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City DNA · Pottstown, Pennsylvania

Pottstown
DNA

Schuylkill River borough at the crossroads of Route 100 and High Street

Source

Lancaster figures are drawn from Census ACS 2023, OpenStreetMap, PennDOT traffic counts and the Census Building Permits Survey, refreshed monthly. OpenStreetMap business coverage is community-maintained and can undercount some categories. Items marked Mock (comparable-district stories, some institution headcounts) are curated illustrations.

PeopleSource
  • City population
    ACS 2019–2023 5-year estimate, city limits (B01003).
    23,392people
  • Montgomery County population
    ACS 2019–2023 5-year estimate for the county (metro area proxy).
    861,225people
  • 5-year population growth
    ACS 2018 → 2023 5-year estimates (22,694 → 23,392).
    +3.1%
  • Median household income
    ACS 2019–2023 (B19013), 2023 inflation-adjusted dollars.
    $56,174
  • Per-capita income
    ACS 2019–2023 (B19301).
    $30,176
  • Median age
    ACS 2019–2023 (B01002).
    36.1years
  • Households
    ACS 2019–2023 (B11001).
    9,638
  • Employed residents (16+)
    Of 11,943 in the civilian labor force. ACS 2019–2023 (B23025).
    11,220
Household mixSource
  • Households earning $75k+
    ACS 2019–2023 microdata, 6,810 household records across 3 microdata areas.
    60%
  • Households under $35k
    ACS 2019–2023 microdata (HINCP).
    16.3%
  • Householders under 35
    ACS 2019–2023 microdata (AGEP for the householder).
    13.4%
  • One-person households
    ACS 2019–2023 microdata (NP = 1).
    23.8%
  • Average household size
    Weighted mean of the microdata sample.
    2.56people
Major industriesSource
  • Health care & social assistance
    1,896 employed residents. ACS 2019–2023 industry table C24030 (where residents work, by industry).
    16.9% of employed residents
  • Manufacturing
    1,717 employed residents. ACS 2019–2023 industry table C24030 (where residents work, by industry).
    15.3% of employed residents
  • Retail trade
    1,400 employed residents. ACS 2019–2023 industry table C24030 (where residents work, by industry).
    12.5% of employed residents
  • Professional, scientific & administrative
    1,015 employed residents. ACS 2019–2023 industry table C24030 (where residents work, by industry).
    9% of employed residents
  • Accommodation & food services
    814 employed residents. ACS 2019–2023 industry table C24030 (where residents work, by industry).
    7.3% of employed residents
  • Transportation & warehousing
    784 employed residents. ACS 2019–2023 industry table C24030 (where residents work, by industry).
    7% of employed residents
Fastest-growing sectorsSource
  • Social assistance
    17,327 employees across 673 establishments countywide. County Business Patterns 2019 → 2022.
    +26.1% jobs since 2019
  • Food and beverage stores
    14,251 employees across 409 establishments countywide. County Business Patterns 2019 → 2022.
    +15.7% jobs since 2019
  • Professional, scientific, and technical services
    49,526 employees across 3,700 establishments countywide. County Business Patterns 2019 → 2022.
    +9.4% jobs since 2019
  • Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers
    3,735 employees across 174 establishments countywide. County Business Patterns 2019 → 2022.
    +7.1% jobs since 2019
  • Repair and maintenance
    3,946 employees across 699 establishments countywide. County Business Patterns 2019 → 2022.
    +4.7% jobs since 2019
  • Health care and social assistance
    91,138 employees across 3,385 establishments countywide. County Business Patterns 2019 → 2022.
    +3.3% jobs since 2019
Housing & developmentSource
  • Residential units permitted (2025)
    0 single-family, 0 in 2+ unit buildings; $0M declared value. Census Building Permits Survey, annual place file.
    0units
  • Units permitted 2023–2025
    0% multifamily. 2025: 0, 2024: 0, 2023: 1.
    1units
  • Permit history
    Total residential units authorized per year, Census Building Permits Survey.
    2020: 0 · 2021: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2024: 0 · 2025: 0
  • Units in tracked major projects
    0 hand-curated projects from local news reporting (see growth layer). Not exhaustive.
    ~0units
Who is moving inSource
  • Annual arrivals into the county
    ACS 2018–2022 county-to-county migration flows, all origins.
    46,190people
  • In-migration rate
    46,190 arrivals per year against 861,225 residents.
    53.6per 1,000 residents
  • Share arriving from within the state
    28,086 people moved in from other Pennsylvania counties.
    61%
  • Top origins outside the state
    Largest non-state origins in the ACS flows table.
    New Jersey 2,842 · New York 2,221 · Asia 1,799
Income & hardshipSource
  • County poverty rate
    SAIPE 2023. Pennsylvania average is 11.9%.
    6.9%
  • Child poverty rate
    SAIPE 2023 county model estimate.
    7.9% under 18
  • County median household income
    SAIPE 2023, modelled county estimate.
    $106,780
Business ownershipSource
  • Employer firms in the county
    Annual Business Survey 2022. 586,526 employees and $43,562M in annual payroll.
    19,722
  • Women-owned firms
    Annual Business Survey 2022; self-reported ownership.
    3,71218.8% of firms
  • Minority-owned firms
    Annual Business Survey 2022; includes Hispanic-owned firms of any race.
    3,19616.2% of firms
  • Veteran-owned firms
    Annual Business Survey 2022.
    6253.2% of firms
  • Firms under 4 years old
    Annual Business Survey 2022 years-in-business series — how much room new entrants find in this market.
    1,9259.8% of firms
  • Firms 16+ years old
    Annual Business Survey 2022. A high share signals stable, long-held businesses.
    8,92445.2% of firms
Retail & restaurant environmentSource
  • Named businesses mapped
    OpenStreetMap features with a name and a commercial tag inside city limits. OSM coverage is community-maintained and under-counts offices and home businesses.
    180
  • Restaurants per 10k residents
    37 restaurants and fast food places in OSM ÷ ACS population.
    15.8
  • Independent share of businesses
    Businesses without a chain brand tag in OSM. Treats untagged chains as independent, so this is an upper bound.
    59%
  • Hotels & motels mapped
    OSM tourism=hotel/motel inside city limits.
    5
Business categories per capita vs. comparable-city median

