22 Podcast Stats and Facts You Should Know 

As podcasts continue to grow year over year (about a 16% listener growth YOY), understanding the industry and some key statistics and facts around it is crucial.  

We spent some time compiling some statistics and facts from credible resources that anyone in the podcast industry should know. Check them out below. 

Listening Platforms  

• Pandora has the highest brand awareness as an audio brand, followed by iHeartRadio, Spotify and Apple Music. (The Infinite Dial)
• On a weekly basis, Spotify is the top audio listening platform. (The Infinite Dial)
• Spotify and Amazon Music’s monthly listener percentages have grown in 2020, whereas Pandora’s has decreased and Apple Music’s has stayed the same. (The Infinite Dial)

Awareness & Listening 

• 75% of the US population 12+ is aware of podcasting. (The Infinite Dial)
• 55% of the US population 12+ listens to podcasts. (The Infinite Dial)
• 37% of the US population 12+ listens to podcasts on a monthly basis. (The Infinite Dial)
• Where are people listening? 
  - 49% while at home 
  - 22% while driving
  - 11% while at work
  - 4% while on public transit (Music Oomph)

Demographics & Insights

• Listening to podcasts on a monthly basis, 51% are male and 49% are female. (The Infinite Dial)
• The most popular age demographic for podcast consumption is ages 35-54. (The Infinite Dial)
• It's 45% more likely for a podcast listener to have a college degree, and 68% more likely to have a post-graduate degree. (Music Oomph)

 Consistency 

• On average, podcast consumers listen to 7 hours of content on a weekly basis. (The Infinite Dial)
• US weekly podcast listeners average at about 6 podcasts per week. (The Infinite Dial)
• When it comes to engagement, 80% of podcast listeners listen to an entire podcast episode or at least most of it. (Music Oomph)
  - This gives podcasts one of the best if not the best engagement rate among rich media.

Volume & Discoverability

• Apple Podcasts has reached over 1 million downloadable podcasts. (My Podcast Reviews)
• Over 88,000 podcasts have been added in the last 30 days on Apple Podcasts. (My Podcast Reviews)
• There are also over 30 million episodes as of April 2020. (Podcast Insights)
• 'Society & Culture' tends to be the most popular podcasting genre, followed by Business, Comedy, News & Politics, and Health. (Music Oomph)
• How people are currently discovering podcasts (The Podcast Host) 
  - 43% on social media or on an online community 
  - 23% directly ask someone
  - 16% search a podcast app's directory 
  - 12% search on Google
  - 6% browse through podcast charts

Advertising

• 54% of podcast consumers say that they are more likely to consider the brands they hear advertised on podcasts. (Edison Research)
• 75% of NPR podcast listeners hold a more positive opinion of brands that support NPR. (NPR) 
• 69% of the respondents agreed that podcast ads made them aware of new products and services. (Music Oomph)
• Podcast advertising revenue is expected to pass $1 billion by 2021. (IAB Podcast Ad Revenue Report)