Podcast Listening for Adults

A podcast is a series of on-demand audio files that focus on a certain topic or have an overall theme. They are free to listeners and can be downloaded online, via smartphones, computers, or tablets. Thousands of podcasts are produced weekly, and listeners can subscribe to their favorite podcasts to get notified when a new episode becomes available. As of Q2 2025, podcasts have a 19% share of ad-supported audio by adults 18+. ⁵

• 245 million (85%) P12+ are familiar with audio podcasts, while 202 million (70%) have ever listened to a podcast.¹
• 76% of African Americans and 54% of Hispanics 12+ are familiar with podcasts.²
• 48% of P12+ listened to or watched a podcast in the last month - more than double from 21% in 2016.¹
• 35% listened or watched in the last week.¹
• 48% of African Americans and 45% of Hispanics listened in the last month.²
• 35% of African Americans and 32% of Hispanics listened in the last week.²
• U.S. monthly podcast listeners 18+ by gender:⁸
• Men: 52%
• Women: 48%
• Monthly podcast listeners by age in 2025:¹
• Ages 12-34: 58%
• Ages 35-54: 55%
• Ages 55+: 33%
• Median age of podcast listeners: 34 years old.⁴
• 115 million people listen to or watched a podcast weekly.¹
• 35% of the U.S. population listen to podcasts on a weekly basis.¹
• Among weekly podcast listeners: ³
• 42% started listening 4+ years ago.
• 25% started 2-3 years ago.
• 33% started within the past year.
• Percentage (%) of people who listen to podcasts daily:¹³
• Ages 18-24 - 33%
• Ages 25-34 - 38%
• Ages 35-44 - 32%
• Ages 45-54 - 19%
• Ages 55 -64 - 13%
• Ages 65+ - 7%
• Of those adults 18+ who have listened to a podcast in the last 30 days:¹⁴
• 63% are homeowners
• 58% work full-time jobs
• 51% are married
• 47% have received a bachelor's or graduate degree
• 56% have a child living at home 17 years old or younger
• Podcast listeners have been influenced by a podcast:³
• 60% have watched a movie, read a book, or listened to music because of a podcast.
• 52% have followed the social media account of their favorite podcast or its host(s)
• 36% have made or tried a lifestyle change (e.g., a new workout, new diet, or journaling).
• Podcast listeners spend 5 hours and 22 minutes listening to podcasts daily.⁴
• 32% of adults 18-34 listen to podcasts daily.⁵
• 23% of adults 25-54 listen to podcasts daily.⁵
• Locations and time where podcast listening occurs throughout the day:⁴
• Where:
• Home - 67%
• Work - 15%
• In the car - 12%
• Other - 6%
• When:
• 10am - 3pm - 32%
• 6am - 10am - 22%
• 3pm - 7pm - 20%
• 7pm - midnight - 17%
• Midnight - 6am - 9%
• Percentage of podcast downloads by genre:¹²
• News - 25%
• True Crime - 19%
• Comedy - 13%
• Society & Culture - 9%
• Other - 8%
• Sports - 7%
• Business - 4%
• Health & Fitness - 3%
• Arts - 2%
• The top 10 podcast networks, in sales, as of June 2025:¹⁸  
• iHeart Audience Network - 62.7M
• NPR -27.5M
• Audacy Podcast Network - 14.7M
• Audioboom- 12.2M
• Cumulus Podcast Network - 5.1M
• Paramount - 3.7M
• BBC - 2.6M
• Salem Podcast Network - 2.6M
• Soundrise - 2.2M
• American Public Group - 1.8M
• Top 10 podcasts in the U.S. as of June 2025:¹⁸
• NPR News Now (NPR)
• Up First (NPR)
• Stuff You Should Know (iHeart Audience Network)
• 48 Hours (Paramount)
• The Charlie Kirk Show (Salem Podcast Network)
• My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstack (iHeart Audience Network)
• Shawn Ryan Show (Cumulus Podcast Network)
• Fresh Air (NPR)
• On Purpose with Jay Shetty (iHeart Audience Network)
• VINCE (Cumulus Podcast Network)
• Duration of podcast episodes:¹⁵
• Less than 10 minutes - 15%
• 10 - 20 minutes - 16%
• 20 - 40 minutes - 32%
• 40 - 60 minutes - 21%
• Over 60 minutes - 16%
• Frequency of published episodes:¹⁵
• 0-2 days - 6%
• 3-7 days - 34%
• 8-14 days - 39%
• 15-29 days - 19%
• Over 30 days - 1%
• Platform used most by weekly podcast consumers:¹⁶
• YouTube - 39%
• Spotify - 21%
• Apple Podcasts - 8%
• Why weekly podcast consumers started watching podcasts on YouTube:¹⁶
• I like the video part of the podcast - 21%
• I like YouTube's recommendations for related content – 18%
• I like the comments and/or community - 16%
• YouTube is my primary destination for information and entertainment - 13%
• I like YouTube’s autoplay feature - 12%
• I manage my podcast subscription on YouTube - 9%
• These podcasts are not available elsewhere - 5%
• I don't watch/listen to podcasts elsewhere - 3%
• Podcast preferences between podcast newcomers and pioneers:¹⁶
• Podcast Newcomers (Those who started listening to podcasts within the past year):
• Audio only w/o any video - 26%
• Video you play in background/minimize - 34%
• Video you actively watch while listening - 41%
• Podcast Pioneers (Those who started listening to podcasts 4+ years ago):
• Audio only w/o any video - 30%
• Video you play in background/minimize - 29%
• Video you actively watch while listening - 41%
• Platforms used to listen to podcasts:¹⁷
• YouTube - 59%
• Spotify – 44%
• Apple Podcasts - 26%
• Facebook - 20%
• Amazon Music - 19%
• Web browser - 17%
• Google podcasts - 16%
• TikTok - 15%
• Instagram - 15%
• Apple iTunes - 13%
• Podcast advertising grew to $1.9B in 2023.⁹
• Forecast to exceed $2.2B in 2024 and reach to over $2.6B by 2026.⁹

