Poetry reached 22.4 million U.S. adults through reading in 2022, while more than 29 million adults either read poetry or listened to it through media. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) measured these audiences differently in 2017 and 2022, so the figures are best read as snapshots of changing participation rather than one continuous series.
Contents
- The size of the U.S. poetry audience
- How poetry reading changed
- Age patterns in poetry participation
- Gender and racial differences
- Education and poetry participation
- Urban and rural audiences
The size of the U.S. poetry audience
The NEA’s 2017 measure found that 11.7% of U.S. adults had read poetry during the previous year. That share represented 28 million adults. The NEA 2018 poetry reading blog also described 2017 as the highest poetry-reading rate recorded across the 15-year span of Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA) tracking.
The later NEA 2023 poetry audience blog reported a lower reading figure for 2022: 9.2% of U.S. adults, or 22.4 million adults. This is a 2022 estimate, while the earlier 28 million figure describes 2017. The two totals should not be treated as a direct count of the same people or as a forecast.
Reading is only one way people encountered poetry in the 2022 measurement. The NEA reported that 4.8% of adults listened to poetry through broadcasts, recordings, or web streaming. That audience represented 11.8 million adults. When reading and listening were combined, 11.5% of adults either read poetry or listened to it through media, producing a combined audience of more than 29 million adults.
| 2022 poetry measure | Share of U.S. adults | Estimated adults |
|---|---|---|
| Read poetry | 9.2% | 22.4 million |
| Listened through broadcasts, recordings, or web streaming | 4.8% | 11.8 million |
| Read or listened through media | 11.5% | Over 29 million |
The combined figure matters because it captures an audience that may not primarily identify as poetry readers. A person who hears a poem through a recording or stream is included in the listening measure even if they did not read poetry during the measured period. The NEA 2023 poetry audience blog therefore provides a broader view of poetry reach than the reading-only percentage.
How poetry reading changed
The NEA 2018 poetry reading blog recorded a sharp increase between 2012 and 2017. The share of U.S. adults who read poetry rose from 6.7% in 2012 to 11.7% in 2017, an increase of 5.0 percentage points. In the longer comparison, the rate rose from 8.3% in 2008 to 11.7% in 2017, a gain of 3.4 percentage points.
The 2017 result was also close to the 2002 rate. In that year, 12.1% of adults read poetry. Thus, the 2017 reading share was essentially on par with 2002, even though the intervening SPPA measurements showed lower participation in 2008 and 2012. These historical values describe measured years; they do not establish a future trend.
The 2022 reading share of 9.2% was below the 2017 share of 11.7%. The NEA figures do not, by themselves, explain why the measured rates differed. They do show that the reading audience was substantial in both years: 28 million adults in 2017 and 22.4 million adults in 2022.
Age patterns in poetry participation
Young adults were prominent in the 2017 reading data. Adults ages 18 to 24 had a poetry-reading rate of 17.5%, compared with 8.2% for the same age group in 2012. The NEA 2018 poetry reading blog described this as more than a doubling of the group’s rate. Adults ages 25 to 34 had a 12.3% reading rate in 2017, up from 6.7% in 2012.
The 2022 reading data showed a different pattern among the age groups reported by the NEA 2023 poetry audience blog. Adults ages 18 to 24 read poetry at a 9.0% rate, while adults ages 25 to 34 had an 11.9% rate. Adults ages 75 and older had a 7.1% reading rate.
| Age group | Reading rate | Measurement year |
|---|---|---|
| 18–24 | 17.5% | 2017 |
| 18–24 | 9.0% | 2022 |
| 25–34 | 12.3% | 2017 |
| 25–34 | 11.9% | 2022 |
| 75 and older | 7.1% | 2022 |
Listening added another dimension in 2022. The 18-to-24 group had a 6.2% poetry-listening rate, and adults ages 25 to 34 had a 7.1% rate. These listening percentages refer specifically to broadcasts, recordings, or web streaming, not to every possible situation in which someone might hear a poem.
The age figures should be compared within their measurement years and definitions. The 2017 figures refer to reading, while the 2022 figures include separately reported reading and media-listening measures. That distinction is important when describing the audience as readers, listeners, or both.
Gender and racial differences
The 2017 NEA reading data showed a higher poetry-reading rate among women than men. Women had a 14.5% rate, compared with 8.7% for men. In 2012, the corresponding rates were 8.0% for women and 5.2% for men. Women also accounted for more than 60% of all poetry readers in 2017.
The racial and ethnic breakdowns in the NEA 2018 poetry reading blog also show increases between 2012 and 2017 for every listed group. African American adults had a 15.3% reading rate in 2017, up from 6.9% in 2012. Asian American adults had a 12.6% rate, compared with 4.8% in 2012. Other non-white, non-Hispanic adults had a 13.5% rate, up from 4.7%.
Hispanic adults had a 9.7% poetry-reading rate in 2017, compared with 4.9% in 2012. Non-Hispanic white adults had an 11.4% rate in 2017, up from 7.2% in 2012.
| Group | 2012 reading rate | 2017 reading rate |
|---|---|---|
| Women | 8.0% | 14.5% |
| Men | 5.2% | 8.7% |
| African Americans | 6.9% | 15.3% |
| Asian Americans | 4.8% | 12.6% |
| Hispanics | 4.9% | 9.7% |
| Non-Hispanic whites | 7.2% | 11.4% |
The 2022 figures reported by the NEA 2023 poetry audience blog include reading and listening measures for selected groups. African Americans read poetry at an 8.3% rate and listened at a 7.6% rate. Hispanics read poetry at a 6.5% rate. Because the 2022 figures do not provide the same complete set of group breakdowns as the 2017 figures in the supplied source, they are best used as specific 2022 snapshots rather than as a complete demographic ranking.
Education and poetry participation
Education was associated with different poetry-reading rates in the 2017 data. Adults with some college education but no degree had a 13.0% poetry-reading rate, compared with 6.6% in 2012. College graduates had a 15.2% rate in 2017, up from 8.7% in 2012. Adults with graduate or professional degrees had the highest listed educational rate: 19.7% in 2017, compared with 12.5% in 2012.
These figures describe the share of each educational group who read poetry, not the number of readers in each group. A percentage is therefore a participation rate within a group and should not be interpreted as that group’s share of the entire poetry audience.
The 2022 listening data supplied by the NEA 2023 poetry audience blog also showed differences by educational attainment. Adults with only some high school education had a 6.3% poetry-listening rate. Adults with only grammar-school education had a 2.0% rate, while high school graduates had a 3.3% rate. These are media-listening measures and are not directly interchangeable with the 2017 reading rates.
Urban and rural audiences
The 2017 reading rates were close for the two geographies reported by the NEA 2018 poetry reading blog. Urban or metro residents had an 11.8% poetry-reading rate, while rural or non-metro residents had an 11.2% rate.
The 2022 media-listening figures showed a wider difference in the supplied NEA 2023 poetry audience blog data. Urban adults had a 5.1% poetry-listening rate, compared with 2.8% for rural adults. The 2017 comparison is about reading; the 2022 comparison is about listening through media. Geography and activity both changed between these two comparisons, so the rates should be kept in their original context.
Taken together, the available statistics describe a U.S. poetry audience that is larger than a reading-only count suggests. The NEA measured 22.4 million adult poetry readers in 2022, 11.8 million adult media listeners, and more than 29 million adults who either read or listened. The detailed 2017 results further show how age, gender, race and ethnicity, education, and geography shaped measured poetry participation during that period.