How many Americans believe in astrology and rely on fortunetelling? A new survey has answers
NEW YORK (AP) — A lot of American adults — about 3 in 10 — make use of astrology, tarot cards or fortunetellers at least once a year. But only a small fraction of them rely on what they learn from these practices to make major decisions.
That’s according to a
nationwide survey released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center, encompassing 9,593 U.S. adults who were interviewed last October.
Overall, according to Pew, about 2 in 10 U.S. adults say they engage in at least one of these activities mostly “just for fun,” while about 1 in 10 say they engage mostly because they “believe the practices give them helpful insights.” Only about 1% say they rely “a lot” on what they learn from these practices when making major life decisions.
Yet it’s a big business. The psychic services industry — which encompasses various specialties such as astrology, palm-reading, psychic readings and fortunetelling — generated an estimated $2.3 billion in revenue in 2024 and employed 105,000 people, according to
market research firm IBIS World.
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