• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, February 22, 2026

Here is some sad news for those of us who work on email newsletters.

Only 38% of subscribers actually read them, in whole or in part. The remainder do not end up reading most of their newsletters, according to a new study from Pew Research Center. 

Moreover, only 6% of U.S adults often get news from newsletters, while 24% sometimes do. Another 26% say it happens rarely, and 43% say it never happens.

Of the readers surveyed, 71% subscribe to fewer than five newsletters. Only 10% subscribe to five to 10, and a mere 3% subscribe to more than 10, while 16% say they are not sure.

Despite the low numbers, newsletter readers would be an attractive group for upscale advertisers. They build engagement and awareness of associated products like events. And some do much better than these statistics would suggest. 

Among subscribers who often or sometimes get news from newsletters, 35% have college degrees or more. In addition, 31% have some college education, whereas 25% have a high school educations or less. 

In addition, 38% have upper incomes, while 30% have middle income and 27% are lower. 

There is little difference in terms of age: the lowest consumption at 28% is among those ages 18-29, while the highest is those in the 50-64 cohort, at about 32%. The other two age groups — ages 30-49 and 65+ — are both at 31%.

As for gender, 29% derive news from email newsletters, and 31% of women. 

These are the main types of newsletters to which people subscribe:

• Connected to a news organization — 25%
• Independent and not connected to a news organization — 24%
• About an even mix — 32%

And content? Of those surveyed, 69% read newsletters containing briefings or summaries of news, and 26% say they read these often. And 60% keep up with products featuring deep dives into specific issues and events, 17% often. Finally, 58% read newsletters containing opinions about issues and events in the news, 15% often. 

The authors observe that while “digital platforms, such as news websites, search engines and social media are all more common pathways to news, newsletters offer a distinct format for briefings, opinions and deep dives.”

Pew surveyed 5,153 panelists in Wave 177 of its American Trends Panel from August 18 to August 24, 2025.