The Reading Level of the State of the Union, 1790–2026

About this chart

Each year's State of the Union message, from Washington's first in 1790 to 2026, is a point on the gold line: its Flesch–Kincaid grade, the years of school a reader needs, judged by the length of its sentences and words. Guide lines mark 8th grade, a high school senior and a college graduate. The readout gives the year, the President, whether the message was spoken or sent in writing, its length, its grade and its average words per sentence; the highest grade so far is marked, and at the end the lowest. The animation draws the record over fifty-six seconds, holds on the last year for three seconds, and loops. The scrubber under the chart marks each year and pauses on any of them.

Method

Every annual message a President has sent or delivered to Congress, from George Washington's first on January 8, 1790, to February 24, 2026, one for each year — the same messages, texts and word counting as “The State of the Union in 19 Words”. There was none in 1933: Hoover's last came in December 1932 and Roosevelt's first in January 1934. Where a year has more than one, the chart uses the spoken annual address, else the written annual message, else a new President's first address to a joint session of Congress (1989, 1993, 2001, 2009, 2017, 2021 and 2025); in 1790 it uses Washington's first of two. From 1801 to 1912, and in some later years, the message was sent in writing rather than spoken; the readout says which. The texts come from government printings: Richardson's Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents for 1790–1892, in Project Gutenberg's transcription; Foreign Relations of the United States for 1893–1932; the bound Congressional Record for Taft's 1911 and 1912 messages and for 1934–1992; and the Compilation of Presidential Documents, as delivered, for 1993–2026. The spoken addresses of 1934–1992 are as printed in the Congressional Record, which sometimes differs a little from the text the White House released. Lines the Record's scans lost (in 1912, 1949 and 1957, and in the written messages of 1974 and 1979–1981) stay lost. The American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara, was used only to check each text word for word; none of its text is used or published here.

The grade is the Flesch–Kincaid formula: 0.39 times the average words per sentence, plus 11.8 times the average syllables per word, minus 15.59, over the whole message. A word is a run of letters, as in the other State of the Union pieces; syllables are counted by the open-source syllable package (version 5.0.1); a sentence ends at a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark followed by a capital letter, except after common abbreviations and initials. The formula estimates the years of school a reader needs. It measures only the length of the sentences and of the words, not how clear, good or hard a message is. Most of the fall comes from shorter sentences, about 39 words each in the 1790s against about 14 in the 2020s; syllables per word fell less, from about 1.68 to 1.52. The grade has no ceiling: above 16 it passes a college degree, and Madison's 1815 message scores 25.6. How a printing punctuates decides where its sentences end; the line shows no step at the years the source changes. The guide lines at 8, 12 and 16 mark 8th grade, a high school senior and a college graduate.

Data sources

Data table

Every year's State of the Union message from 1790 to 2026, with its length, sentences and syllables, its average words per sentence and its Flesch–Kincaid grade, from the texts described in the Method. Computed by DataSlapper.

