Audiobooks have become a substantial part of listening and publishing, but the numbers measure different things: consumer reach, publisher revenue, library circulation and accessible public services. The statistics below keep those populations, periods and definitions separate.
Key Audiobook Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- 52% of U.S. adults, nearly 149 million people, had ever listened to an audiobook in February 2024.
- 38% of U.S. adults listened to an audiobook during 2024, up from 35% in 2023.
- Recent-year U.S. audiobook listeners consumed 6.8 titles on average in 2024.
- U.S. audiobook publishers recorded an estimated $2.0 billion in revenue in 2023.
- UK audiobook revenue reached £268 million in 2024, up 31% from 2023.
- U.S. Digital Audio revenue reached an estimated $2.4 billion in 2024, up 22.5% from 2023.
- 63% of recent-year U.S. audiobook listeners subscribed to at least one audiobook service in 2024.
- Fiction accounted for 64% of U.S. audiobook sales revenue in 2023.
- 26% of U.S. adults listened to an audiobook in the 12 months ending October 16, 2025.
- 33% of U.S. adults ages 30–49 listened to an audiobook in that 2025 period.
- 35% of U.S. adults with college-plus education listened during that 2025 period.
- Digital audiobooks made up 70% of adult audio circulation in responding U.S. public libraries in September–October 2024.
- Large U.S. public libraries serving more than 500,000 residents reported 90% digital and 10% physical audio circulation in 2024.
- One YLN/OverDrive Libby network recorded 175,663 e-audiobook checkouts in FY2024–25.
- The U.S. National Library Service served 202,947 audio readers in FY2024.
- NLS circulated 4,257,667 BARD audio downloads in FY2024.
Contents
- Key Audiobook Statistics
- U.S. Audiobook Listening Reach and Consumption
- Audiobook Sales Statistics and Publishing Trends
- Audiobook Genres and Subscription Behavior
- Audiobook Statistics by Age, Gender and Education
- Library Audiobook Circulation Statistics
- Accessible Audiobook Collection and Public-Service Data
U.S. Audiobook Listening Reach and Consumption
The February 2024 Edison survey reported that 52% of U.S. adults had ever listened to an audiobook, equivalent to nearly 149 million people. The survey covered 1,061 adults who had completed an audiobook and was weighted to the audiobook market, so the result is a survey estimate rather than a population census.
Annual listening was lower than lifetime reach but was increasing. Thirty-eight percent of U.S. adults listened during 2024, compared with 35% in 2023, while recent-year listeners consumed an average of 6.8 titles, up from 6.3.
| Measure | 2024 result | Comparison or definition |
|---|---|---|
| Ever listened | 52% of U.S. adults; nearly 149 million | Lifetime reach, February 2024 |
| Listened in the last year | 38% | 35% in 2023 |
| Titles per recent-year listener | 6.8 | 6.3 in 2023 |
| Titles per ever-listener | 4.8 | 4.0 in 2023; different denominator |
Among people who had ever listened, the average was 4.8 audiobooks in the prior year, versus 4.0 in 2023. That measure should not be treated as interchangeable with the 6.8-title recent-year-listener average because the populations differ.
Family listening was also visible in the 2024 survey. Fifty-three percent of audiobook listeners with children said their children also listened, and 77% of those parents cited giving children a screen break as a benefit; the latter is a perceived benefit, not a measured change in screen time.
The survey also found that 47% of recent-year listeners obtained an audiobook free through YouTube or file sharing. This records any reported acquisition, not the share of listening and not verified infringement.
For broader context, 76% of Americans age 12 and older listened to online audio monthly in January 2024, an estimated 218 million people. Online audio is broader than audiobooks and should not be read as an audiobook listening rate.
Source: Audiobook Revenue and the Number of Listeners Continue to Grow.
Audiobook Sales Statistics and Publishing Trends
Publisher-revenue measures show strong growth, but each series covers a defined market and reporting group. The Audio Publishers Association reported that U.S. publishers’ audiobook revenue reached an estimated $2.0 billion in 2023, up 9% from 2022, based on data supplied by 27 publishers.
The UK Publishers Association reported £268 million in audiobook revenue in 2024, up 31% from 2023. Its wider consumer-publishing context was £2.5 billion in total revenue, while consumer digital revenue was £566 million and consumer print revenue was £2.0 billion.
| UK consumer-publishing measure | 2024 result | Change or scope |
|---|---|---|
| Audiobooks | £268 million | Up 31% |
| Total consumer publishing | £2.5 billion | Up 5% |
| Consumer digital | £566 million | Up 17%; includes formats beyond audiobooks |
| Consumer print | £2.0 billion | Up 2% |
| Consumer fiction | More than £1.0 billion | Up 18%; spans formats |
The Association of American Publishers reported estimated U.S. Digital Audio revenue of $2.4 billion in 2024, up 22.5% from 2023. Digital Audio revenue grew 78.1% from 2020 to 2024, a five-year comparison rather than an annual growth rate, and digital formats together—Digital Audio plus eBooks—represented 14% of total U.S. publisher revenue in 2024.
