How well can adults across the US read and comprehend everyday texts? Recently, data hub USAFacts analyzed results from the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), which surveyed 4,574 respondents aged 16 to 65. Participants were scored from zero (functionally illiterate) to 500 (advanced comprehension, source evaluation, and reasoning). The national average came in at 263.5, about 40 points above the “low literacy” threshold.
Click on to explore which states rank highest and lowest in literacy.