Reading, PA vs Bethlehem, PA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Summary
Reading spends 12.9% more per capita than Bethlehem ($1,860/person difference). Bethlehem, PA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (A, 88/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Property Tax | $47 | $1 |
| Sales Tax | $60 | $405 |
| Income Tax | $956 | $308 |
| Intergovernmental | $767 | $3,237 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,742 | $3,296 |
| Other | $6,157 | $3,969 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $256 | $1,642 |
| Highways & Roads | $92 | $668 |
| Public Welfare | $1,502 | $1,218 |
| Health | $180 | $187 |
| Hospitals | $672 | $526 |
| Parks & Recreation | $826 | $634 |
| Housing | $4,415 | $2,229 |
| Sewerage | $0 | $68 |
| Utilities | $3,304 | $2,000 |
| Other | $5,080 | $5,296 |
Compare More Cities
The side-by-side above pulls the the Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances data for both entity A and entity B. What follows is the interpretation — which specific axes carry the most weight for entity A versus entity B, and which differences are large enough to influence a real decision.
Practical use of the comparison: read the data above, then drill into the individual entity A and entity B detail pages for the underlying breakdown. A pairwise comparison answers the relative question; the per-entity pages answer the absolute question.
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.