What Pottstown has
a lot of

  • Automotive services282%
    City
    12.4
    Comparable
    4.4
  • General retail275%
    City
    15.4
    Comparable
    5.6
  • Home & hardware191%
    City
    2.6
    Comparable
    1.3
  • Recreation & sports191%
    City
    1.3
    Comparable
    0.7
  • Grocery171%
    City
    1.7
    Comparable
    1.0
  • Healthcare & pharmacy168%
    City
    4.7
    Comparable
    2.8

What Pottstown has
relatively little of

  • Coworking & flex office0%
    City
    0.0
    Comparable
    0.0
  • Coffee & cafés17%
    City
    0.4
    Comparable
    2.6
  • Apparel & accessories24%
    City
    0.4
    Comparable
    1.8
  • Specialty food & bakery28%
    City
    0.8
    Comparable
    3.0
  • Bars & breweries38%
    City
    2.1
    Comparable
    5.6
  • Arts, galleries & studios40%
    City
    1.3
    Comparable
    3.2

Under-represented categories are the starting point for the opportunity engine — not a conclusion on their own.

Commercial centers · business density

Where business concentrates

  • North End76 businesses · 7.7 per 1k residents
  • Downtown Pottstown43 businesses · 7.0 per 1k residents
  • West End31 businesses · 34.2 per 1k residents
  • East End28 businesses · 6.9 per 1k residents
  • Riverfront & Fifth Ward1 businesses · 0.6 per 1k residents
Emerging districts

Where the city is moving

Downtown Pottstown
walkable · historic storefronts · arts · independent retail
+19.6%
5-yr pop.
Closest cluster: Daily Errands Cluster — 5 of 5 components present.
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