77+ US Reading Statistics 2024 (Surveys and Facts)

Report Highlights

70% of adults are reading at least one book a year.
About 48% of Americans‘ reading time is spent reading for pleasure.
The average American (15 years or older) spent 0.36 hours per day reading for pleasure in 2003, 0.32 hours per day in 2013, and 0.26 hours per day in 2022.
More time is alocated to reading on weekends, with the average time spent doing so in 2021 being 0.31 hours (18.6 minutes) compared to 0.26 hours (15.6 minutes) for weekdays.
The annual number of magazine readers has increased each year since 2012 (except for 2020 when it fell from 228.7 million in the year before to 221.9 million).
Children learn an average of 4,000 to 12,000 new words annually just by reading.

Reading Proficiency in the US

NAEP and The Nation’s Report Card

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is a national assessment program conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics to inform the US public of elementary and secondary education status.

The long-running initiative measures explicitly the academic achievement of American students in reading, mathematics, and science domains.

Comparing 2019 and 2022 NAEP Reading Scores

Percentile	4th-Grade Reading Scores		8th-Grade Reading Scores
Percentile	2019	2022	2019	2022
10th	168	162	213	209
25th	197	192	240	236
50th	225	222	266	263
75th	248	246	289	287
90th	266	266	309	307

NAEP results for grades 4 and 8 are reported at the state and district levels as The Nation’s Report Card.

Reading Statistics by States

State-specific summative assessment results show that some US states have lower reading proficiency than others. Alaska’s Literacy Blueprint 2023 noted that 80% of third-grade students in the state were not proficient in reading.
The state’s scores also hovered below the national average, with Alaska ranking 49th in fourth-grade reading and 46th in eighth-grade reading nationally in 2022, per The Nation’s Report Card.

You can find out more about literacy rates in the United States.

Proficiency in reading at the State level

State	NAEP Reading Assessment Results
	4th-Grade		8th-Grade
	2019	2022	2019	2022
Massachusetts	231	227	273	269
New Hampshire	224	223	268	263
North Dakota	221	218	263	258
Vermont	222	217	268	264
Minnesota	222	215	264	260
Maine	221	213	265	257
Montana	222	219	265	261
Iowa	221	218	262	260
Connecticut	224	219	270	264
Wisconsin	220	217	267	262
Kansas	219	215	263	256
New Jersey	227	223	270	270
South Dakota	222	218	263	262
Wyoming	227	225	265	261
Nebraska	222	219	264	259
Virginia	224	214	262	260
Washington	220	217	266	262
Ohio	222	219	267	262
Indiana	222	217	266	261
Colorado	225	223	267	263
Pennsylvania	223	219	264	259
Idaho	223	215	266	264
Oregon	218	210	264	257
Utah	225	221	267	265
Missouri	218	213	263	258
New York	220	214	262	262
Michigan	218	212	263	259
Delaware	218	208	260	253
North Carolina	221	216	263	256
Texas	216	214	256	255
Illinois	218	218	265	262
Maryland	220	212	264	259
Rhode Island	220	217	262	259
Kentucky	221	217	263	258
Oklahoma	216	208	258	251
Alaska	204	204	252	253
West Virginia	213	205	256	249
Florida	225	225	263	260
South Carolina	216	216	259	254
Georgia	218	216	262	260
Tennessee	219	214	262	258
Arkansas	215	212	259	255
Arizona	216	215	259	259
Nevada	218	212	258	259
Alabama	212	213	253	251
New Mexico	208	202	252	248
Hawaii	218	219	258	259
California	216	214	259	259
Louisiana	210	212	257	257
Mississippi	219	217	256	253

Source: NAEP Report Card

US Reading Scores Per Year

Per 2022 NAEP Reading Assessment highlights, 33.25% of fourth-graders and 30.80% of eighth-graders in the US have attained reading proficiency.

