Two in five American adults (40%) did not read a single book in 2025, according to YouGov’s December 2025 survey. Among those who did read, the median American finished just 2 books, while the mean of 8 was inflated by a small group of heavy readers: the top 19% of adults account for 82% of all books read. Pew Research Center’s October 2025 survey is more generous in framing, finding 75% of adults read all or part of at least one book in the past year, but the direction of travel is clear across every serious dataset. This analysis consolidates data from Pew Research Center, YouGov, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Circana BookScan, the Audio Publishers Association, and 7 other primary sources to map who reads, what formats they choose, and why reading keeps losing ground to screens.
TL;DR
- 75% of U.S. adults read all or part of at least one book in the past 12 months (Pew Research Center, Book Reading Survey 2025).
- 40% of Americans read zero books in 2025; the median reader finished 2 (YouGov, Reading and Books 2025).
- Daily reading for pleasure fell from 28% of adults in 2004 to 16% in 2023 (iScience, American Time Use Survey analysis 2025).
- Americans spent an average of 17 minutes a day reading for personal interest in 2024 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, American Time Use Survey 2024).
- 64% read a print book last year, versus 31% e-books and 26% audiobooks (Pew Research Center, 2025).
- U.S. print book unit sales reached 762.4 million in 2025, up 0.3% (Circana BookScan via Publishers Weekly).
- U.S. audiobook sales grew 9% to $2.43 billion in 2025 (Audio Publishers Association, 2026).
- Just 32.7% of UK children aged 8 to 18 said they enjoy reading in their free time, a 20-year low (National Literacy Trust, 2025).
- 43% of Americans say reading is low on their priority list (Ipsos/NPR, February 2025).
- U.S. public libraries logged over 800 million visits in fiscal 2023 (Institute of Museum and Library Services, 2025).
1. The Big Picture: How Much America Actually Reads
The headline number depends entirely on how you ask the question. Pew’s “all or part of a book” framing produces a reassuring 75%, but YouGov’s stricter count of completed books shows a country split roughly in half between readers and non-readers. The most revealing figure is concentration: the 4% of adults who read 50 or more books account for 46% of all reading, meaning national averages describe almost nobody. The gap between the mean (8) and median (2) is the whole story.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. adults who read all or part of >=1 book in past 12 months | 75% | Pew Research Center, 2025 |
| Americans who read at least one book in 2025 | 59% | YouGov, 2025 |
| Americans who read zero books in 2025 | 40% | YouGov, 2025 |
| Median books read per American in 2025 | 2 | YouGov, 2025 |
| Mean books read per American in 2025 | 8 | YouGov, 2025 |
| Share of all 2025 reading done by the top 19% of adults | 82% | YouGov, 2025 |
| Average books/year, Gallup’s most recent reading poll | 12.6 | Gallup, 2021 (most recent available) |
Note the methodology divergence: YouGov’s 2025 mean of 8 sits well below Gallup’s 2021 mean of 12.6, reflecting different question wording and a genuine post-pandemic dip rather than a clean trend line.
2. The Long Decline in Reading for Pleasure
This is the structural story, and it predates smartphones. Daily reading for pleasure in the U.S. dropped more than 40% over two decades, falling from 28% of adults on an average day in 2004 to 16% in 2023, per a University of Florida and University College London analysis of 236,000 American Time Use Survey respondents. The decline runs at roughly 3% per year and is steeper among lower-income, Black, and rural Americans. Time spent among those who still read has held up, pointing to polarization rather than uniform decay.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Daily reading-for-pleasure rate, 2004 | 28% | iScience / UF-UCL, 2025 |
| Daily reading-for-pleasure rate, 2023 | 16% | iScience / UF-UCL, 2025 |
| Decline in daily reading for pleasure, 2003-2023 | >40% | iScience / UF-UCL, 2025 |
| Annual rate of decline | ~3%/yr | iScience / UF-UCL, 2025 |
| Adults reading a book for pleasure in prior year, 1992 vs. 2022 | 61% -> 49% | NEA, Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (via iScience 2025) |
| Average time reading for personal interest per day, 2024 | 17 min | Bureau of Labor Statistics, ATUS 2024 |
| Reading time per day, ages 20-24 vs. 75+ | 8 min vs. 46 min | Bureau of Labor Statistics, ATUS 2024 |
Outlier worth flagging: adults 75 and older still read 46 minutes a day, but that is down from more than an hour in 2014, so even the most devoted cohort is slipping.
