How Many Americans Consult Psychics, Tarot Readers, or Astrologers?
The short answer
More people than you might guess — but mostly more casually than you might guess.
In 2025, the Pew Research Center reported that about three in ten Americans consult astrology, tarot cards, or fortune tellers at least once a year. That is a substantial share of the adult population for practices often assumed to be fringe.
The more interesting answer is why
The same Pew survey asked people why they engage with these practices, and the dominant answer was not guidance for major life choices. Most participants told Pew they do it for fun, and comparatively few said they rely on what they learn to make big decisions. That distinction matters for how you read the headline number: for a large share of that three-in-ten, checking a horoscope or pulling tarot cards sits somewhere between entertainment and light self-reflection, not decision-making.
Pew's data also shows engagement is not spread evenly across the population — patterns differ by demographic group, with the survey finding notably higher engagement among younger adults and among women. If you want the detailed breakdowns, the full Pew report is worth reading directly; it is one of the few large, methodologically careful surveys on this topic.
What the survey does and does not tell you
A participation survey measures behavior, not truth. Three in ten Americans engaging with tarot or astrology tells you these practices are culturally mainstream; it tells you nothing about whether the practices have predictive value. Those are separate questions, and it is easy — for both believers and skeptics — to blur them.
It is also worth keeping the terminology straight when reading coverage of surveys like this. 'Consulting a fortune teller' and 'reading a horoscope' are very different levels of engagement, and terms like psychic and clairvoyant carry specific claims — we unpack them in what these terms actually mean.
Why this matters practically
A market this size supports a large industry of practitioners — and, unavoidably, a fraud problem alongside the legitimate entertainment and spiritual-practice market. If tens of millions of people engage with these services yearly, even a small percentage of bad actors adds up to a lot of victims. That is why consumer-protection organizations publish specific guidance on psychic-service fraud, which we cover in how to recognize a psychic reading scam.
If you are one of the three in ten — or thinking about becoming one — the sensible sequence is: know what the format involves (see the comparison table), know why you're going (fun, reflection, or something heavier), and know the fraud patterns before any money changes hands.