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The Reading Level of the State of the Union, 1790–2026
Year	President	Message	Words	Sentences	Syllables	Words per sentence	Grade
1790	George Washington	Spoken	1,093	24	1,876	45.5	22.4
1791	George Washington	Spoken	2,263	57	3,846	39.7	19.9
1792	George Washington	Spoken	2,103	59	3,499	35.6	17.9
1793	George Washington	Spoken	1,970	54	3,193	36.5	17.8
1794	George Washington	Spoken	2,919	76	4,854	38.4	19.0
1795	George Washington	Spoken	1,991	51	3,425	39.0	19.9
1796	George Washington	Spoken	2,867	76	4,794	37.7	18.9
1797	John Adams	Spoken	2,057	58	3,426	35.5	17.9
1798	John Adams	Spoken	2,218	55	3,698	40.3	19.8
1799	John Adams	Spoken	1,505	35	2,579	43.0	21.4
1800	John Adams	Spoken	1,372	39	2,316	35.2	18.0
1801	Thomas Jefferson	Sent in writing	3,234	90	5,313	35.9	17.8
1802	Thomas Jefferson	Sent in writing	2,200	60	3,510	36.7	17.5
1803	Thomas Jefferson	Sent in writing	2,257	46	3,769	49.1	23.3
1804	Thomas Jefferson	Sent in writing	2,095	50	3,413	41.9	20.0
1805	Thomas Jefferson	Sent in writing	2,920	78	4,594	37.4	17.6
1806	Thomas Jefferson	Sent in writing	2,863	71	4,634	40.3	19.2
1807	Thomas Jefferson	Sent in writing	2,383	60	3,844	39.7	18.9
1808	Thomas Jefferson	Sent in writing	2,674	69	4,390	38.8	18.9
1809	James Madison	Sent in writing	1,834	40	3,062	45.9	22.0
1810	James Madison	Sent in writing	2,440	61	4,143	40.0	20.0
1811	James Madison	Sent in writing	2,271	46	3,831	49.4	23.6
1812	James Madison	Sent in writing	3,251	87	5,438	37.4	18.7
1813	James Madison	Sent in writing	3,286	67	5,428	49.0	23.0
1814	James Madison	Sent in writing	2,115	50	3,465	42.3	20.2
1815	James Madison	Sent in writing	3,136	59	5,427	53.2	25.6
1816	James Madison	Sent in writing	3,357	71	5,663	47.3	22.8
1817	James Monroe	Sent in writing	4,419	123	7,126	35.9	17.4
1818	James Monroe	Sent in writing	4,394	114	7,243	38.5	18.9
1819	James Monroe	Sent in writing	4,700	129	7,535	36.4	17.5
1820	James Monroe	Sent in writing	3,489	85	5,610	41.0	19.4
1821	James Monroe	Sent in writing	5,850	149	9,343	39.3	18.6
1822	James Monroe	Sent in writing	4,796	120	7,718	40.0	19.0
1823	James Monroe	Sent in writing	6,360	186	10,402	34.2	17.0
1824	James Monroe	Sent in writing	8,417	246	13,461	34.2	16.6
1825	John Quincy Adams	Sent in writing	9,102	214	15,016	42.5	20.5
1826	John Quincy Adams	Sent in writing	7,720	174	12,710	44.4	21.1
1827	John Quincy Adams	Sent in writing	6,980	164	11,574	42.6	20.6
1828	John Quincy Adams	Sent in writing	7,293	194	12,094	37.6	18.6
1829	Andrew Jackson	Sent in writing	10,506	299	17,393	35.1	17.6
1830	Andrew Jackson	Sent in writing	15,047	391	24,949	38.5	19.0
1831	Andrew Jackson	Sent in writing	7,189	165	11,762	43.6	20.7
1832	Andrew Jackson	Sent in writing	7,919	200	12,995	39.6	19.2
1833	Andrew Jackson	Sent in writing	7,917	181	12,874	43.7	20.7
1834	Andrew Jackson	Sent in writing	13,436	323	22,103	41.6	20.0
1835	Andrew Jackson	Sent in writing	15,609	366	25,665	42.6	20.4
