Literacy influences our ability to communicate with others, achieve our goals, and reach our full potential. With so much at stake, what is the literacy rate in the US, and how does it differ across states, ethnicities, and genders?
In this comprehensive article, we’ll take a close look at the top literacy statistics in the US, especially:
- The different forms of literacy
- General statistics on literacy
- Literacy rates per state
- Literacy statistics across ethnicities
- How literacy rates differ among men and women
- Literacy among special populations
- Impact of literacy
- Factors influencing literacy rates in the US
So let’s get started!
Top literacy statistics
- The global literacy rate is 87%.
- 82% of adults in the US have basic to high levels of literacy.
- The US performs above the average literacy of OECD countries but lags behind countries like Japan and Finland, which have 72% and 63% high-level literacy rates, respectively.
- About 18% of adults struggle with basic reading and understanding of simple texts.
- Male students score higher than female students on mathematics literacy and digital problem-solving.
- New Hampshire has the highest literacy rate (88.5%), while New Mexico has the lowest (70.9%).
- 90% of jobs in the US require medium or high levels of digital skills, but only 5%-32% have basic to advanced levels of digital literacy.
- Poverty is a significant factor in literacy, as 43% of low-literate adults live in poverty.
- Literacy is linked to income. Fully literate adults earn an average annual income of $63,000, while individuals at the lowest levels of literacy have an average income of $34,000, and those just below the proficiency level earn an average of $43,000.
Literacy: an overview
1. Literacy is generally defined as the ability to read and write. (Oxford Dictionary).
Definition of Terms
2. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) formally defines literacy as “the ability to access, manage, understand, integrate, communicate, evaluate and create information safely and appropriately through digital technologies for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship.” (UNESCO, 2023).
3. Other definitions of literacy encompass a broader range of skills. OECD defines literacy as “the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts.”
3. Due to technological developments and the complexities it brought to modern life, other forms of literacy emerged, including:
4. Functional Literacy refers to an individual’s capacity to engage in all those activities in which literacy is required (UNESCO). This includes understanding medication labels, filling out job applications, or understanding announcements from the government.
5. Digital Literacy is basic literacy applied through the use of digital technologies for employment, decent jobs, and entrepreneurship. (UNESCO).
6. Media and Information Literacy is a set of competencies that enable people to critically and effectively engage with information, and other forms of content, evaluate sources, and engage responsibly with digital technologies.
7. Numeracy is the “ability to access, use, interpret and communicate mathematical information and ideas to engage in and manage the mathematical demands of a range of situations in adult life.” (OECD)
General statistics on literacy
8. The global literacy rate is 87%. (World Economic Forum).
9. Different sources and institutions categorize levels of literacy differently. In the US, the percentage of adults performing at the lowest levels in literacy is 18-19%, struggling with basic reading and understanding of simple texts. (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES]).
10. The percentage of fully literate US adults performing at the highest levels in literacy is 48%, able to read and write and employ printed information in daily activities. (NCES).
11. 33% of adults in the US have basic literacy proficiency, with the ability to read and understand texts and perform basic information retrieval. (NCES).
12. The US performs above the average literacy of OECD countries but lags compared to high-performing countries like Japan and Finland, which have 72% and 63% high-level literacy rates, respectively. (NCES).
Basic Literacy
13. In 2022, the average reading scores were lower by 3 points for both fourth- and eighth-grade students compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019. (National Assessment of Educational Progress [NAEP]).
14. 34% of all fourth graders from public and private schools perform below the NAEP Basic achievement level, meaning they lack proficiency in basic grade-level reading.
15. Across all states, the percentage of students who have not reached the minimum proficiency level in their grade ranges from 20 to 52%.
16. 31% of fourth-graders meet the minimum proficiency in reading. (NAEP).
17. For fourth graders, the latest average reading score was lower than all previous assessment years since 2005 and not significantly different from 1992. (NAEP).
18. For eighth-graders, the latest average reading score was lower than all previous assessment years since 1998 and not significantly different from 1992. (NAEP).
19. 30% of eighth-grade students perform below NAEP Basic in reading. (NAEP).
20. 39% of public school fourth-graders perform below the NAEP Basic in reading. (NAEP).
21. 39% of eighth-grade students meet the NAEP Basic reading level. (NAEP).
