Here's the number everyone arguing about astrology on TikTok should bookmark: according to a 2018 Pew Research Center survey, 29% of U.S. adults believe in astrology. Nearly one in three. That's not a niche quirk — that's a significant chunk of the country, full stop.
Okay, but is it actually a Gen Z thing?
The Pew Research Center's data adds an important layer here. Their survey found that belief in at least one "New Age" concept — a category that includes astrology — is markedly more common among adults under 65 than among older Americans. So yes, younger adults are leaning in more than their grandparents. The generational gap is real, it's just not exclusive to Gen Z specifically — it's more of a broad "younger than 65" situation. Sorry to complicate the discourse.
The other big split the Pew data flags? Gender. Seventy percent of women reported believing in at least one New Age concept, compared to 55% of men. That gap is significant — and it tracks with why astrology content tends to dominate spaces where women are the primary audience. This isn't a coincidence; it's a documented pattern.
So why does it feel like everyone is suddenly a Scorpio rising?
The Pew survey was conducted in 2018 — before the full astrology-on-TikTok era really exploded. What the data gives us is a solid baseline: even before the algorithm started serving everyone birth chart content, belief in astrology was already sitting at 29% of U.S. adults. That's not a pandemic-era blip or a TikTok invention. It was already there, quietly thriving.
What social media likely did is make existing believers visible to each other in a way they weren't before. When 29% of people believe something but mostly keep it to themselves, it feels fringe. When they all find each other online and start posting about Mercury retrograde, it feels like a cultural takeover. Both things can be true.
What this actually means
The Pew Research Center frames astrology belief within a broader landscape of "New Age" thinking — a category that many Americans, religious and nonreligious alike, participate in to varying degrees. It's not a replacement for religion, and it's not purely a secular trend either. It's messier and more human than either camp in the discourse usually admits.
The 29% figure is a real, sourced anchor in a conversation that usually runs entirely on vibes. Use it wisely. And maybe check your Mercury placement while you're at it — purely for cultural reflection purposes, obviously.
- Pew Research Center, "'New Age' Beliefs Common Among Both Religious and Nonreligious Americans", October 1, 2018, pewresearch.org — source for the 29% U.S. adult astrology belief figure, the gender gap in New Age belief (70% women vs. 55% men), and the finding that such beliefs are more common among adults under 65.
All content is offered for cultural reflection and entertainment only, not as prediction or personal guidance.
Now that you have the real numbers, why not explore what astrology has to say about you? Lunaple can walk you through your birth chart — no guesswork, just the good stuff.
Explore My ChartFor entertainment purposes only. Not a substitute for professional, medical, legal, or financial advice.
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