48.5%
2022 (latest)
READ ANY BOOK LAST YEAR
percent of adults who read any book not required for work or school, past 12 months · 2002–2022 · higher is better · National Endowment for the Arts, Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (with the Census Bureau)
56.6%
2002
56.6%
high · 2002
48.5%
low · 2022
−8.1 pts
since 2002
┊ dashed lines mark 2008 Global financial crisis · 2020 COVID-19 pandemic
Method & caveats. "Read any book" excluding books required for work or school, adults 18+, from the SPPA — a Census Bureau CPS supplement fielded roughly every five years. NEA's own comparable trend runs 2002–2022 (the survey exists back to 1982, but NEA does not trend book reading across the older instruments, and the 2012 redesign is bridged by NEA's comparable variables). 2017 is the value implied by NEA's published 4.2-point 2017→2022 decline (48.5 + 4.2 = 52.7), consistent with the 2017 report's printed "53 percent." Next wave ~2027.
Sources
Every value on this page is read from the publisher below. Current and historical source documents:
- https://www.arts.gov/impact/research/arts-data-profile-series/adp-36
- https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/SPPA_Comprehensive_Report_FINAL.pdf
- https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/US_Patterns_of_Arts_ParticipationRevised.pdf
- https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/2012-sppa-feb2015.pdf
- https://github.com/danielmiessler/substrate/tree/main/Data/US-Societal-Health
Data
| Year | Read Any Book Last Year | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 48.5% | −4.2 pts |
| 2017 | 52.7% | −1.9 pts |
| 2012 | 54.6% | +0.3 pts |
| 2008 | 54.3% | −2.3 pts |
| 2002 | 56.6% | — |
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