Literacy in the United States

Adult literacy in the United States is assessed through national and international studies conducted by various government agencies and private research organizations. The most recent comprehensive data comes from a 2023 study conducted by the Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) as part of the OECD's Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies.

In 2023, 28% of adults scored at or below Level 1, 29% at Level 2, and 44% at Level 3 or above. Adults scoring in the lowest levels of literacy increased 9 percentage points between 2017 and 2023. In 2017, 19% of U.S. adults achieved a Level 1 or below in literacy, while 48% achieved the highest levels.

Adults scoring at Level 3 or above are considered "proficient at working with information and ideas in texts" (see also § Definitions below). Adults scoring below Level 1 can comprehend simple sentences and short paragraphs with minimal structure but will struggle with multi-step instructions or complex sentences, while those at Level 1 can locate explicitly cued information in short texts, lists, or simple digital pages with minimal distractions but will struggle with multi-page texts and complex prose. In general, both groups struggle reading complex sentences, texts requiring multiple-step processing, and texts with distractions.

A 2020 analysis by Gallup in conjunction with the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy estimated that the U.S. economic output could increase by $2.2 trillion annually—approximately 10% of the national GDP—if all adults were at Level 3.

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