Economic growth booming in Reading

The 2024 Good Growth for Cities report assessed the economic wellbeing of 51 of the UK’s largest cities. Carried out by PwC/DEMOS, the research considered a set of measures aside from traditional indicators to give a complete picture of economic growth in each area.

Reading was the only Berkshire city included in the rankings, with strong performance in a number of categories including income, health, skills, environment and safety:

·       Health: 3rd for life expectancy

·       Income: 3rd for disposable household income

·       Environment: 3rd for lowest carbon emissions per £1 of GVA

·       Safety: 8th for safety, based on rates of violence, weapon, and drug offences

·       Skills: 9th for the proportion of the population holding A Level or equivalent qualifications

Other factors which were assessed included jobs, work-life balance, housing, travel-to-worktimes, income equality, high street vitality, environmental performance and business start ups.

The report also identified Reading as one of the UK’s top-performing cities in terms of both current economic wellbeing and future growth potential. Encouragingly Reading is forecast to secure one of the highest economic growth rates in 2025, performing ahead of the other top performing cities - Plymouth, Bristol, Southampton and Swindon.

Reading has offered a strong draw for successful and growing businesses and skilled professionals in recent years – helped by the area’s robust economy and exceptional transport links including the Elizabeth Line. There port’s comprehensive approach, which takes into account how a number of factors can impact economic strength, provides a clear picture of what Reading has to offer the business community.

The 51 cities which were considered in the report were located across the UK, and typically have populations of more than 350,000. In 2023 Reading was placed tenth in the Good Growth for Cities Index.

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