Here is a summary by year:

Changes in NAEP reading achievement-level results

Year	4th-grade reading scores	Percentage (%) of 4th graders proficient in reading	8th-grade reading scores	Percentage (%) of 8th graders proficient in reading
2003	216	31.46	261	32.22
2005	217	31.5	260	30.76
2007	220	33.09	261	31.23
2009	220	33.03	262	32.39
2011	220	33.71	264	33.5
2013	221	35.22	266	36.14
2015	221	36.11	264	34.31
2017	221	36.55	265	36.13
2019	219	35.34	262	33.58
2022	216	33.25	259	30.80

A study featured in the international peer-reviewed Psychological Medicine journal in June 2023 concluded that cultivating a habit of reading for pleasure in children at an early age (2 to 9 years) improves cognitive performance and mental well-being in their later adolescent years.

The cross-sectional and longitudinal study published by Cambridge University Press drew from data of slightly over 10,200 American adolescents. It determined the optimal amount of reading for pleasure for a young adult to be roughly 12 hours per week.

Reading Habits and Preferences in the US by Year

The global print book industry has seen a radical shift in the last few years, specifically in how books are formatted, distributed, and consumed.

The latter is a result of new-age consumers moving to online and digital media formats as their preferred option.

Still, print books have retained their relevance, cementing the forecast that they are unlikely to be replaced entirely.

Print is still the most popular book format, with at least two-thirds of US readers in any year reading a hardcopy.

Year	Percentage (%) of adults who have read a book in:
Year	Any format	Print	e-book	Audiobook
2011	78	72	17	11
2012	74	65	23	13
2014	76	69	28	14
2015	72	63	27	12
2016	73	65	28	14
2018	74	67	26	28
2019	72	65	25	20
2021	75	65	30	23

Source: 2021 survey results

Publishers Weekly data from Jan 2022 showed that print book unit sales have steadily risen since 2012, notwithstanding the shift to digital media consumption in the last decade. The upward trend peaked during the coronavirus pandemic, with sales going up from just under $760 million in 2019 to $843.10 million in 2021.
While the sales volume has been increasing, a contrasting trend has been observed in overall revenue from book sales.

US Print Book Industry Statistics – Bookstore Distribution, Sales and Revenue

Year	Volume of units sold ($ million) *	Revenue from book sales ($ billion)	No. of companies **	No. of locations
2012	591	30.9	1567	1900
2013	620	30.6	1632	1971
2014	635	30.5	1664	***
2015	653	31.3	1712	2227
2016	674	31.3	1775	2311
2017	686.9	31.2	1757	2321
2018	698.4	29.3	1835	2470
2019	693.7	27.8	1887	2524
2020	757.9	25.7	***	***
2021	843.1	27.9	1701	2100
2022	788.7	28.10	2023	2506
2023	***	***	2185	2599

* Data on book units sold and revenue sourced from Statista

** Data on independent bookstores sourced from Statista

*** Comparable data not available

The US book publishing industry generated $25.7 billion in net revenue in 2020 and $27.9 billion the following year.
Per the latest data, the US book publishing industry comprises 2,185 independent bookselling companies.
In 2020, the volume of bookstore sales in the US fell to $6.5 billion, the lowest figure recorded since 1992, as the pandemic detrimentally affected sales but recovered the following year.
US bookstore sales rose in 2021, totaling $8.47 billion, with preliminary estimates of $8.99 billion for 2022.
Globally, the surge in reading and book sales has continued manifesting, with the book market forecasted to exceed $163.9 billion by 2030.
In the US, forecasts show that by 2025, the book market is expected to generate more than $30 billion.

Reading and Technology

Though print remains the dominant book format among US readers even as of December 2022, book lovers have been embracing technology in their hobbies.

Audiobook and e-book alternatives have seen growing demand as consumers capitalize on the accessibility and convenience that they offer.

