Report · Culture

Most Americans read a few books or none at all last year

Reading

A plurality of Americans (38%) read just one to four books in the past year, and a quarter (25%) read none at all, a combined 63% who finished four or fewer, according to a December 2025 Verasight survey.

Fewer were heavier readers: 16% got through five to nine books, 10% read 20 or more, 7% read 10 to 14 and 4% read 15 to 19.

Topline

single choice

Topline distribution

Most Americans read a few books or none at all last year.

How many books did you read last year?

  • 1-4 38.2%
  • 0 - none 25.2%
  • 5-9 15.8%
  • 20 or more 9.6%
  • 10-14 7.4%
  • 15-19 3.8%

2025 · base n 1,000 · +/- 3.2%

soc_pol

View source

Methodology

Full methodology
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Field dates
2025-12-03 → 2025-12-08
Base (unweighted)
1,000
Margin of error
+/- 3.2%
Module
soc_pol

Source

Citation

Verasight Human/LLM Comparison Survey #2025-172, fielded December 3-8, 2025, N=1,000 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.2%.

https://reports.verasight.io/r/verasight-human-v-synthetic

Verasight survey methodology

How Verasight conducts surveys.

This page describes the Verasight general survey contract, separate from how the Data Library packages it. When a wave report is published, its field dates, sample sizes, and module breakdown are listed in that report.

Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting.
Population
US adults age 18+.
Sample design
Surveys are run as omnibus or single-topic waves. Omnibus waves are split into modules with their own respondent set, typically around one thousand respondents per module.
Field window
Each wave specifies its own field dates. Most omnibus waves field across roughly two weeks.
Weighting
Per-module weighting to CPS targets including age, race and ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, and metropolitan status.
Partisanship benchmark
Pew Research Center's NPORS benchmarking surveys, three-year running average.
Vote benchmark
2024 presidential vote population benchmarks.
Margin of error
Typically about plus or minus 3.4 to 3.6 percent per module at standard module sizes. Question-level MoE is recomputed when a base shrinks materially below the module baseline.
Reporting
The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io. Verified legacy reports remain on their original hosts, and unpublished reports are marked pending.
Transparency
Verasight is a member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research Transparency Initiative.

The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io; older reports may remain on verified legacy hosts.