1836	Andrew Jackson	Sent in writing	12,360	293	20,183	42.2	20.1
1837	Martin Van Buren	Sent in writing	11,426	280	18,964	40.8	19.9
1838	Martin Van Buren	Sent in writing	11,469	262	19,281	43.8	21.3
1839	Martin Van Buren	Sent in writing	13,412	341	21,888	39.3	19.0
1840	Martin Van Buren	Sent in writing	8,977	181	15,265	49.6	23.8
1841	John Tyler	Sent in writing	8,222	197	13,466	41.7	20.0
1842	John Tyler	Sent in writing	8,393	205	13,656	40.9	19.6
1843	John Tyler	Sent in writing	8,009	192	13,140	41.7	20.0
1844	John Tyler	Sent in writing	9,314	267	15,307	34.9	17.4
1845	James K. Polk	Sent in writing	16,019	442	26,194	36.2	17.8
1846	James K. Polk	Sent in writing	18,117	473	29,554	38.3	18.6
1847	James K. Polk	Sent in writing	16,332	439	26,535	37.2	18.1
1848	James K. Polk	Sent in writing	21,235	595	34,761	35.7	17.6
1849	Zachary Taylor	Sent in writing	7,611	206	12,780	36.9	18.6
1850	Millard Fillmore	Sent in writing	8,311	231	13,702	36.0	17.9
1851	Millard Fillmore	Sent in writing	13,164	351	21,548	37.5	18.4
1852	Millard Fillmore	Sent in writing	9,846	285	16,164	34.5	17.3
1853	Franklin Pierce	Sent in writing	9,543	232	15,923	41.1	20.1
1854	Franklin Pierce	Sent in writing	10,099	267	17,011	37.8	19.0
1855	Franklin Pierce	Sent in writing	11,589	273	19,474	42.5	20.8
1856	Franklin Pierce	Sent in writing	10,470	254	17,708	41.2	20.4
1857	James Buchanan	Sent in writing	13,569	404	22,425	33.6	17.0
1858	James Buchanan	Sent in writing	16,260	514	26,915	31.6	16.3
1859	James Buchanan	Sent in writing	12,239	395	19,984	31.0	15.8
1860	James Buchanan	Sent in writing	13,985	479	23,050	29.2	15.2
1861	Abraham Lincoln	Sent in writing	6,953	211	11,306	33.0	16.4
1862	Abraham Lincoln	Sent in writing	8,292	322	13,308	25.8	13.4
1863	Abraham Lincoln	Sent in writing	6,076	197	10,099	30.8	16.1
1864	Abraham Lincoln	Sent in writing	5,801	207	9,527	28.0	14.7
1865	Andrew Johnson	Sent in writing	9,221	275	14,826	33.5	16.5
1866	Andrew Johnson	Sent in writing	7,068	203	11,998	34.8	18.0
1867	Andrew Johnson	Sent in writing	11,921	382	19,403	31.2	15.8
1868	Andrew Johnson	Sent in writing	9,688	281	16,403	34.5	17.8
1869	Ulysses S. Grant	Sent in writing	7,647	242	12,454	31.6	16.0
1870	Ulysses S. Grant	Sent in writing	8,705	262	14,175	33.2	16.6
1871	Ulysses S. Grant	Sent in writing	6,459	209	10,741	30.9	16.1
1872	Ulysses S. Grant	Sent in writing	9,689	288	16,055	33.6	17.1
1873	Ulysses S. Grant	Sent in writing	9,946	288	16,419	34.5	17.4
1874	Ulysses S. Grant	Sent in writing	9,723	286	16,011	34.0	17.1
1875	Ulysses S. Grant	Sent in writing	12,146	346	19,963	35.1	17.5
1876	Ulysses S. Grant	Sent in writing	6,728	190	11,106	35.4	17.7
1877	Rutherford B. Hayes	Sent in writing	10,617	288	17,793	36.9	18.6
1878	Rutherford B. Hayes	Sent in writing	7,783	227	13,179	34.3	17.8
1879	Rutherford B. Hayes	Sent in writing	11,536	312	19,609	37.0	18.9
1880	Rutherford B. Hayes	Sent in writing	13,095	403	22,314	32.5	17.2
1881	Chester A. Arthur	Sent in writing	12,926	419	21,637	30.8	16.2
