Low literacy costs the US economy over $300 billion a year in lost earnings, lower workplace productivity, higher crime, and more government assistance.
- Reaching level 3 proficiency in literacy and numeracy improves a person’s economic, social, and educational outcomes.
- 80% of people living in poverty read at level 2 or below.
- Those with skills at level 1* or below are four times more likely to live in poverty.
- Children born to parents with low-literacy skills are likely to have low skills themselves, perpetuating poverty and other socioeconomic issues.
Adult education works!
- Increasing a person’s literacy skills by just one level makes them 50% less likely to live in poverty.
- In adult education programs nationwide, 47% of adult learners made gains in skills over the course of a year…
- More than 80% of our students made progress on individual goals in 2025/26.
* People reading at level 1 (the lowest level) can understand very short, simple sentences.
Learn more about adult literacy and skills on ProLiteracy’s Fact Sheet.