Female Podcast Listeners

• 45% of U.S. Women 18+ have listened to a podcast.⁶
• 39% are between the ages of 18-34.⁶
• 29% have a household income of $100k or more.⁶
• 51% have a college degree.⁶
• 29% are parents or guardians of a child under the age of 18.⁶
• 95% worry about the economy.⁶
• 82% worry about the future of women's rights.⁶
• Top 10 listened to topics by women:⁶
• True Crime - 40%
• Music - 38%
• Wellness/Self-improvement - 35%
• Entertainment, Celebrity, & Gossip - 34%
• News/Information - 34%
• Comedy - 33%
• Love & Relationships - 32%
• Food/Cooking - 28%
• Politics - 28%
• Society & Culture - 27%
• Female podcast listeners who've done the following:⁶
• Followed a podcast or host on social media - 53%
• Signed up for a newsletter from a podcast - 23%
• Purchased merchandise from a podcast - 16%
• Paid a subscription fee to access early or exclusive content from a podcast - 15%
• Attended a virtual event hosted by a podcast - 14%
• Joined a podcast's fan club - 13%
• Attended a live show or event hosted by a podcast - 13%
• Donated or given money to a podcast - 12%
• Sources women had used to find out about podcasts:⁶
• Social media posts - 74%
• Recommendations from family & friends - 73%
• Searching the internet - 61%
• The services you use to listen to podcasts - 57%
• Hearing about them on another podcast - 57%
• Social media influencers and celebrities - 55%
• Seeing or hearing about it on TV - 38%
• Advertisements on other audio programs - 37%
• Other audio program hosts - 34%
• Recommendations from or ads on AM/FM radio - 34%
• Recommendations found in publications - 19%
• Reasons women enjoy listening to or watching female podcast hosts:⁶
• Can relate to stories from female podcast hosts - 33%
• Female podcast hosts talk about and explain complicated or underrepresented topics - 30%
• Female podcast hosts talk about consider multiple viewpoints - 29%
• Trust the point-of-view from female podcast hosts - 27%
• Feel like the female podcast hosts are your friends - 19%.

Gen Z Podcast Listeners

• Estimated 35 Million people age 13-24 listened to a podcast in the last month.¹
• Podcasts drive Gen Z action:⁷
• 43% of Gen Z listeners have discovered new brands or products while listening to podcasts.
• 41% pay attention to brands that sponsor or collaborate with their favorite podcast show or host.
• 37% prefer brands that share the same values as podcast shows or hosts.
• Podcast hosts connect with Gen Z listeners everywhere:⁷
• 40% of teens say that they have followed their favorite podcast creator on social media.
• 1 in 4 teens have subscribed/followed to the show to know when new episodes are released.
• Top 10 topics that Gen Z monthly listeners listen to:⁷
• Comedy - 37%
• Music - 35%
• Entertainment - 30%
• True Crime - 29%
• Sports - 26%
• Games/Hobbies - 25%
• Pop culture - 25%
• Mystery/Thriller - 23%
• Horror - 21%
• History - 21%
• How Gen Z discovers podcasts most often:⁷
• Searching on YouTube - 28%
• Social media post - 26%
• Friends or family - 19%
• Searching on the internet - 15%
• Ads on other audio programing - 3%
• Other - 9%
• Podcasts foster fun and connection for Gen Z:⁷
• 64% agree that podcasts keep them entertained and engaged with topics they're interested in.
• 45% agree that podcasts help them focus on positivity and personal growth.
• 39% agree that podcasts provide them with sense of community.

