Percentage of adults age 16 or older who participated in literary practices, by frequency of participation and materials in the home and selected characteristics: 2003

Adult Reading Habits

Table 20-1. Percentage of adults age 16 or older who participated in literary practices, by frequency of participation and materials in the home and selected characteristics: 2003

	Read newspapers or magazines			Read books			Read letters and notes
Characteristic	Every day	A few times a week or weekly	Less than once a week/ never	Every day	A few times a week or weekly	Less than once a week/ never	Every day	A few times a week or weekly	Less than once a/ week/ never	25 or more books in the home

Total	48.4	36.4	15.2	31.6	30.4	37.9	50.6	29.3	20.1	88.2
Sex
Male	49.4	35.0	15.6	24.5	30.7	44.8	47.3	30.5	22.2	87.2
Female	47.4	37.7	14.9	38.3	30.2	31.5	53.7	28.2	18.1	89.0
Age
16–18	23.3	55.8	20.9	35.8	33.6	30.6	32.1	42.7	25.2	88.8
19–24	28.6	52.3	19.2	24.3	35.6	40.1	36.2	39.8	23.9	79.6
25–39	37.5	45.1	17.4	27.9	33.0	39.1	52.6	29.3	18.1	87.7
40–49	49.9	35.8	14.4	33.0	29.6	37.4	58.3	24.1	17.6	91.6
50–64	61.7	25.7	12.6	36.2	27.4	36.4	58.8	23.4	17.7	90.8
65 or older	72.3	16.7	11.0	33.8	25.9	40.2	43.1	31.4	25.5	86.5
Education
Less than high school¹	28.6	39.4	32.0	21.4	27.0	51.6	30.0	33.1	36.9	72.3
High school diploma or equivalent	48.6	37.1	14.3	23.8	29.8	46.4	44.6	33.4	22.0	86.5
Some college	50.7	37.7	11.6	35.3	30.8	33.9	57.3	28.1	14.6	93.0
Bachelor’s degree or higher	61.9	31.1	7.0	46.4	33.7	19.9	68.0	21.9	10.1	97.5
Race/ethnicity²
White	53.7	34.6	11.6	33.8	30.0	36.2	53.7	28.7	17.6	92.7
Black	42.3	42.1	15.7	32.5	35.9	31.6	49.1	32.4	18.5	81.8
Hispanic	27.4	36.8	35.9	18.8	26.8	54.4	34.8	28.9	36.3	66.9
Asian/Pacific Islander	38.0	47.9	14.1	29.7	34.9	35.4	51.6	29.0	19.4	90.5
American Indian	45.3	36.7	18.0	18.1	34.7	47.2	44.7	34.2	21.1	86.3
More than one race	43.8	42.8	13.4	39.2	25.2	35.7	48.5	35.0	16.4	92.2
Language spoken before starting school
English only	51.3	36.4	12.3	33.4	30.7	36.0	52.8	29.5	17.7	91.1
English and Spanish	44.9	40.8	14.2	34.2	36.6	29.2	56.9	28.8	14.3	82.8
English and other language	56.8	34.6	8.5	33.3	39.1	27.6	59.7	24.2	16.1	92.0
Spanish	19.8	33.6	46.5	14.3	23.1	62.6	26.4	28.6	45.0	59.3
Other language	43.6	40.0	16.5	29.2	29.8	41.1	45.3	30.9	23.9	87.3
Household income
Less than $15,000	35.2	39.7	25.1	25.9	28.6	45.5	36.3	32.8	30.9	71.7
$15,000–29,999	44.3	36.9	18.8	27.9	28.4	43.8	43.0	32.6	24.3	83.1
$30,000–49,999	48.7	37.7	13.7	29.8	30.3	40.0	46.7	32.3	21.0	88.8
$50,000–74,999	50.7	38.4	10.8	32.5	30.6	36.9	57.1	27.6	15.3	93.5
$75,000 or more	60.1	31.3	8.6	39.6	32.9	27.6	67.1	22.5	10.5	97.9
Poverty³
Poor	31.0	41.7	27.3	23.9	28.5	47.6	35.2	33.1	31.7	72.8
Near-poor	44.8	37.3	17.9	28.5	28.4	43.2	42.8	32.2	25.1	84.0
Nonpoor	55.0	34.9	10.2	34.9	31.4	33.6	58.4	27.1	14.5	93.7

¹Included in this category are those still enrolled in high school. In 2003, this accounted for 3 percent of the total population age 16 or older.
²Black includes African American, Hispanic includes Latino, Pacific Islander includes Native Hawaiian, and American Indian includes Alaska Native. Race categories exclude Hispanic origin unless specified.
³“Poor” is defined to include those families below the poverty threshold; “near-poor” is defined as 100–199 percent of the poverty threshold; and “nonpoor” is defined as 200 percent or more than the poverty threshold
NOTE: Respondents age 16 or older living in households or prisons were asked about how often they read newspapers or magazines, books, or letters and notes in English; they could respond “every day,” “a few times a week,” “once a week,” “less than once a week,” or “never.” Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL), previously unpublished tabulation (December 2005).

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