Between 2017 and 2023, the percentage of adults performing at the lowest proficiency level in literacy increased by 9 percentage points. This is the first statistically significant drop since the initial round of data collection in 2012.
This recurring survey, called the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), measures the competency of working-age adults ages 16–65 in three areas: literacy, numeracy, and digital problem-solving.
How does the PIAAC define literacy?
Twenty-one percent, or 43 million US adults, find it difficult to compare and contrast information, paraphrase, or make low-level inferences, and, according to the PIAAC survey, have low literacy skills.
The survey defines literacy as “understanding, evaluating, using and engaging with written text to participate in the society, to achieve one's goals and to develop one's knowledge and potential.” All US PIAAC literacy results are for English literacy.
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The scores are based on the amount of points a respondent gets from completing tasks of increasing difficulty. The more tasks respondents can complete at a higher difficulty level, the higher literacy score they receive.
There are six levels of literacy in the PIAAC scoring system, ranging from below level one to level five.
Which states have the highest literacy rates?
New Hampshire has the highest literacy score in the US, at 278.9, with Minnesota a very close second at 278.8. Minnesota is followed by Alaska, Washington, DC, and Vermont all with scores of 276.7.
New Mexico (251.5), Louisiana (251.5), and Mississippi (251.7) have the lowest literacy scores in the nation.
The national average literacy score is 263.5.
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Page sources and methodology
All of the data on the page was sourced directly from government agencies. The analysis and final review was performed by USAFacts.
