2026 Compare Cities Economy:
Columbia, MO vs Reading, PA

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Highlights
- Household income in Reading, is 33% less than it is in Columbia and is 78% below the National Average.
- Columbia unemployment rate is 3.0%.
- Reading unemployment rate is 14.8%.
 Columbia, MOReading, PAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock14.8%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock0.6%1.6%
 Future Job Growth26.8%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes8.0%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock6.5%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$32,784  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$38,738$69,021
 Family Median Income$88,210  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Columbia, MOReading, PAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock20.6%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K4.4%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock14.3%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K9.2%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock8.6%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K6.8%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock8.8%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K11.5%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock8.3%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K5.7%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock1.3%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Columbia, MOReading, PAUnited States
 Management, business, finance15.3%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock1.7%6.5%
 Community, social services2.7%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock0.2%1.2%
 Education, library10.9%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock1.2%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology9.7%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock6.9%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.4%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock6.7%5.4%
 Building maintenance2.3%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.7%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support19.4%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock2.9%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair4.2%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock31.2%13.1%
Reviews for Columbia    41 Reviews

If you are an active person and love to be outdoors and go to college sporting events, Columbia is a great place to live! I run and bike and go to Mizzou events a lot. I  More

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Over 5 years ago

I've live in CoMo for 20 yrs. NOT sure about this state of the art water park??!! There are great parks but nothing else for families. NO zoo, museum, and definitely no  More

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I lived there for a year and hated every minute. Columbia reminded me of the San Francisco of the Midwest. It is overrun with homeless people. Law enforcement is  More

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Reviews for Reading    15 Reviews

Over 11 years ago

Having lived in Reading in the 1960's and early 1970's I can definitely say the city has gone downhill as it has in reality been a victim of two major forces; first  More

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Over 12 years ago

Berks County is beautiful in the fall. Cool, crisp air and the trees are a pallet of  More

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Over 13 years ago

Well to start, in the past 8 years ive lived in 7 states, some pros and cons. Tucson I loved in all respects except its not as nice as living in a small town but it  More

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