3. Print vs. E-book vs. Audiobook: What Readers Choose
Two decades of digital predictions, and paper won. 64% of U.S. adults read a print book in the past year, more than double the 31% who read an e-book and the 26% who listened to an audiobook (Pew, 2025). Print’s share has eroded only modestly since 2011 (from 72%), while audiobooks are the real growth story, more than doubling from 11% to 26% over the same window. This section covers reader behavior; for the format market’s revenue and unit economics, see our ebook statistics roundup and audiobook statistics roundup.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. adults who read a print book in past year | 64% | Pew Research Center, 2025 |
| U.S. adults who read an e-book in past year | 31% | Pew Research Center, 2025 |
| U.S. adults who listened to an audiobook in past year | 26% | Pew Research Center, 2025 |
| Print book readership change, 2011 -> 2025 | 72% -> 64% | Pew Research Center, 2025 |
| U.S. print book unit sales, 2025 | 762.4M (+0.3%) | Circana BookScan via Publishers Weekly |
| U.S. audiobook sales revenue, 2025 | $2.43B (+9%) | Audio Publishers Association, 2026 |
| Americans who have ever listened to an audiobook | 58% (est. 157M) | Audio Publishers Association, 2026 |
The audiobook surge has pulled reading into commutes and chores, and the same text-to-audio shift powers tools like a free AI voice generator for people who convert their own documents into listening material. Print’s peak year remains 2021 at 839.7 million units.
4. Who Reads: Age, Gender, and Education
Reading is stratified more sharply by education than by anything else. 88% of college graduates read a book in the past year, versus 60% of those with a high school education or less (Pew, 2025), and the intensity gap is even wider: postgraduates read a median of 5 books in 2025 while the high-school-or-less group read a median of 0 (YouGov). Women out-read men in every format, and contrary to the “kids don’t read” narrative, adults 18 to 29 post the second-highest any-format readership of any age group.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| College graduates who read a book in past year (any format) | 88% | Pew Research Center, 2025 |
| High school or less who read a book in past year | 60% | Pew Research Center, 2025 |
| Women vs. men who read any book | 78% vs. 71% | Pew Research Center, 2025 |
| Adults 18-29 who read any book | 78% | Pew Research Center, 2025 |
| Postgraduate median books read, 2025 | 5 (avg. 13.6) | YouGov, 2025 |
| Adults 65+ average books read, 2025 | 12.1 | YouGov, 2025 |
| Gen Z readers who prefer print over e-books | 68% | Library Journal, Gen Z Generational Reading Survey |
Gen Z’s print loyalty complicates the digital-native assumption; the same cohort tracked in our Gen Z media statistics as heavy streamers also drives Barnes and Noble’s store reopenings.
5. Why Americans Read Less
The barriers are about attention and priorities, not literacy. 43% of Americans say reading is simply low on their priority list, and an equal share cite competing life activities as the reason they do not read more (Ipsos/NPR, February 2025). Another 43% say they prefer other forms of entertainment. The gap between intention and behavior is stark: 63% say they want to become better readers and 76% find reading relaxing, yet most still choose the phone.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Say reading is low on their priority list | 43% | Ipsos/NPR, February 2025 |
| Cite other life activities as reason for not reading more | 43% | Ipsos/NPR, February 2025 |
| Prefer other forms of entertainment | 43% | Ipsos/NPR, February 2025 |
| Not enough time because of work | 25% | Ipsos/NPR, February 2025 |
| Report trouble focusing while reading | 22% | Ipsos/NPR, February 2025 |
| Want to become better readers | 63% | Ipsos/NPR, February 2025 |
| Find reading relaxing | 76% | Ipsos/NPR, February 2025 |
Context note: only 14% of Americans set a reading goal in the past year, which helps explain the intention-to-action gap the poll exposes.
6. Libraries, BookTok, and How Readers Find Books
Two forces are quietly propping up reading against the tide. U.S. public libraries logged over 800 million visits in fiscal 2023, nearly double the pandemic-era low, alongside 155 million registered users (IMLS, 2025). Meanwhile BookTok has become the single most powerful discovery engine in publishing, with Circana tying roughly 59 million print sales to the hashtag in 2024. Both channels disproportionately reach younger readers who then buy physical copies.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. public library visits, fiscal 2023 | 800M+ | Institute of Museum and Library Services, 2025 |
| Registered public library users | 155M | Institute of Museum and Library Services, 2025 |
| Library programs offered / attendees, fiscal 2023 | 4.6M / 93M | Institute of Museum and Library Services, 2025 |
| Americans who hold a library card, 2025 | 51% | YouGov, 2025 |
| U.S. print sales tied to BookTok, 2024 | ~59M | Circana via Publishers Weekly |
| #BookTok cumulative TikTok views by end of 2024 | 200B+ | Circana via Publishers Weekly |
| #BookTok posts by end of 2024 | 42M+ | Circana via Publishers Weekly |
Library circulation split roughly 4.37 physical items per person against 1.68 digital items in fiscal 2023, a reminder that even library digital lending trails print.