A December 2022 survey found that 50% of US book lovers read a paperback or hardcover book across the year, while 36% preferred e-books. Audiobooks appealed to just under a tenth of the respondents.
The share of adults who consume e-books and audiobooks has increased over the past decade from 23% and 13% for these categories in 2012 to 30% and 23% respectively in 2021. Meanwhile, the share of those who read print books has remained relatively steady between 65% to 69% during this period.
Revenue generated from audiobook sales rose from $1.3 billion in 2020 to $1.8 billion in 2022, while the average audiobook enthusiast listened to an average of 8.1 books in 2020, a notable increase from 6.8 books in 2019.
The preference for audiobooks is most notable among young readers compared to any other age group. 3 out of 10 young adult readers (18 to 29 years) listened to an audiobook in 2021. In comparison, only 1 out of 10 of readers aged 65 and older listened to an audiobook in the same period.

Socioeconomic Factors Affecting Reading – Age, Gender, Ethnicity, and Employment Status

A 2015 report from the National Endowment for the Arts found that the fraction of US adults who had read at least one work of literature in the previous year had dropped from 56% in 1992 to 46% in 2014.
The average time spent reading is directly correlated with employment status and the ability to spare time. Unemployed US adults spent the most hours reading between 2018 and 2021, followed by part-time and then full-time, per a Statista survey conducted in the US.

Employment as a factor affecting reading

Employment Status	Avg. time spent reading (hours)
Employment Status	2018	2019	2020	2021
Full-time	0.15	0.15	0.21	0.17
Part-time	0.26	0.27	0.24	0.24
Unemployed	0.42	0.44	0.52	0.42

Statista data shows Whites spent the most time on average reading in 2021, 0.3 hours, followed by Asians (0.28%), Blacks (0.16%), and Hispanics (0.10%).

Reading Statistics by Gender

Year	Reading time men	Reading time women	Daily average reading time (minutes)	Share of everyday men readers	Percentage of everyday women readers	Percentage of Americans who read every day	Average daily reading time for everyday readers
2012	15:36	22:48	19:48	17.50%	23.70%	20.70%	1:34:48
2013	15:36	22:48	19:12	17.30%	23.40%	20.50%	1:34:12
2014	16:12	22:12	19:12	18.00%	24.30%	21.30%	1:30:00
2015	16:12	22:12	19:12	18.20%	23.90%	21.10%	1:32:24
2016	15:00	19:48	17:24	17.00%	21.80%	19.50%	1:28:48
2017	13:12	19:48	16:48	15.20%	22.00%	18.70%	1:28:48
2018	14:24	17:24	15:36	16.20%	18.80%	17.50%	1:30:36
2019	13:48	18:36	16:12	16.00%	19.90%	18.00%	1:30:00
2021	13:48	19:12	16:48	14.70%	20.80%	17.90%	1:33:00

Adults aged 75 years or older are the most active in reading for pleasure, spending an average of 44 minutes per day in 2019.

Reading Statistics by Age

Year	Ages 15 to 24		Ages 25 to 54		Ages 55 to 64		Ages 65+
Year	Average time spent reading	Share of everyday readers within age group	Average time spent reading	Share of everyday readers within age group	Average time spent reading	Share of everyday readers within age group	Average time spent reading	Share of everyday readers within age group
2012	07:48	8.80%	12:00	15.40%	25:48	27.20%	48:36	42.60%
2013	10:48	12.00%	09:36	13.40%	25:12	27.30%	49:48	42.80%
2014	10:12	10.10%	10:12	15.00%	22:12	27.40%	49:12	43.90%
2015	09:00	10.00%	11:24	15.30%	22:12	25.50%	48:36	43.00%
2016	07:48	9.40%	09:36	13.70%	22:12	25.50%	40:48	38.30%
2017	07:12	8.50%	09:36	13.50%	18:00	22.70%	41:24	37.20%
2018	06:36	7.60%	08:24	11.70%	16:12	21.40%	41:24	36.90%
2019	06:36	8.80%	10:12	13.60%	16:48	19.60%	36:36	34.70%
2021	09:36	10.80%	10:48	13.10%	17:24	20.50%	34:12	31.80%

A 2019 study by the Pew Research Center found that 27% of US adults did not read a book in 2018. Findings from the survey also implied a strong correlation between literacy (education) levels and time spent reading. 44% of adults in the US with a high school degree or less who participated in the survey hadn’t read a book in the last 12 months, while 92% of college-educated adults said they read a book during the same period.