Black Podcast Listeners

• By age in 2022:⁸
• Ages 18-34: 42%
• Ages 35-54: 36%
• Ages 55+: 22%
• Black monthly podcast listeners 18+ by gender:⁸
• Men: 45%
• Women: 55%
• What they listen to:⁸
• 49% - comedy podcasts.
• 47% - music podcasts.
• 33% - sports podcasts.
• 30% - true crime podcasts.
• Where they listen:⁸
• At home: 95%
• In a car/truck: 64%
• While walking around/on foot: 57%
• While riding public transportation: 43%
• At work: 43%
• At a gym/while working out: 40%
• 75% say they "frequently" or "occasionally" follow or seek out content that focuses on Black stories and perspectives on podcasts.⁸

Latino Podcast Listeners

• U.S. weekly Latino podcast listeners spent 5 hours listening to podcasts in the last week.¹⁰
• 43% of U.S. Latinos aged 18+ have listened to a podcast in the past month.¹⁰
• 32% report listening to podcasts in the past week.¹⁰
• Latino monthly podcast listeners by age:¹⁰
• Age 18 - 34 - 47%
• Age 35 - 54 - 39%
• Age 55+ - 14%
• Top 5 Podcast topics listened to by U.S. monthly Latino podcast listeners:¹⁰
• Comedy
• Music
• True Crime
• Health & Fitness
• Sports
• 42% of Latino monthly podcast listeners say it’s very important or somewhat important that the podcasts they listen to are hosted by Latinos.¹⁰
• 78% of U.S. Latino monthly podcast listeners strongly or somewhat agree that the reason they listen to podcasts is because they want to be entertained.¹⁰
• 34% of Latino monthly podcast listeners say it’s very important or somewhat important that the podcasts they listen to are in Spanish.¹⁰
• Location of podcast listening by U.S. monthly Latino podcast listeners:¹⁰
• At home - 64%¹⁰
• In a car or truck - 13%¹⁰
• At work - 9%¹⁰
• While walking around or on foot - 7%¹⁰
• Someplace else - 7%¹⁰
• How often do consumers listen to podcasts by demographic:¹¹
• Age:
• 13% - Ages 18-24
• 20% - Ages 25-34
• 20% - Ages 35-44
• 15% - Ages 45-54
• 10% - Ages 55-64
• 7% - Ages 65+
• Gender:
• 11% - Male
• 17% - Female
• Income:
• 17% - $75+
• 12% - <$75k
• Activities done while listening to podcasts:¹¹
• Doing household chores - 30%
• Driving around - 30%
• Commuting to/from work - 26%
• Unwinding after a long day - 24%
• Taking a walk - 24%
• Working - 22%
• Eating a meal/lunchbreak - 18%
• Getting ready for the day - 17%
• Working out - 17%

Sources: 1) The Infinite Dial 2025-Edison Research/Audacy/Cumulus Media/SiriusXM Media; 2) The Infinite Dial 2025-Edison Research/Audacy/Cumulus Media/SiriusXM Media: A Look at Hispanics & African Americans; 3) Pew Research, Survey of U.S. adults conducted Dec 5-11, 2022; 4) Edison Research, "Share of Ear," Q3 2024.; 5) Edison Research, "Share of Ear," Q2 2025; 6) Edison Research, Women's Podcast Report 2025; 7) Edison Research, Gen Z Audio Study Q4 2024; 8) Black Podcast Listener Report 2.0, Edison Research; 9) PwC/IAB Full Year 2023 Podcast Ad Revenue Study; 10) Edison Research, Latino Podcast Listener Report 2024; 11) Disqo Report, Podcast Ad Effectiveness, 2025; 12) Triton Podcast Metrics from January - December 2024; 13) Edison Research, "Share of Ear," Q1 2024; 14) 2025 MRI-Simmons Spring Doublebase; 15) Podcast episode trends, Buzzsprout Platform Statistics, June 2024;  16) Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights' Podcast Download - Spring 2025 Report; 17) Analytics IQ, Podcast Listening Behaviors 2024; 18) Triton U.S. Podcast Ranker Average Weekly Downloads from June 2025

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