True Crime Podcasts

True Crime Podcast Industry Statistics & Audience Insights

True Crime is one of the most powerful and commercially valuable podcast genres in the United States. Industry research consistently shows strong audience scale, high engagement rates, and above-average brand responsiveness compared to many other media categories.

Demographic Trends

• True Crime podcast audiences skew female and rank as the #1 podcast genre among women, according to Pew Research Center.
• Regular podcast listeners are more likely to include True Crime among their top genres compared to lighter or non-podcast audiences, based on findings from Edison Research.
• The audience frequently overlaps with streaming subscribers, documentary viewers, and digital-native consumers, reflecting broader media consumption trends identified by Insider Intelligence.

For advertisers, these metrics reinforce why True Crime remains a premium podcast category: broad reach combined with deep engagement, strong host trust, binge listening behavior, and measurable listener action.

Audience Reach & Popularity

True Crime podcasts have become one of the most widely consumed and fastest-growing genres in the podcasting ecosystem. According to
Edison Research’s True Crime Consumer Report, approximately 42% of U.S. adults age 13+ have listened to a True Crime podcast — representing an estimated 119 million Americans. That level of reach places True Crime among the most broadly sampled categories in podcasting.

True Crime also consistently ranks among the top three most popular podcast genres among weekly listeners in the United States, alongside major categories such as comedy and society & culture, according to industry rankings from The Podcast Consumer by Edison Research.

Demographically, the genre stands out for its distinctive audience composition. Research from Pew Research Center and industry analyses show that True Crime podcast audiences skew heavily female — approximately 62% of listeners, making it the #1 most popular genre among women.

The audience also strongly concentrates within prime consumer age groups, with roughly 70% of True Crime listeners falling between ages 25–44, reflecting broader podcast demographic trends highlighted in Edison Research’s Podcast Consumer studies.

While podcasts have global reach, True Crime listenership is overwhelmingly concentrated in the United States. Industry data indicates that approximately 82% of True Crime podcast consumption originates from U.S.-based listeners, aligning with the United States’ position as the world’s largest podcast market according to Insider Intelligence.

Beyond scale and demographics, the genre has demonstrated exceptional growth. Weekly True Crime podcast listenership has nearly tripled over a five-year period, reflecting sustained audience demand and the continued expansion of high-quality investigative and narrative programming, as reported by Edison Research.

Engagement & Completion Rates

True Crime is not just widely consumed — it is deeply engaged with. According to Pew Research Center, 24% of podcast listeners say True Crime is their favorite genre, making it one of the most preferred categories in the medium. Among women, it ranks as the #1 podcast genre, reinforcing its outsized cultural and commercial influence.

That preference translates directly into measurable engagement. Industry benchmark data referenced in Edison Research’s Podcast Consumer studies and supported by analytics providers such as Podtrac show that narrative-driven genres — including True Crime — frequently achieve episode completion rates between 80–85%, outperforming many general entertainment and conversational formats.

The genre’s serialized storytelling structure creates powerful narrative immersion. Research highlighted by Sounds Profitable and the IAB Podcast Advertising Revenue Study demonstrates that host-read ads within immersive content environments drive higher attention, stronger ad recall, and improved brand lift compared with less structured audio formats.

True Crime listeners also tend to subscribe to multiple shows within the genre. The True Crime Consumer Report notes that binge listening and cross-show consumption are common behaviors, reinforcing repeat exposure opportunities for advertisers and extending lifetime listener value.

Together, these behaviors — favorite-genre loyalty, high completion rates, immersive storytelling, and multi-show engagement — position True Crime as one of the most commercially efficient and brand-responsive podcast categories in the market.

Listener Action & Brand Responsiveness

• Industry data from the IAB Podcast Advertising Revenue Study and Edison Research indicates that a majority of podcast listeners take action after hearing an ad, including researching a product or making a purchase.
• True Crime audiences demonstrate strong trust in hosts, making host-read ads particularly effective, according to research from Sounds Profitable.
• Over 70% of True Crime listeners report engaging with brand-focused content when it aligns with the show’s tone and credibility, based on findings from the True Crime Consumer Report.
• True Crime fans also exhibit strong binge behavior, with approximately 73% reporting that they listen to multiple episodes in a row, reinforcing extended brand exposure opportunities (Edison Research).
• Heavy podcast consumers frequently report listening 6+ hours per week, underscoring the sustained engagement levels common within serialized genres like True Crime (The Podcast Consumer 2024).

Frequently Asked Questions About True Crime Podcast Audiences & Advertising

How popular are True Crime podcasts in the United States?

True Crime is one of the most widely consumed podcast genres in the U.S. According to Edison Research’s True Crime Consumer Report, approximately 42% of U.S. adults age 13+ — or roughly 119 million Americans — have listened to a True Crime podcast. The genre consistently ranks among the top three most popular podcast categories among weekly listeners.

Is True Crime the most popular podcast genre for women?

