A young woman reading a Don DeLillo novel in front of a barber shop. You don’t see that every day.
According to a Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted from January – February 2015, 23 percent of U.S. adults did not read a book that year. Exactly who are these non-book readers?
According to a survey, non-book readers tend to share several demographic traits. A much higher percentage of adults with a high school diploma or less said they have never read a book (39% vs. 11%). Also, lower-educated adults are less likely to own smartphones, the most popular device for reading electronic books.
People with household incomes below $30k are less likely to read books (31% vs. 15%). Hispanics (38%) are more likely than Blacks (25%) or Whites (20%) not to have read a book in the last year. Survey samples of Asian Americans were too small for statistically valid analyses.
Also, there are differences based on age and community. The non-book reading rate is greater among older Americans than it is among younger Americans. Gender does not seem to be a relevant factor.
The demographic profile of people who have never been to a library is similar to non-book readers. A survey conducted by the Center for Community Development in 2016 found that those without a high school diploma were more likely to have never been to a public library.
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