National Reading Statistics in the US vs other countries

The average person in the US reads at least a dozen books in a year, two fewer than the count for the average woman. This figure doesn’t paint the complete picture, though. On average, only 5.38 books are read to completion.
The median number of books read, i.e., book titles started and not necessarily completed per year across all populations, on the other hand, is four. The latter implies that half the country reads no more than 4 books in a 12-month period.
Compared to other regions, the US ranks 23rd in terms of the fraction of avid readers in the entire population.

Average time spent reading by country

Country	Hours spent reading per person per week	Country	Hours spent reading per person per week	Country	Hours spent reading per person per week
India	10.42	Saudi Arabia	06.48	Canada	05.48
Thailand	09.24	Hong Kong	06.42	Germany	05.42
China	08.00	Poland	06.30	United States of America	05.42
Philippines	07.36	Venezuela	06.24	Italy	05.36
Egypt	07.30	South Africa	06.18	Mexico	05.30
Czech Republic	07.24	Australia	06.18	United Kingdom	05.18
Russia	07.06	Indonesia	06.00	Brazil	05.12
Sweden	06.54	Argentina	05.54	Taiwan	05.00
France	06.54	Turkey	05.54	Japan	04.06
Hungary	06.48	Spain	05.48	Korea	03.06

In reading proficiency, the US ranks 17th globally behind Japan, South Korea, and Canada. Though the average reading level of adults in the US between 7^th and 8^th grade, more than half read below 6^th At the same time, roughly 1 in 5 US adults reads at or below the equivalent of 5^th grade level.

About Reading Statistics in the U.S.

Reading, as an exercise, involves comprehension of the language or mode of communication in use, extraction of meaning from the information conveyed and retention of the extracted ideas.

The art of reading is, as such, considered a taught skill that is acquired through exposure and perfected by practice.

Though the science of reading remains debatable, the activity is unquestionably a key aspect of learning and an essential part of literacy.

In addition to building language vocabulary and overall proficiency, reading helps unlock the mind by inspiring creativity, broadening thought horizons, and boosting imagination.

A report by the National Endowment for the Arts found that avid readers and those who generally enjoy reading for pleasure are likely to participate and contribute more to civic and social matters.
The average daily time spent reading for pleasure or personal interest in the US has been gradually declining, indicating lessening popularity of the habit.

Impact of The Pandemic on Reading

The pandemic hindered data collection by organizations, including the Bureau of Labor Statistics, resulting in a lack of verifiable comparable figures for the year in many aspects.

Books readership worldwide increased by roughly 35% during the pandemic as people globally took to indoor hobbies. The regional increase in the US was 25%.
A survey published by Statista in June 2020 found that 40% of millennials were likely to read more books at the time compared to 31% of Gen X and 34% of Gen Z.
Reading proficiency of first- through fourth-graders in the US slowed down at the onset of the pandemic due to the abrupt nationwide closure of schools. Second- and third-graders were significantly affected per a 2021 study by researchers at Stanford Graduate School of Education

Reading among Children – Impact and Benefits

Reading not only helps children acquire knowledge but also defines their academic development journey beyond childhood.

More than that, proficiency in reading is a requirement for matriculation at all levels of education, from elementary to university.

Newspaper Reading Statistics

Data on daily news consumption in the US as of August 2022 showed that only 5% of adults aged between 18 and 34 years read national newspapers (6% for local). Similarly, only 7% of adults aged between 35 and 44 read national newspapers (same share for local).
On the other hand, 19% of adults aged above 65 years read local newspapers, and 10% spend time reading national newspapers. This trend is also notable in other countries, including the UK, where senior citizens spend an average of 5 hours weekly compared to 2.4 hours/week for those under 25 years.
Press Gazette reported in June 2023 that the total circulation of the most tracked US newspapers nearly 15% in the 12-month period ending in March.
The Wall Street Journal ranked first in highest print circulation in the US for the six months to March 2023, averaging a weekday print circulation of 609,650. The New York Times ranked second with a daily print circulation of 296,330, ahead of third-place the Washington Post and New York Post, respectively.