 | 0.51 | 1.79 | 0.19 | 0.00 | 0.31 | 0.11 |
| 2019 | 74.33 | 8.24 | 5.94 | 2.30 | 25,132 | 1.85 | 2.80 | 0.19 | 0.00 | 0.72 | 0.39 | 0.65 | 1.10 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.33 | 0.22 |
| 2018 | 75.33 | 8.76 | 6.47 | 2.29 | 25,100 | 2.21 | 3.03 | 0.21 | 0.00 | 0.72 | 0.30 | 0.89 | 0.95 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.24 | 0.22 |
| 2017 | 75.07 | 8.77 | 5.68 | 3.09 | 25,769 | 2.06 | 2.40 | 0.27 | 0.00 | 0.73 | 0.22 | 1.03 | 1.73 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.24 | 0.09 |
| 2016 | 75.66 | 8.61 | 5.23 | 3.39 | 25,490 | 2.02 | 2.27 | 0.17 | 0.00 | 0.62 | 0.14 | 1.06 | 1.93 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.15 | 0.26 |
| 2015 | 75.20 | 8.87 | 5.39 | 3.47 | 25,357 | 1.80 | 2.49 | 0.45 | 0.00 | 0.54 | 0.11 | 0.93 | 1.70 | 0.06 | 0.00 | 0.53 | 0.24 |
Foreign Born Population (Census table = B05002)
Data is from US census ACS 5-year survey, constant percentage of foreign born population since 2015 (data prior is different format).
Reading’s foreign-born population at 16% is less than that in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area: 19.7% and equivalent to the rate in Massachusetts: 17.7%.
Suggesting the town has maintained a more stable demographic composition even as Massachusetts overall has experienced significant immigrant population growth over the past decade.
Year moved into reading
From 2000 to 2010 a significant ageing of reading’s popualtion was evident. 57% of residents moved to reading after 2010 concomitant with a drop in median age.
Income and Poverty
Table B06012 shows residents below the poverty line, it means their total household pre-tax cash income fell short of the uniform federal threshold required to sustain a family of their specific size during that 12-month survey period.
B06011 (Individual Median): The universe for Table B06011 is “Population 15 years and over with income”. This counts every single person over 15 who earned at least $1 in the last year. This includes part-time students, retirees, and low-wage workers, which typically pulls the median lower.
Age and Gender
NULLAge and Gender
The largest age group was 50-54 years (~9.00% of the total population), with the median age in reading town is 42.7 (compared to 38.8 nationwide) and town’s elderly or the senior population (over 65 age) was ~15% as compared to ~16% nationwide.
While every community is unique, when it comes to demographic composition there are many similarities from community to community. reading’s age typology type: School children and middle-aged adults. These topology communities tend to have higher proportions of school-aged children and adults in their 40s and 50s. While these communities have plenty of kids and established adults, they have very few young adults. There are 80 communities that match this profile.
https://mhpcenterforhousingdata.shinyapps.io/DataTown/
Age and Gender
The largest age group was 50-54 years (~9.00% of the total population), with the median age in reading town is 42.7 (compared to 38.8 nationwide) and town’s elderly or the senior population (over 65 age) was ~15% as compared to ~16% nationwide.
While every community is unique, when it comes to demographic composition there are many similarities from community to community. reading’s age typology type: School children and middle-aged adults. These topology communities tend to have higher proportions of school-aged children and adults in their 40s and 50s. While these communities have plenty of kids and established adults, they have very few young adults. There are 80 communities that match this profile.
https://mhpcenterforhousingdata.shinyapps.io/DataTown/
Population Disability
Age and Disability
reading’s elderly population (65+) currently makes up about 15% of the town. Unlike the general population, where disability rates are low (around 5% for those under 65), the disability rate for reading’s seniors is significantly higher and follows a sharp upward curve as residents enter their 70s and 80s. This reflects an aging-in-place population.
The most prevalent disability among reading seniors is Ambulatory Difficulty (difficulty walking or climbing stairs), affecting nearly 17% of the 65+ population. Exemplyfing a need to shift in our conversations from “disability as a minority issue” to “disability as an inevitable part of the reading lifecycle”.
Data from ACS 5-year surveys Tables S1810 (Subject Table) and B18101 (Base Table)
https://readingma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/16799/reading-Data-Slides_Priority-Topics_For-Client-Review-031023
This dashboard provides an overview of data as related to equity within the Town of reading MA. - Last Updated: 2026-08-28 - Data Sources: ACS surveys, DESE, Employee data - Contact: Town of reading DEI commission: deicomm@readingma.us - “when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure” - Goodhart’s Law