These article is on literacy rates in the us. We all know U.S.A is atleast a nice place to be and also work too.
Report Highlights
- Nationwide, on average, 79% of U.S. adults are literate in 2023.
- 21% of adults in the US are illiterate in 2023.
- 54% of adults have a literacy below 6th grade level.
- Low levels of literacy costs the US up to 2.2 trillion per year.
- 34% of adults who lack proficiency in literacy were born outside the US.
- Massachusetts was the state with the highest rate of child literacy.
- New Mexico was the state with the lowest child literacy rate.
- The state with the highest percentage of adults who were considered literate was New Hampshire.
- The state with the lowest adult literacy rate was California.
- On average, nationwide, 66% of 4th grade children in the U.S. could not read proficiently in 2013.
Child Literacy Statistics
The score for reading has gotten better for most 4th and 8th grade kids since 1992, but it did not change much from 2015 to 2017.
Some groups of students used to do better than others in school based on their ethnicity. However, this gap has gotten smaller over time. Between 1992 and 2017, there was a big improvement. But between 2015 and 2017, there wasn’t much change.
- On average, in 2017, female 8th graders scored 10 points higher than male 8th graders on the reading portion of the Average National Assessment of Educational Progress.
- Fourth grade students, overall, improved 5 points between 1992 and 2017, while 8th grade students, overall, improved 7 points between 1992 and 2017.
- The Top 3 states for highest child literacy rates were Massachusetts, Maryland, and New Hampshire, in that order (highest to lowest).
- The Bottom 3 states for child literacy rates were Louisiana, Mississippi, and New Mexico, (highest to lowest).
- Across the U.S., 66% of all 4th graders in 2013 were reading below proficiency levels, which was a 6% improvement from 2003.
Child Literacy Statistics by State (4th Grade)
| State | Rank (lower is better) | Students Not Reading Proficiently (%) | Lower Income Students Not Reading Proficiently (%) | Higher Income Students Not Reading Proficiently (%) | Improvement since 2003 (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 35 | 69 | 82 | 51 | 12 |
| Alaska | 44 | 73 | 85 | 60 | -1 |
| Arizona | 40 | 72 | 85 | 57 | 6 |
| Arkansas | 32 | 68 | 78 | 54 | 6 |
| California | 43 | 73 | 85 | 54 | 8 |
| Colorado | 8 | 59 | 79 | 54 | 6 |
| Connecticut | 5 | 57 | 81 | 43 | 0 |
| Delaware | 13 | 62 | 75 | 48 | 7 |
| District of Columbia | 45 | 77 | 87 | 39 | 14 |
| Florida | 12 | 61 | 73 | 42 | 10 |
| Georgia | 26 | 66 | 79 | 47 | 10 |
| Hawaii | 37 | 70 | 83 | 57 | 11 |
| Idaho | 31 | 67 | 78 | 56 | 4 |
| Illinois | 28 | 66 | 84 | 48 | 4 |
| Indiana | 14 (tied) | 62 | 75 | 49 | 7 |
| Iowa | 16 | 62 | 77 | 52 | 5 |
| Kansas | 14 (tied) | 62 | 78 | 46 | 7 |
| Kentucky | 21 | 64 | 77 | 49 | 7 |
| Louisiana | 46 | 77 | 85 | 58 | 4 |
| Maine | 19 (tied) | 63 | 76 | 52 | 2 |
| Maryland | 2 | 55 | 76 | 42 | 19 |
| Massachusetts | 1 | 53 | 75 | 38 | 12 |
| Michigan | 34 | 69 | 81 | 58 | -1 |
| Minnesota | 9 | 59 | 77 | 48 | 6 |
| Mississippi | 47 | 79 | 85 | 58 | 4 |
| Missouri | 23 | 65 | 77 | 51 | 2 |
| Montana | 24 | 65 | 78 | 54 | 0 |
| Nebraska | 19 (tied) | 63 | 77 | 51 | 7 |
| Nevada | 42 | 73 | 83 | 56 | 9 |
| New Hampshire | 3 | 55 | 76 | 47 | 8 |
| New Jersey | 7 | 58 | 78 | 44 | 5 |
| New Mexico | 48 | 79 | 85 | 61 | 2 |
| New York | 18 | 63 | 77 | 47 | 5 |
| North Carolina | 22 | 65 | 78 | 47 | 3 |
| North Dakota | 29 | 66 | 78 | 60 | 3 |
| Ohio | 17 | 63 | 80 | 48 | 5 |
| Oklahoma | 36 | 70 | 79 | 57 | 5 |
| Oregon | 30 | 67 | 79 | 50 | 3 |
| Pennsylvania | 10 | 60 | 77 | 45 | 10 |
| Rhode Island | 15 | 62 | 81 | 45 | 13 |
| South Carolina | 39 | 72 | 83 | 54 | 3 |
| South Dakota | 33 | 68 | 82 | 58 | -1 |
| Tennessee | 27 | 66 | 82 | 48 | 11 |
| Texas | 38 | 72 | 83 | 53 | -1 |
| Utah | 20 (tied) | 63 | 76 | 54 | 7 |
| Vermont | 6 | 58 | 74 | 46 | 8 |
| Virginia | 4 | 57 | 79 | 44 | 12 |
| Washington | 11 | 60 | 77 | 47 | 10 |
| West Virginia | 41 | 73 | 76 | 63 | -3 |
| Wisconsin | 25 | 65 | 80 | 53 | 3 |
| Wyoming | 20 (tied) | 63 | 76 | 54 | 5 |
| Average | 24 | 66 | 80 | 49 | 6 |
Adult Literacy Statistics
- The literacy rate for adults across the U.S. averages 88%.