1882	Chester A. Arthur	Sent in writing	9,853	302	16,482	32.6	16.9
1883	Chester A. Arthur	Sent in writing	7,927	259	13,512	30.6	16.5
1884	Chester A. Arthur	Sent in writing	8,690	280	14,708	31.0	16.5
1885	Grover Cleveland	Sent in writing	19,674	564	33,194	34.9	17.9
1886	Grover Cleveland	Sent in writing	15,085	419	25,440	36.0	18.4
1887	Grover Cleveland	Sent in writing	5,250	123	8,570	42.7	20.3
1888	Grover Cleveland	Sent in writing	13,027	362	21,999	36.0	18.4
1889	Benjamin Harrison	Sent in writing	12,912	424	21,329	30.5	15.8
1890	Benjamin Harrison	Sent in writing	11,423	365	18,880	31.3	16.1
1891	Benjamin Harrison	Sent in writing	16,130	462	26,229	34.9	17.2
1892	Benjamin Harrison	Sent in writing	13,293	416	21,440	32.0	15.9
1893	Grover Cleveland	Sent in writing	12,131	373	20,826	32.5	17.4
1894	Grover Cleveland	Sent in writing	15,688	457	26,474	34.3	17.7
1895	Grover Cleveland	Sent in writing	14,561	358	24,495	40.7	20.1
1896	Grover Cleveland	Sent in writing	15,221	423	25,373	36.0	18.1
1897	William McKinley	Sent in writing	12,061	363	19,974	33.2	16.9
1898	William McKinley	Sent in writing	20,025	585	34,063	34.2	17.8
1899	William McKinley	Sent in writing	22,627	683	38,609	33.1	17.5
1900	William McKinley	Sent in writing	18,920	566	32,268	33.4	17.6
1901	Theodore Roosevelt	Sent in writing	19,686	681	31,616	28.9	14.6
1902	Theodore Roosevelt	Sent in writing	9,801	331	15,808	29.6	15.0
1903	Theodore Roosevelt	Sent in writing	15,054	555	25,157	27.1	14.7
1904	Theodore Roosevelt	Sent in writing	17,605	574	28,633	30.7	15.6
1905	Theodore Roosevelt	Sent in writing	25,217	840	40,772	30.0	15.2
1906	Theodore Roosevelt	Sent in writing	23,720	697	37,973	34.0	16.6
1907	Theodore Roosevelt	Sent in writing	27,551	897	44,487	30.7	15.4
1908	Theodore Roosevelt	Sent in writing	19,437	634	31,408	30.7	15.4
1909	William Howard Taft	Sent in writing	13,856	349	23,629	39.7	20.0
1910	William Howard Taft	Sent in writing	27,207	719	45,330	37.8	18.8
1911	William Howard Taft	Sent in writing	23,626	672	39,304	35.2	17.8
1912	William Howard Taft	Sent in writing	25,247	757	42,368	33.4	17.2
1913	Woodrow Wilson	Spoken	3,565	108	5,585	33.0	15.8
1914	Woodrow Wilson	Spoken	4,552	171	6,700	26.6	12.2
1915	Woodrow Wilson	Spoken	7,713	224	12,049	34.4	16.3
1916	Woodrow Wilson	Spoken	2,125	54	3,551	39.4	19.5
1917	Woodrow Wilson	Spoken	3,932	136	5,885	28.9	13.3
1918	Woodrow Wilson	Spoken	5,475	162	8,362	33.8	15.6
1919	Woodrow Wilson	Sent in writing	4,764	164	7,832	29.0	15.1
1920	Woodrow Wilson	Sent in writing	2,696	68	4,374	39.6	19.0
1921	Warren G. Harding	Spoken	5,602	209	9,505	26.8	14.9
1922	Warren G. Harding	Spoken	5,755	229	9,743	25.1	14.2
1923	Calvin Coolidge	Spoken	6,702	363	11,280	18.5	11.5
1924	Calvin Coolidge	Sent in writing	6,942	276	11,731	25.2	14.2
1925	Calvin Coolidge	Sent in writing	10,799	481	18,144	22.5	13.0
1926	Calvin Coolidge	Sent in writing	10,250	436	17,171	23.5	13.3
1927	Calvin Coolidge	Sent in writing	8,723	445	14,703	19.6	11.9
