Podcast statistics 2026: how many people listen?
Edison Research's The Infinite Dial 2026 estimates 58% of Americans 12 and older, about 167 million people, listened to or watched a podcast in the last month. Pew Research Center, using a different survey design, found 54% of U.S. adults listened in the past 12 months. Compare each only with itself.
Edison Research: The Infinite Dial 2026 (Americans 12+)
- 58% (an estimated 167 million) listened to or watched a podcast in the last month; 45% in the last week; 80% ever. Edison describes these as all-time highs.
- 68% of Americans ages 35 to 54 consumed a podcast in the last month.
- 57% of Americans 12+ have both listened to and watched a podcast.
- Caveats: survey fielded January 2026 (n=2,050), released March 2026. Since 2025 the measure includes watching. About half the sample is non-probability.
Edison Research: most-used podcast service (U.S. weekly podcast consumers 13+, Q4 2025)
- YouTube 32%, Spotify 25%, Apple 20%.
- Caveat: read from the Infinite Dial 2026 presentation chart. Confirm the slide before using it in a graphic.
Edison Research: daily audio time (Podcast Consumer 2026)
- Daily podcast consumers spend 5 hours 11 minutes a day with all audio, versus 3 hours 57 minutes for Americans 13+.
- Caveat: Share of Ear, Q1 2026. This is all audio, not podcast-only minutes.
Pew Research Center: podcast listening (U.S. adults 18+)
- 54% of U.S. adults listened to a podcast in the past 12 months, up from 49% in 2022.
- By age: 18 to 29, 67%; 30 to 49, 62%; 50 to 64, 50%; 65 and older, 33%.
- Caveats: survey August 18 to 24, 2025, n=5,153, margin of error plus or minus 1.6 points. Adults 18+, listening only, past 12 months. Pew's design differs from Edison's, so the two sets of figures should not be combined or compared directly.
YouTube (platform self-reported, global)
- YouTube reported more than 1 billion monthly active viewers of podcast content as of January 2025, and 400 million+ hours of podcasts watched monthly on living-room devices in 2024.
- Caveat: vendor self-reported, global figures.
IAB/PwC: U.S. podcast advertising revenue
- Caveats: IAB/PwC Internet Advertising Revenue Report, full year 2025 (April 2026). Audio-based podcast definition that may undercount video; industry-association data self-reported to PwC and unaudited.
- See our pricing page for current prices, or book a free discovery call.
Podcast Index: how many podcasts are active?
- 4,744,570 podcast feeds in the index; 341,371 published a new episode in the last 30 days and 466,772 in the last 90 days.
- That means roughly 7% of feeds published in the last 30 days (our calculation).
- Caveat: a live counter, retrieved October 25, 2026. It changes daily.
How should I use these numbers?
Quote each figure with its source, date and population, and never merge figures from different studies into one claim. These are market figures, not results for any Stimulate client. We refresh this page when new editions are published, starting with The Infinite Dial each March.
Sources
- Edison Research, The Infinite Dial 2026: https://www.edisonresearch.com/the-infinite-dial-2026/
- Edison Research, The Infinite Dial 2026 presentation (PDF): https://www.edisonresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The-Infinite-Dial-2026-Presentation.pdf
- Edison Research, The Podcast Consumer 2026 (PDF): https://www.edisonresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Podcast-Consumer-2026_Final-for-download.pdf
- Pew Research Center, Podcasts and News Fact Sheet: https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/fact-sheet/podcasts-and-news-fact-sheet/
- YouTube Official Blog, Feb 26, 2025: https://blog.youtube/news-and-events/1-billion-monthly-podcast-users/
- IAB/PwC Internet Advertising Revenue Report, FY2025 (PDF): https://www.iab.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/IAB_PwC_Internet_Ad_Revenue_Report_Full_Year_2025_April_2026.pdf
- Podcast Index statistics: https://stats.podcastindex.org/
Frequently asked questions
How many people listen to podcasts in 2026?
Edison Research's The Infinite Dial 2026 estimates 58% of Americans 12+ (about 167 million) listened to or watched a podcast in the last month. That figure includes watching.
What share of U.S. adults listen to podcasts according to Pew?
Pew Research Center found 54% of U.S. adults listened to a podcast in the past 12 months (survey August 2025).
Which platform is used most for podcasts?
In Edison Research's Infinite Dial 2026 presentation, YouTube was the most-used podcast service among U.S. weekly podcast consumers 13+ in Q4 2025 (32%), followed by Spotify (25%) and Apple (20%).
How big is U.S. podcast advertising?
See our pricing page.
Next steps
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