Monthly Podcast Listening Increases 38 Percent YOY

Some 42% of Americans ages 12 and older report listening to podcasts on at least a monthly basis, up from 38% last year and topping the previous high of 41% from 2021, according to the latest edition of The Infinite Dial from Edison Research

Both the share of respondents reporting podcasting familiarity (83%, up from 79%) and having ever listened to a podcast (64%, up from 62%) reached new highs in this latest annual report.

Men and women each reported gains in monthly podcast listening, with men up to 46% from 41% last year and women to 39% from 36%.

Notably, respondents ages 35-54 reported the biggest gains in podcast listening. This year 51% say they listen on at least a monthly basis, up considerably from 43% last year. This puts them on almost equal footing with the 12-34 age group, 55% of whom indicated that they listen each month. That was up from 50% last year, but not quite matching this age group’s previous high of 56% from 2021.

Last year, 35-54-year-olds had bucked the trend as the only age cohort examined that had increased their adoption of podcasts, such that this latest survey cements the medium’s growing popularity among this group. Indeed, recent research indicates that the 35-44 age group is more likely to listen to podcasts than the 18-24 bracket. MarketingCharts found the same trend in its latest Media Audience Demographics report, with the 25-34 group the highest-indexing in weekly podcast listening, followed by the 35-44 and 18-24 brackets.

Online Audio Engagement Also Climbs

As with podcasting, the percentage of US respondents ages 12+ who listened to online audio in the previous month rose this year, reaching 75%, up from 73% last year. The increase was highest among the 35-54 (85%, up from 81%) group, again almost matching the 12-34 bracket (89%, up from 87%).

Weekly online audio listening (referring to AM/FM radio stations online and/or streamed audio content available only on the internet) also climbed, to reach 7 in 10 respondents, up from two-thirds (67%) last year and 62% in 2021.

Finally, 53% of respondents said they’ve ever listened to an audiobook, the first time passing the majority threshold. More than one-third (35%) said they’ve listened to an audiobook in the past year, also a new high.