- Between 2012 and 2017, the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIACC) surveyed the abilities of 12,330 adults between 16 – 74 years of age, with representatives from every U.S. county and state as well as the District of Columbia.
- Based on the PIACC survey for the years 2012, 2014, and 2017, the average score nationwide in the U.S. was 264 out of 500 points.
- New Hampshire, Minnesota, and North Dakota had the highest rates of literacy, in descending order.
- Florida, New York, and California had the lowest rates of literacy, also in descending order.
Adult Literacy Rate and PIACC Score Estimate by State
| State | Literacy Rate (%) | Literacy Rank | PIACC Estimate | PIACC Rank |
| Alabama | 85.2 | 39 | 259 | 44 |
| Alaska | 90.8 | 19 | 277 | 5 |
| Arizona | 86.9 | 33 | 262 | 37 |
| Arkansas | 86.3 | 37 | 259 | 45 |
| California | 76.9 | 50 | 257 | 46 |
| Colorado | 90.1 | 22 | 272 | 16 |
| Connecticut | 91.4 | 15 | 271 | 18 |
| Delaware | 89.3 | 26 | 264 | 34 |
| District of Columbia | n/a | n/a | 277 | 4 |
| Florida | 80.3 | 48 | 259 | 43 |
| Georgia | 83.3 | 45 | 260 | 39 |
| Hawaii | 84.1 | 40 | 270 | 22 |
| Idaho | 89.5 | 25 | 270 | 24 |
| Illinois | 87.1 | 32 | 266 | 31 |
| Indiana | 92.0 | 12 | 266 | 27 |
| Iowa | 92.5 | 9 | 273 | 9 |
| Kansas | 92.2 | 11 | 271 | 19 |
| Kentucky | 87.8 | 29 | 261 | 38 |
| Louisiana | 84.0 | 41 | 252 | 51 |
| Maine | 92.6 | 8 | 273 | 11 |
| Maryland | 88.8 | 27 | 268 | 26 |
| Massachusetts | 90.1 | 23 | 273 | 13 |
| Michigan | 91.7 | 13 | 271 | 21 |
| Minnesota | 94.0 | 2 | 279 | 2 |
| Mississippi | 84.0 | 42 | 252 | 49 |
| Missouri | 92.5 | 10 | 266 | 30 |
| Montana | 91.2 | 16 | 273 | 14 |
| Nebraska | 92.7 | 6 | 271 | 17 |
| Nevada | 83.9 | 43 | 255 | 47 |
| New Hampshire | 94.2 | 1 | 279 | 1 |
| New Jersey | 83.1 | 46 | 264 | 33 |
| New Mexico | 83.5 | 44 | 252 | 50 |
| New York | 77.9 | 49 | 260 | 42 |
| North Carolina | 86.4 | 36 | 265 | 32 |
| North Dakota | 93.7 | 3 | 276 | 6 |
| Ohio | 90.9 | 18 | 268 | 25 |
| Oklahoma | 87.7 | 30 | 263 | 35 |
| Oregon | 89.8 | 24 | 273 | 10 |
| Pennsylvania | 87.4 | 31 | 266 | 28 |
| Rhode Island | 91.5 | 14 | 266 | 29 |
| South Carolina | 85.3 | 38 | 263 | 36 |
| South Dakota | 93.0 | 5 | 271 | 20 |
| Tennessee | 86.8 | 34 | 260 | 40 |
| Texas | 81.0 | 47 | 254 | 48 |
| Utah | 90.6 | 20 | 274 | 8 |
| Vermont | 93.4 | 4 | 277 | 3 |
| Virginia | 88.0 | 28 | 270 | 23 |
| Washington | 90.2 | 21 | 275 | 7 |
| West Virginia | 86.6 | 35 | 260 | 41 |
| Wisconsin | 92.7 | 7 | 273 | 12 |
| Wyoming | 91.1 | 17 | 272 | 15 |
| Average | 88 | 25.5 | 264 | 26 |
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