These categories are not identical: Digital Audio is broader than one retail audiobook series, and the UK figures are publisher-revenue measures rather than every consumer transaction.
Sources: Publishing in 2024; AAP StatShot Annual Report: Publishing Revenues Totaled $32.5 Billion for Calendar Year 2024.
Audiobook Genres and Subscription Behavior
Access models are a major part of audiobook use. In 2024, 63% of recent-year U.S. audiobook listeners subscribed to at least one audiobook service, while 46% of current U.S. audiobook consumers borrowed a digital audiobook from a library during the prior year.
Fiction dominated the 2023 U.S. audiobook revenue mix among APA reporting publishers. Fiction represented 64% of revenue, with General Fiction at 21%, Science Fiction/Fantasy at 14% and Romance at 11%; these are revenue shares, not unit shares.
Several genre groups also recorded notable year-over-year revenue growth in 2023:
- History, Biography and Memoir revenue grew 22% from 2022.
- Health & Fitness audiobook revenue grew 20% from 2022.
- Religious/Faith-based audiobook revenue grew 17% from 2022.
- Romance audiobook revenue grew 14% from 2022.
The subscription and borrowing measures describe self-reported consumer behavior, whereas the genre figures describe participating-publisher revenue. They therefore answer different questions about the market.
Source: Audiobook Revenue and the Number of Listeners Continue to Grow.
Audiobook Statistics by Age, Gender and Education
Pew Research Center measured a different population and definition: listening to an audiobook in the prior 12 months, reported by U.S. adults surveyed October 6–16, 2025. Under that measure, 26% of U.S. adults listened.
| U.S. adult group | Listened in prior 12 months, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Men | 24% |
| Women | 27% |
| Ages 18–29 | 32% |
| Ages 30–49 | 33% |
| Ages 50–64 | 23% |
| Age 65+ | 13% |
| High school education or less | 17% |
| Some college | 27% |
| College-plus education | 35% |
The age pattern was highest among adults ages 30–49 at 33%, closely followed by adults ages 18–29 at 32%. It was 23% among adults ages 50–64 and 13% among those 65 and older; these are prevalence rates, not listening-frequency measures.
Education also separated reported listening: 17% of adults with a high school education or less listened, compared with 27% of adults with some college and 35% of adults with college-plus education.
Pew’s 2025 past-12-month measure should not be directly compared with the APA/Edison measures above because their definitions, field periods and survey designs differ.
Source: Book reading habits in the U.S. vary by education, age and other factors.
Library Audiobook Circulation Statistics
The 2024 Audiobooks and Public Libraries survey describes professional-reported circulation and spending in U.S. public libraries, not general-population listening. Among 486 responding library professionals, digital audiobooks represented 70% of adult audio circulation in September–October 2024 and 56% of youth audio circulation.
Library size was associated with a different physical-digital mix. Libraries serving fewer than 10,000 residents reported a 50/50 split, while libraries serving more than 500,000 residents reported 90% digital and 10% physical circulation.
Adult digital-audio spending rose 9.2% year over year in 2024 among responding libraries. Youth physical-audio spending rose 9.75%; physical audio includes print-audio products and players, so the category is not limited to audiobook files.
A single YLN/OverDrive Libby network recorded 392,140 Libby checkouts in FY2024–25. E-audiobooks accounted for 175,663 checkouts, or 44.8%, while e-books accounted for 153,429, or 39.1%; this is one network’s observed circulation, not a national estimate.
Source: Audiobooks and public libraries 2024 survey report.
Additional network data: Annual Report of the Librarian of Congress 2024.
Accessible Audiobook Collection and Public-Service Data
The U.S. National Library Service measures an eligibility-based public service for people who cannot read or use standard print, not commercial audiobook adoption. NLS served 219,589 total readers in FY2024, including 202,947 audio readers; the service categories may overlap.
| NLS FY2024 measure | Result | Definition or limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Total readers served | 219,589 | Eligibility-based service population |
| Audio readers | 202,947 | May overlap other readership categories |
| BARD users | 46,646 | Users, not completed-listen counts |
| Cartridge users | 173,266 | Service-user count |
| Total items circulated | 22,188,638 | Includes audio, braille, magazines and music |
| BARD audio downloads | 4,257,667 | Downloads are not necessarily completed listens |
| Digital audio cartridges | 17,328,164 | Transactions, not unique users |
As of September 30, 2024, NLS held 131,694 audio books and 184,230 electronically available items. The electronic-item total includes audio, braille and magazines, so it is broader than the audio-book inventory.
The FY2024 annual-report table also recorded 12,778 books added to BARD in FY2023. That figure is labeled as an FY2023 addition year in the FY2024 report and should not be presented as a FY2024 addition.
These service statistics show the scale of accessible audio distribution through a national public program. They do not estimate how many people in the general population listen to commercial audiobooks or how many downloads become completed listens.
Source: Annual Report of the Librarian of Congress 2024.