1928	Calvin Coolidge	Sent in writing	7,989	368	13,604	21.7	13.0
1929	Herbert Hoover	Sent in writing	10,885	407	18,809	26.7	15.2
1930	Herbert Hoover	Sent in writing	4,440	161	7,894	27.6	16.1
1931	Herbert Hoover	Sent in writing	5,649	251	10,070	22.5	14.2
1932	Herbert Hoover	Sent in writing	3,989	159	6,921	25.1	14.7
1934	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Spoken	2,210	68	3,632	32.5	16.5
1935	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Spoken	3,537	125	5,793	28.3	14.8
1936	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Spoken	3,868	146	5,926	26.5	12.8
1937	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Spoken	2,701	94	4,524	28.7	15.4
1938	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Spoken	4,650	165	7,532	28.2	14.5
1939	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Spoken	3,734	151	5,972	24.7	12.9
1940	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Spoken	3,116	109	4,876	28.6	14.0
1941	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Spoken	3,271	144	5,120	22.7	11.7
1942	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Spoken	3,394	161	5,075	21.1	10.3
1943	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Spoken	4,477	190	6,790	23.6	11.5
1944	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Sent in writing	3,791	157	5,883	24.1	12.1
1945	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Sent in writing	8,226	271	13,155	30.4	15.1
1946	Harry S Truman	Sent in writing	26,980	1,075	46,875	25.1	14.7
1947	Harry S Truman	Spoken	5,943	289	10,047	20.6	12.4
1948	Harry S Truman	Spoken	5,087	262	8,177	19.4	10.9
1949	Harry S Truman	Spoken	3,316	180	5,459	18.4	11.0
1950	Harry S Truman	Spoken	5,064	213	8,101	23.8	12.6
1951	Harry S Truman	Spoken	4,001	236	6,029	17.0	8.8
1952	Harry S Truman	Spoken	5,266	281	7,739	18.7	9.1
1953	Dwight D. Eisenhower	Spoken	6,986	317	12,107	22.0	13.5
1954	Dwight D. Eisenhower	Spoken	5,973	262	10,336	22.8	13.7
1955	Dwight D. Eisenhower	Spoken	7,045	327	12,327	21.5	13.5
1956	Dwight D. Eisenhower	Sent in writing	8,252	346	14,275	23.8	14.1
1957	Dwight D. Eisenhower	Spoken	4,018	170	6,900	23.6	13.9
1958	Dwight D. Eisenhower	Spoken	4,904	227	8,176	21.6	12.5
1959	Dwight D. Eisenhower	Spoken	5,053	250	8,402	20.2	11.9
1960	Dwight D. Eisenhower	Spoken	5,666	243	9,554	23.3	13.4
1961	John F. Kennedy	Spoken	5,225	185	8,467	28.2	14.5
1962	John F. Kennedy	Spoken	6,511	264	10,439	24.7	12.9
1963	John F. Kennedy	Spoken	5,352	209	8,410	25.6	12.9
1964	Lyndon B. Johnson	Spoken	3,176	130	4,922	24.4	12.2
1965	Lyndon B. Johnson	Spoken	4,415	250	6,728	17.7	9.3
1966	Lyndon B. Johnson	Spoken	5,508	244	8,305	22.6	11.0
1967	Lyndon B. Johnson	Spoken	7,086	338	10,892	21.0	10.7
1968	Lyndon B. Johnson	Spoken	4,845	236	7,491	20.5	10.7
1969	Lyndon B. Johnson	Spoken	4,081	164	6,145	24.9	11.9
1970	Richard M. Nixon	Spoken	4,455	196	6,772	22.7	11.2
1971	Richard M. Nixon	Spoken	4,451	172	6,738	25.9	12.4
1972	Richard M. Nixon	Spoken	3,900	159	6,040	24.5	12.3
