Tarot Card Statistics in the US: 2026 Data on Who Uses Tarot
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of US adults used tarot cards in the past year.
Pew Research Center, 2025
Tarot has moved firmly into the American mainstream, sold in high-street bookshops and driven by a young, digitally native audience. About one in nine US adults consults tarot in a given year, but among younger adults and LGBTQ+ Americans the rate is far higher — and most treat it as reflection and entertainment rather than fortune-telling. This guide compiles the latest verified US statistics from Pew, Springtide and IBISWorld.
US tarot statistics at a glance
- 11% of US adults used tarot cards in the past year. (Pew Research Center, 2025)
- 24% of adults aged 18–29 use tarot — more than double the national average. (Pew, 2025)
- About a third of LGBTQ+ adults consult tarot — roughly three times the national rate. (Pew, 2025)
- 30% of Americans consulted astrology, tarot, a horoscope or a fortune teller in the past year. (Pew, 2025)
- 51% of young people aged 13–25 engage in tarot or fortune-telling. (Springtide, 2021)
- Of those young users, 17% do it daily and 25% weekly. (Springtide, 2021)
- Most who engage do so “just for fun”; only about 10% say it gives helpful insights. (Pew, 2025)
- The US psychic-services industry (astrology, tarot, palmistry, mediumship) is worth about $2.3 billion. (IBISWorld, 2025)
How many Americans use tarot cards?
Pew’s 2025 survey found that 11% of US adults had used tarot cards in the previous year — part of the 30% who consulted astrology, tarot, a horoscope or a fortune teller at least once (Pew, 2025). Tarot sits behind astrology (28% read horoscopes or astrological forecasts) but ahead of visiting a fortune teller (6%).
Young people and LGBTQ+ Americans lead the trend
Tarot use is heavily concentrated among the young: 24% of adults aged 18–29 use tarot, more than double the national rate, a shift widely attributed to TikTok’s #WitchTok and #Tarot communities (Pew, 2025). It is even more common among LGBTQ+ adults, about a third of whom consult tarot — roughly three times the national average (Pew, 2025). A separate study by the Springtide Research Institute found that 51% of 13–25-year-olds engage in tarot or fortune-telling, with 17% doing so daily, 25% weekly, 27% monthly and 31% less often (Springtide, 2021).
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Learn MoreBelief or entertainment?
Most tarot use is casual rather than devout. Across astrology, tarot and fortune-telling, Pew found that about 20% of adults engage “just for fun” while only around 10% do so because they believe the practices give helpful insights — and just 1% rely on them heavily for major life decisions (Pew, 2025).
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of Americans use tarot cards?
About 11% of US adults used tarot cards in the past year, rising to 24% among adults aged 18–29 (Pew, 2025).
Who is most likely to use tarot?
Young adults and LGBTQ+ Americans. Roughly a third of LGBTQ+ adults consult tarot, about three times the national rate (Pew, 2025).
Do people who use tarot actually believe in it?
Mostly not in a literal sense — most say they do it for fun, and only about 10% say tarot or similar practices give them helpful insights (Pew, 2025).
About this data
Produced by the editorial team at TarotCards.io, home to free tarot readings and astrology guides. Every figure is drawn from a named primary source, listed below, and the page is reviewed twice a year.
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