Overview

• The share of Americans reading for pleasure on a given day fell from about 28% in 2004 to 16% in 2023, based on more than 236,000 American Time Use Survey diaries from 2003–2023, with 2020 excluded.
• For those who do read, average daily time edged up from roughly 1 hour 23 minutes to 1 hour 37 minutes over the period.
• Declines were steeper among Black adults, men, people with lower income and education levels, and residents of nonmetropolitan areas.
• Reading with children remained uncommon at about 2% reporting it on a given day, a rate that held largely steady across two decades.
• The study does not identify causes, though researchers cite likely contributors such as digital media competition, time and work pressures, and access barriers, and they urge library, school and community initiatives to boost participation.