Yes. Research from Pew Research Center shows that True Crime ranks as the #1 podcast genre among women. Overall, approximately 62% of True Crime listeners are female, making it one of the most female-skewing major genres in podcasting.

What age group listens most to True Crime podcasts?

True Crime audiences concentrate heavily within prime consumer demographics. Roughly 70% of listeners fall between the ages of 25–44, aligning with broader podcast audience trends identified in Edison Research’s Podcast Consumer studies.

Where are most True Crime podcast listeners located?

While True Crime podcasts have global reach, approximately 82% of consumption originates in the United States. The U.S. remains the world’s largest podcast market, according to Insider Intelligence, and accounts for the overwhelming majority of True Crime listenership.

Has True Crime podcast listenership grown in recent years?

Yes. Weekly True Crime podcast listenership has nearly tripled over a five-year period, reflecting sustained demand for investigative and narrative programming and the continued expansion of high-quality content in the genre.

Do True Crime podcasts have high engagement and completion rates?

True Crime is not only widely sampled — it is deeply engaged with. Approximately 24% of podcast listeners say True Crime is their favorite genre. Narrative-driven formats frequently achieve episode completion rates between 80–85%, outperforming many general entertainment categories.

Do True Crime listeners binge episodes?

Yes. Approximately 73% of True Crime fans report listening to multiple episodes in a row. This binge behavior reinforces long session times and increases repeat exposure opportunities for advertisers.

How many hours per week do True Crime listeners spend listening?

Heavy podcast consumers commonly report listening 6+ hours per week. Given True Crime’s serialized storytelling format and high binge rates, the genre benefits from sustained weekly listening time.

Do podcast listeners take action after hearing ads?

Yes. Industry research from the IAB Podcast Advertising Revenue Study and Edison Research indicates that a majority of podcast listeners take action after hearing an advertisement, including researching products or making purchases.

Why are host-read ads especially effective in True Crime podcasts?

True Crime audiences demonstrate strong trust in hosts. Research from Sounds Profitable shows that host-read ads in immersive, narrative environments drive higher attention, stronger ad recall, and improved brand lift compared with less structured audio formats.

Do True Crime listeners engage with brand content?

Yes. Over 70% of True Crime listeners report engaging with brand-focused content when it aligns with the tone and credibility of the show, according to the True Crime Consumer Report.

Why is True Crime considered a premium podcast category for advertisers?

True Crime combines broad reach, concentrated demographics, high completion rates, strong host trust, binge listening behavior, and measurable listener action. These characteristics make it one of the most commercially efficient and brand-responsive podcast categories in the market.

What are the podcast categories and sub-categories on Apple Podcasts?

Apple Podcasts organizes shows into a structured taxonomy of primary categories and sub-categories to help listeners discover content and to determine chart placement. These categories include major groupings such as Arts, Business, Comedy, Education, Fiction, Government, Health & Fitness, History, Kids & Family, Leisure, Music, News, Religion & Spirituality, Science, Society & Culture, Sports, Technology, True Crime, and TV & Film. Each major category may contain multiple sub-categories (for example, Business includes Careers, Entrepreneurship, Investing, Management, Marketing, and Non-Profit).

The complete and current list of Apple Podcasts categories and sub-categories can be found on this page above, where we’ve provided the full taxonomy for reference.

Apple Podcasts Categories (Complete List)

Arts

• Books
• Design
• Fashion & Beauty
• Food
• Performing Arts
• Visual Arts

Business

• Careers
• Entrepreneurship
• Investing
• Management
• Marketing
• Non-Profit

Comedy

• Comedy Interviews
• Improv
• Stand-Up

Education

• Courses
• How To
• Language Learning
• Self-Improvement

Fiction

• Comedy Fiction
• Drama
• Science Fiction

Government

Health & Fitness

• Alternative Health
• Fitness
• Medicine
• Mental Health
• Nutrition
• Sexuality

History

Kids & Family

• Education for Kids
• Parenting
• Pets & Animals
• Stories for Kids

Leisure

• Animation & Manga
• Automotive
• Aviation
• Crafts
• Games
• Hobbies
• Home & Garden
• Video Games

Music

• Music Commentary
• Music History
• Music Interviews

News

• Business News
• Daily News
• Entertainment News
• News Commentary
• Politics
• Sports News
• Tech News

Religion & Spirituality

• Buddhism
• Christianity
• Hinduism
• Islam
• Judaism
• Religion
• Spirituality

Science

• Astronomy
• Chemistry
• Earth Sciences
• Life Sciences
• Mathematics
• Natural Sciences
• Nature
• Physics
• Social Sciences

Society & Culture

• Documentary
• Personal Journals
• Philosophy
• Places & Travel
• Relationships

Sports

• Baseball
• Basketball
• Cricket
• Fantasy Sports
• Football
• Golf
• Hockey
• Rugby
• Running
• Soccer
• Swimming
• Tennis
• Volleyball
• Wilderness
• Wrestling

Technology

True Crime

TV & Film

• After Shows
• Film History
• Film Interviews
• Film Reviews
• TV Reviews