1973	Richard M. Nixon	Sent in writing	26,690	1,086	45,327	24.6	14.0
1974	Richard M. Nixon	Spoken	5,065	193	7,728	26.2	12.6
1975	Gerald R. Ford	Spoken	4,022	221	6,676	18.2	11.1
1976	Gerald R. Ford	Spoken	4,967	255	8,011	19.5	11.0
1977	Gerald R. Ford	Spoken	4,682	191	7,734	24.5	13.5
1978	Jimmy Carter	Spoken	4,576	229	7,125	20.0	10.6
1979	Jimmy Carter	Spoken	3,261	157	5,216	20.8	11.4
1980	Jimmy Carter	Spoken	3,480	171	5,565	20.4	11.2
1981	Jimmy Carter	Sent in writing	33,551	1,256	60,278	26.7	16.0
1982	Ronald Reagan	Spoken	5,080	239	8,093	21.3	11.5
1983	Ronald Reagan	Spoken	5,512	253	8,771	21.8	11.7
1984	Ronald Reagan	Spoken	4,894	288	7,692	17.0	9.6
1985	Ronald Reagan	Spoken	4,210	221	6,605	19.0	10.4
1986	Ronald Reagan	Spoken	3,401	169	5,237	20.1	10.4
1987	Ronald Reagan	Spoken	3,670	205	5,686	17.9	9.7
1988	Ronald Reagan	Spoken	4,793	215	7,519	22.3	11.6
1989	George Bush	Spoken	4,729	297	7,194	15.9	8.6
1990	George Bush	Spoken	3,698	243	5,537	15.2	8.0
1991	George Bush	Spoken	3,930	228	6,169	17.2	9.7
1992	George Bush	Spoken	5,024	302	7,191	16.6	7.8
1993	William J. Clinton	Spoken	6,955	289	10,291	24.1	11.3
1994	William J. Clinton	Spoken	7,367	399	10,880	18.5	9.0
1995	William J. Clinton	Spoken	9,141	457	13,324	20.0	9.4
1996	William J. Clinton	Spoken	6,303	356	9,561	17.7	9.2
1997	William J. Clinton	Spoken	6,701	344	10,162	19.5	9.9
1998	William J. Clinton	Spoken	7,258	370	11,044	19.6	10.0
1999	William J. Clinton	Spoken	7,443	392	11,496	19.0	10.0
2000	William J. Clinton	Spoken	9,016	489	13,577	18.4	9.4
2001	George W. Bush	Spoken	4,333	276	6,673	15.7	8.7
2002	George W. Bush	Spoken	3,825	214	5,992	17.9	9.9
2003	George W. Bush	Spoken	5,340	294	8,524	18.2	10.3
2004	George W. Bush	Spoken	5,157	275	8,072	18.8	10.2
2005	George W. Bush	Spoken	5,018	239	8,072	21.0	11.6
2006	George W. Bush	Spoken	5,290	276	8,508	19.2	10.9
2007	George W. Bush	Spoken	5,522	286	8,459	19.3	10.0
2008	George W. Bush	Spoken	5,691	311	8,995	18.3	10.2
2009	Barack Obama	Spoken	6,059	286	9,058	21.2	10.3
2010	Barack Obama	Spoken	7,207	423	10,887	17.0	8.9
2011	Barack Obama	Spoken	6,860	392	10,139	17.5	8.7
2012	Barack Obama	Spoken	7,013	414	10,593	16.9	8.8
2013	Barack Obama	Spoken	6,794	361	10,310	18.8	9.7
2014	Barack Obama	Spoken	7,008	372	10,584	18.8	9.6
2015	Barack Obama	Spoken	6,725	374	9,996	18.0	9.0
2016	Barack Obama	Spoken	6,041	359	8,944	16.8	8.4
2017	Donald J. Trump	Spoken	5,000	287	7,703	17.4	9.4
2018	Donald J. Trump	Spoken	5,826	387	8,943	15.1	8.4
2019	Donald J. Trump	Spoken	5,576	397	8,748	14.0	8.4
2020	Donald J. Trump	Spoken	6,238	412	10,069	15.1	9.4
2021	Joseph R. Biden	Spoken	7,940	491	12,054	16.2	8.6
2022	Joseph R. Biden	Spoken	7,653	508	11,574	15.1	8.1
2023	Joseph R. Biden	Spoken	9,134	700	13,509	13.0	7.0
2024	Joseph R. Biden	Spoken	7,994	608	12,085	13.1	7.4
2025	Donald J. Trump	Spoken	9,955	755	14,968	13.2	7.3
2026	Donald J. Trump	Spoken	10,509	826	15,591	12.7	6.9

Updated 2026

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