22. 24% of fourth-grade students meet the NAEP Proficient level in reading. They can deduce word meanings from the context of literary works, identify key events for main ideas, make complex character inferences, as well as use details for inferences, support opinions, articulate problems or solutions, and describe text structures. (NAEP).
23. This is true for 27% of eighth-graders. (NAEP).
24. 9% of fourth-graders achieve advanced proficiency in reading, or NAEP Advanced achievement level. They can understand nonliteral phrases, and character development, as well as select details for problem-solving, articulate opinions with textual evidence, summarize ideas, and start evaluating text structures and author purposes. (NAEP).
25. This is true for 4% of eighth-graders. (NAEP).
Numeracy
26. In the US, 7% of 15-year-old students perform at the highest levels of mathematical proficiency. (NCES).
27. 34% of 15-year-old students perform below Level 2 in mathematics literacy, able to complete two or more steps or processes involving calculation with whole numbers and common decimals, percents, fractions, or other mathematical problems. (NCES).
28. The percentage of top performers in the U.S. is similar to the OECD average (9%), with variations among other education systems. (NCES).
29. The percentage of low performers in the US is also comparable to the OECD average of 31%. (NCES).
Functional Literacy
30. Functional illiteracy is the inability to determine the meaning of sentences successfully, read relatively short texts to locate a single piece of information, or complete simple forms.
31. About 18% of the US adult population is functionally illiterate. (Ballard Brief).
Digital Literacy
32. 90% of jobs in the US require either a medium or high level of digital skills. (Rockefeller Institute of Government).
33. 35% of Americans have less than basic internet usage skills. (OECD).
34. 32% have basic internet usage skills, such as internet browsing, email, etc. (OECD).
35. 27% of Americans have level 2 digital literacy, meaning they can perform necessary tasks for finding jobs such as navigating across pages, multi-step problem-solving, etc.
36. Only 5% of Americans have high-level digital literacy, which includes skills such as anticipating unforeseen technical issues.
37. Younger adults (16 to 24 years old) have an 8% digital illiteracy rate.
38. Older adults (55 to 65) have a 28% digital illiteracy rate.
Top 10 states with the highest literacy rates
39. According to Wise Voter, a digital platform that provides information and insights on political and social issues, here are the top 10 states with the highest literacy rates:
| State | Literacy Rate |
| New Hampshire | 88.5% |
| Alaska | 87.3% |
| Vermont | 87.2% |
| Minnesota | 86.9% |
| Montana | 86.9% |
| Maine | 86.6% |
| North Dakota | 86.6% |
| Wyoming | 86.4% |
| Utah | 85.5% |
| Iowa | 85.1% |
Top 10 states with the lowest literacy rates
40. Here are the top 10 states with the lowest literacy rates:
| State | Literacy Rate |
| New Mexico | 70.9% |
| California | 71.6% |
| Mississippi | 72.0% |
| Louisiana | 72.9% |
| Nevada | 74.7% |
| Texas | 71.8% |
| Alabama | 76.1% |
| Arkansas | 76.9% |
| Georgia | 76.4% |
| Florida | 76.3% |
Literacy rates per state
41. The following table shows the literacy, numeracy, and illiteracy rates in each state:
| State | Literacy Rate | Numeracy Rate | Illiteracy Rate |
| Alabama | 76.1% | 62.6% | 23.9% |
| Alaska | 87.3% | 79.2% | 12.7% |
| Arizona | 76.6% | 66.8% | 23.4% |
| Arkansas | 76.9% | 64.3% | 23.1% |
| California | 71.6% | 64% | 28.4% |
| Colorado | 83.4% | 75.2% | 16.6% |
| Connecticut | 82.8% | 74% | 17.2% |
| D.C. | 77.7% | 66.1% | 22.3% |
| Delaware | 79.7% | 66.1% | 20.3% |
| Florida | 76.3% | 65.2% | 23.7% |
| Georgia | 76.4% | 63.4% | 23.6% |
| Hawaii | 84.1% | 76.6% | 15.9% |
| Idaho | 83.6% | 74.3% | 16.4% |
| Illinois | 79.6% | 69.9% | 20.4% |
| Indiana | 81.3% | 70.5% | 18.7% |
| Iowa | 85.1% | 77% | 14.9% |
