Everyday Newspaper Readers Are Disappearing

Only 20 percent of Americans aged 16 or older say they read the newspaper every day, according to the 2016 General Social Survey. This figure is likely even lower today. In 2000, more than one-third (37 percent) of the public read the newspaper every day. In 1990, more than half (53 percent) were daily newspaper readers. Here is the percentage of Americans by generation who were daily newspaper readers in 2016...

Read a newspaper every day
Millennials: 10%
Gen Xers: 15%
Boomers: 30%
Older: 38%

A substantial 48 percent of Millennials, 39 percent of Gen Xers, 28 percent of Boomers, and 22 percent of older Americans say they never read the newspaper.

Note: In 2016, Millennials were aged 22 to 39; Generation Xers were aged 40 to 51; Baby Boomers were aged 52 to 70; older Americans were aged 71 or older.

Source: Demo Memo analysis of the General Social Survey