Reading Statistics 2026: How Americans Read Now

In 2025, 75% of U.S. adults read all or part of at least one book in any format, while e-book reach was 31% and audiobook reach was 26%.

The headline is format diversification

The headline is not that Americans have abandoned books. It is that reading now travels across formats, and a format-neutral measure sees more of the behavior than a print-only measure does. Someone can read a paperback at home, continue an e-book during a commute, and listen to an audiobook while doing something else. The survey records those as overlapping choices, not competing teams.

Pew's latest figures show print remains the largest single format, but digital reading is not a footnote. E-books and audiobooks have substantial reach, which makes “print versus digital” a less useful frame than “which format fits this reading situation?” The data supports a change in delivery, not a story about books disappearing.

The table needs one caution: the format percentages overlap. They are not pieces of one pie, so adding them would misrepresent the survey. The useful comparison is the direction of each format over time. Print has softened from its earlier level, while e-book and audiobook reach has expanded; that is diversification, not a clean handoff from one medium to another.

What a reach statistic can tell you

Reach is a threshold, not a complete reading score. It tells us whether a person reported encountering a book during the period the survey asked about; it does not tell us how many pages they read, whether they finished, what they learned, or whether the experience changed their habits. Those are different questions, and a responsible reading trend should not pretend that one measure answers all of them.

The same caution applies to format. An e-book can be a long, attentive session or a few pages opened at the right moment. An audiobook can be sustained listening or an unfinished title. Print can be a treasured ritual or a book left beside the bed. The format percentages are useful because they show reach and direction, not because they rank the seriousness of one kind of reader above another.

That is why the strongest conclusion here is practical: make the format fit the occasion, then protect enough attention for the book to become useful. The choice of medium removes friction; the quality of the reading still depends on what the reader is trying to understand.

Who reads, and who reaches each format?

Reading is not distributed evenly across the population, and neither is format access. In Pew's breakdown, men reported reading any book at 71%, compared with 78% for women. The print gap was 60% to 68%, e-book reach was 28% to 33%, and audiobook reach was 24% to 27%.

Age shows a sharper format pattern. Adults ages 18–29 reached 78% for any book, 66% for print, 41% for e-books, and 32% for audiobooks. Among adults ages 65 and older, the figures were 73%, 65%, 23%, and 13%.

Education correlates with a wider reading reach in the same survey. Adults with a high school education or less reported any-book reading at 60%, print at 50%, e-book at 20%, and audio at 17%. College graduates and people with more education reported 88%, 76%, 42%, and 35%. These are differences in reported reach, not proof that education or age causes a particular reading choice.

Time use: reading competes with leisure

The 2024 American Time Use Survey adds context without measuring book reading directly. People ages 75 and older averaged 46 minutes per day reading for personal interest, while people ages 15–19 averaged 9 minutes per day. Across the population, average leisure time was 5.1 hours per day, and watching television accounted for 2.6 hours per day.

That is not an argument that television must be replaced by books. It is a reminder that reading competes with real, already-claimed leisure. “I will read when I have time” is a weak plan because spare time tends to arrive without a decision attached to it. A reading habit needs a place in the day before the day becomes crowded.

Readers who struggle to protect reading time can use the three-priority system in Do Only 3 Things a Day: decide what deserves attention early, protect room for it, and make reading a deliberate choice rather than a leftover activity.

Why the NEA figures look different

The National Endowment for the Arts is answering a narrower question than Pew, so its figures should not be treated as a contradiction. The NEA reported that 53% read literature and/or books of some kind in 2022. It also reported that 48.5% read at least one print or electronic book, 6.1 points below 2012. Its novels-and-short-stories measure fell from 45.2% in 2012 to 37.6% in 2022. Poetry was 9.2% in 2022, versus 11.7% in 2017 and 6.7% in 2012.

Pew counts any book in print, e-book, or audio and includes partial reading during the prior year. The NEA uses arts-participation definitions and separates literary activities differently. Once those scopes are visible, the sources can sit side by side: one shows broad format reach, while the other shows participation in selected literary activities. Neither source, by itself, establishes why a person read or did not read.

What the reading statistics actually support

The strongest conclusion is modest but useful: reading remains a mainstream activity, while the ways people access it have diversified. Print is still central. E-books and audiobooks extend the occasions when a person can read, but reach is not the same as frequency, depth, enjoyment, or comprehension. These surveys tell us what people reported doing, not which format produced the best experience.

That distinction matters for anyone trying to read more. A format can remove friction, but it cannot choose the book, defend attention, or make an unclear goal feel important. The PlainReads focus hub collects practical ways to make attention easier to protect; How to Focus Better explains why the environment around a task matters. For the writing itself, plain language is not dumbing down: a book is more useful when its idea survives contact with an ordinary day.

Sources and methodology

• Pew Research Center: survey of 8,046 U.S. adults conducted October 6–16, 2025.
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: American Time Use Survey 2024.
• National Endowment for the Arts: 2022 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts.

Frequently asked questions

What is the clearest reading statistic?

The clearest headline is that 75% of U.S. adults read at least part of a book in any format in 2025. Print reached 64%, e-books 31%, and audiobooks 26%. Together, those figures point to format diversification rather than the disappearance of reading.

Are e-books replacing print books?

Not according to the Pew figures. Print reached 64%, while e-books reached 31%, and the categories overlap because one person can use more than one format. The better reading is that digital formats add options without making print irrelevant.

Why do Pew and the NEA report different percentages?

They measure different things. Pew asks about reading any book in print, electronic, or audio form, including partial reading during the prior year. The NEA studies participation in selected literary and arts activities, with narrower definitions. The figures can differ without either source being wrong; the scope of the question changes the result.

How can I protect time to read?

Choose the reading you want to protect before the day fills with easier demands, then give it a visible place in your schedule. If prioritizing keeps slipping, Do Only 3 Things a Day offers a simple system for deciding what deserves attention and keeping that decision intact. The goal is not to wait for an empty day; it is to make reading part of a day you already have.