7. Children and Young People’s Reading
The pipeline problem is where the alarm bells ring loudest. Just 32.7% of UK children aged 8 to 18 said they enjoy reading in their free time in 2025, the lowest level in 20 years and a 36% drop since 2005 (National Literacy Trust). Daily reading among that group fell to 18.7%, and even 5-to-8-year-olds saw daily reading slide to 44.5%. The one bright spot: children read more when material connects to a favorite film or TV series.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Children 8-18 who enjoy reading in free time, 2025 | 32.7% | National Literacy Trust, 2025 |
| Change in reading enjoyment since 2005 | -36% | National Literacy Trust, 2025 |
| Children 8-18 who read something daily in free time, 2025 | 18.7% | National Literacy Trust, 2025 |
| Children 5-8 who read daily, 2025 | 44.5% | National Literacy Trust, 2025 |
| Gender gap in daily reading (girls ahead of boys) | 6.2 pts | National Literacy Trust, 2025 |
| Motivated to read by a film or TV tie-in | 38.1% | National Literacy Trust, 2025 |
| Survey responses collected | 114,970 | National Literacy Trust, 2025 |
The film-and-TV motivation finding lands squarely against the children’s screen time data: screens are both the competitor and, increasingly, the on-ramp back to books.
Summary: Book Reading Habits by the Numbers
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Read all or part of >=1 book in past year | 75% | Pew Research Center, 2025 |
| Read zero books in 2025 | 40% | YouGov, 2025 |
| Median books read per American, 2025 | 2 | YouGov, 2025 |
| Mean books read per American, 2025 | 8 | YouGov, 2025 |
| Top 19% of adults’ share of all reading | 82% | YouGov, 2025 |
| Daily reading for pleasure, 2004 -> 2023 | 28% -> 16% | iScience / UF-UCL, 2025 |
| Decline in daily reading for pleasure, 20 years | >40% | iScience / UF-UCL, 2025 |
| Average reading time per day, 2024 | 17 min | Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2024 |
| Print book readers, past year | 64% | Pew Research Center, 2025 |
| E-book readers, past year | 31% | Pew Research Center, 2025 |
| Audiobook listeners, past year | 26% | Pew Research Center, 2025 |
| U.S. print units sold, 2025 | 762.4M | Circana BookScan, 2025 |
| U.S. audiobook revenue, 2025 | $2.43B | Audio Publishers Association, 2026 |
| College graduates who read a book, past year | 88% | Pew Research Center, 2025 |
| Say reading is low on their priorities | 43% | Ipsos/NPR, 2025 |
| UK children 8-18 who enjoy reading | 32.7% | National Literacy Trust, 2025 |
| U.S. public library visits, fiscal 2023 | 800M+ | IMLS, 2025 |
| U.S. print sales tied to BookTok, 2024 | ~59M | Circana via Publishers Weekly |
| Gen Z readers who prefer print | 68% | Library Journal |
| Americans who hold a library card | 51% | YouGov, 2025 |
Methodology and Sources
Data was gathered by aggregating published survey results, government datasets, and industry sales reports from primary organizations, prioritizing 2025-2026 releases and cross-referencing overlapping figures (for example, Pew’s “any book” readership against YouGov’s completed-book counts).
- Pew Research Center - Americans and Book Reading (October 2025 survey, published April 2026)
- YouGov - Reading and Books poll (December 2025)
- iScience / University of Florida and University College London - The decline in reading for pleasure over 20 years of the American Time Use Survey (2025)
- National Endowment for the Arts - Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (1992-2022, most recent available)
- Bureau of Labor Statistics - American Time Use Survey (2024 results)
- Circana BookScan via Publishers Weekly - 2025 U.S. print book sales
- Audio Publishers Association via Publishers Weekly - 2025 audiobook sales survey (June 2026)
- Ipsos / NPR - Reading habits poll (February 2025)
- Institute of Museum and Library Services - Public Libraries Survey, fiscal 2023 (released 2025)
- National Literacy Trust - Children and Young People’s Reading in 2025
- Library Journal - Gen Z Generational Reading Survey
- Publishers Weekly - BookTok and print sales (Circana data)
- Gallup - Americans Reading Fewer Books Than in Past (2021, most recent available)
Data watch: Pew’s book reading survey and YouGov’s year-end reading poll both recur annually, with 2026 editions expected by early 2027. The Audio Publishers Association releases audiobook sales figures each June, Circana BookScan reports annual print totals every January, and the National Literacy Trust’s Children and Young People’s Reading in 2026 edition is due mid-year. The IMLS Public Libraries Survey and BLS American Time Use Survey publish new cycles annually. Gallup’s reading average dates to 2021 and is the oldest figure here.
Last updated: July 17, 2026. We review and update this page quarterly as new data is published.