| Kansas | 83.1% | 75% | 16.9% |
| Kentucky | 78.1% | 66.3% | 21.9% |
| Louisiana | 72.9% | 58.4% | 27.1% |
| Maine | 86.6% | 77.1% | 13.4% |
| Maryland | 80% | 69.8% | 20% |
| Massachusetts | 82.7% | 74.9% | 17.3% |
| Michigan | 82.4% | 72% | 17.6% |
| Minnesota | 86.9% | 79.6% | 13.1% |
| Mississippi | 72% | 56.6% | 28% |
| Missouri | 81.1% | 70.9% | 18.9% |
| Montana | 86.9% | 77.3% | 13.1% |
| Nebraska | 83.6% | 75.7% | 16.4% |
| Nevada | 74.7% | 63.5% | 25.3% |
| New Hampshire | 88.5% | 80.9% | 11.5% |
| New Jersey | 79.3% | 69.9% | 20.7% |
| New Mexico | 70.9% | 60.5% | 29.1% |
| New York | 75.6% | 65.3% | 24.4% |
| North Carolina | 78.7% | 67.1% | 21.3% |
| North Dakota | 86.6% | 79% | 13.4% |
| Ohio | 82.3% | 71.2% | 17.7% |
| Oklahoma | 79.9% | 69% | 20.1% |
| Oregon | 83.2% | 75.3% | 16.8% |
| Pennsylvania | 81.9% | 71.3% | 18.1% |
| Rhode Island | 79.6% | 70.4% | 20.4% |
| South Carolina | 77.6% | 65% | 22.4% |
| South Dakota | 85.1% | 76.3% | 14.9% |
| Tennessee | 78.3% | 66% | 21.7% |
| Texas | 71.8% | 61.5% | 28.2% |
| Utah | 85.5% | 77.7% | 14.5% |
| Vermont | 87.2% | 79% | 12.8% |
| Virginia | 81.2% | 71.6% | 18.8% |
| Washington | 83.9% | 76.5% | 16.1% |
| West Virginia | 79.1% | 67.2% | 20.9% |
| Wisconsin | 84.7% | 75.8% | 15.3% |
| Wyoming | 86.4% | 77.5% | 13.6% |
Literacy statistics across ethnicities
42. White and Asian students, on average, have higher mathematics literacy scores than the overall US average score. (NCES).
43. Black and Hispanic students have lower scores than the overall US average score. (NCES).
44. Since the pandemic, reading scores have been significantly lower for American Indian/Alaska Native, Black, Hispanic, and White students.
45. The most recent average reading scores for Asian students, those of Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander descent, and students of Two or More races are not significantly different compared to pre-pandemic levels.
American Indian/Alaska Native
46. On average, American Indian/Alaska Native students perform below the national average of reading proficiency.
47. American Indian/Alaska Native students had an average reading score of 197 in 2022, compared to 204 in 2019.
Black
48. Around 50% of Black workers lack robust digital skills. (National Skills Coalition)
49. Black adults have a 22% digital illiteracy rate. (Rockefeller Institute of Government).
50. Black students had an average score of 199 in 2022, compared to 204 in 2019. (NCES).
Hispanic
51. Among US workers, Black and Hispanic workers are overrepresented in the 1/3 of Americans who lack digital skills.
52. Hispanic adults have a digital illiteracy rate of 35%. (Rockefeller Institute of Government).
53. Due to automation and low digital skills, Hispanic workers are most at risk of being automated out of a job. (The Aspen Institute).
54. Around 57% of Hispanic workers lack robust digital skills. (National Skills Coalition)
55. Hispanic students had an average score of 205 in 2022, compared to 209 in 2019.
Asian
56. Asian students have the highest average reading scores.
57. The average reading score for Asian/Pacific Islander students at grade 4 was 12 points higher than the average score for their White peers. (NAEP).
White
58. Among white adults, the rate of digital illiteracy is reported at 11%. (Rockefeller Institute of Government).
59. White students had an average score of 227 in 2022, compared to 230 in 2019. (NCES).
How literacy rates differ among boys and girls
60. Globally, there is a 3% gap between the literacy rate of men and women.
61. Women aged 15 and older have a literacy rate of 87%. (World Economic Forum).
62. 90% of men aged 15 and older are literate. (World Economic Forum).
63. In low-income countries, the female adult literacy rate is 53%. (Statista).
64. 69% of men in low-income countries are literate. (Statista).
65. In the United States, 15-year-old male students scored higher, on average, than their female peers by 13 points on mathematics literacy. (NCES).
66. Males score higher than females in digital problem-solving. (NCES).
67. In the US, reading scores have declined since pre-pandemic for both male and female fourth-graders. (NCES).
Literacy among special populations
68. There is no significant difference in reading scores for students with disabilities compared to pre-pandemic levels. (NCES).
69. There is also no significant difference in reading scores for Catholic school students compared to pre-pandemic levels.
70. Low-literate adults are overrepresented in US prisons, and they participate less in the labor force. Various reports indicate that 29%—60% of incarcerated adults are low literate. (Ballard Brief).
Impact of literacy
71. Students who master literacy skills have the fundamental skills needed for academic success and better employment opportunities as adults. (The Policy Circle).
72. Low literacy rates correlate with higher unemployment, reduced income, higher incarceration rates, and poorer health outcomes. (World Literacy Foundation)
73. The average annual income of fully literate adults is $63,000. (Barbara Bush Foundation).
74. The average annual income of those at the lowest levels of literacy is $34,000. (Barbara Bush Foundation).
75. Those who are just below proficiency level of literacy earn an average of $43,000. (Barbara Bush Foundation).
76. According to ProLiteracy, an estimated $106–$238 billion in annual healthcare costs are linked to low adult literacy skills in America.
77. Higher literacy rates correlate with trust in others, political efficacy, participation in volunteer activities, and self-reported health. (The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD]).
78. The Barbara Bush Foundation estimates that getting all US adults to become fully literate will generate an additional $2.2 trillion in income for the country, a 10% increase in gross domestic product.
79. Approximately 24% of unemployed people in the United States are low literate. (Ballad Brief).
Factors influencing literacy rates in the US
80. Poverty is a factor in illiteracy. About 43% of low-literate adults live in poverty.
81. Only 5% of people who live in poverty have the highest literacy. (Ballard Brief).
82. A parent’s education also influences literacy outcomes in the family. (Ballard Brief).
83. Having a non-native English-speaking background influences English literacy as well. 64% of adult immigrants perform at low literacy levels, compared to 14% of native-born Americans.
Literacy statistics frequently asked questions
82% of adults in the US have basic to high levels of literacy. The percentage of fully literate US adults performing at the highest levels in literacy is 48%, able to read and write and employ printed information in daily activities. 33% have basic literacy proficiency.
Literacy varies significantly across states and regions. New Hampshire has the highest literacy rate at 88.5% and New Mexico has the lowest literacy rate at 70.9%.
Men score higher than women in mathematics literacy and digital problem-solving.
Low literacy rates correlate with higher unemployment, reduced income, higher incarceration rates, and poorer health outcomes. Higher literacy rates correlate with trust in others, political efficacy, participation in volunteer activities, and self-reported health.
See our other statistic posts
Sources
- Aspen Institute. Pathways to digital skills development for Latino workers | The Aspen Institute
- Barbara Bush Foundation. Assessing the Economic Gains of Eradicating Illiteracy Nationally and Regionally in the United States
- National Assessment of Educational Progress. 2022 NAEP Reading Assessment
- National Assessment of Educational Progress. About the NAEP Reading Assessment
- National Assessment of Educational Progress. NAEP Report Card: Reading
- Ballard Brief. Illiteracy Among Adults in the United States – Ballard Brief.
- National Center for Education Statistics. PIAAC Highlights of U.S. National Results
- National Center for Education Statistics. Fast Facts: Adult literacy (69)
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- Pro Literacy. https://www.proliteracy.org/Portals/0/pdf/PL_AdultLitFacts_US_flyer.pdf
- World Literacy Foundation. The Impact of Illiteracy and the Importance of Early …
- World Literacy Foundation. The Economic Social Cost of Illiteracy 2022
- The Policy Circle. Failing Grade: Literacy in America – The Policy Circle
- Regis College. Child Illiteracy in America: Statistics, Facts, and Resources | Regis College
- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. What you need to know about literacy | UNESCO
- Iowa State University. Chapter 1. What is Literacy? Multiple Perspectives on Literacy
- American Institutes for Research. NCES Data Point: Adult English Literacy in the United States | American Institutes for Research
- Wise Voter. Literacy Rate by State 2023 – Wisevoter
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Gail holds a degree in International Development and has a strong background in research and writing. Her work focuses on exploring topics related to development, including education.