A 2026 poll by Unscrambled Words found that 50% of Gen Z respondents say they do crosswords regularly, a higher rate than other generations. By comparison, 38% of baby boomers, 31% of Gen Xers, and 15% of millennials reported regular crossword participation.

Will Shortz, crossword editor for The New York Times, said, "We are living in the golden age of puzzles." He added, "They’re not just for old people anymore; they’re for everybody." Shortz has edited crosswords for the newspaper since 1993 and has published puzzles by at least 75 teenagers as of 2026.

Crossword popularity surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to author and crossword creator Natan Last. "Because you have a bunch of young, iPhone-toting solvers, they start to get into the puzzle once it’s become app-ified," Last said. He added that young solvers "start to develop strong opinions about what at the time felt like a kind of dusty, occasionally arcane, and at times outright offensive cultural object."

Luke Schreiber, a student at Princeton University and one of two head puzzles editors at the student newspaper, began creating crosswords during the pandemic. "It started off as a bit of a pandemic hobby. My dad liked solving crosswords, and so that gave me the idea to try my hand at creating them," Schreiber said. He has since published puzzles in major outlets. Schreiber said students are seeking leisure that isn’t academic or screen-based in the same way as gaming: "Students are looking for something that isn’t work – you know, isn’t studying or homework or something like that – but also isn’t a video game."

The trend has spurred institutional responses. The Cavalier Daily at the University of Virginia launched a puzzle section in 2024, and Student Life at Washington University in St. Louis began publishing mini crosswords in 2022, increasing to daily frequency by 2024. Major publishers have also expanded their offerings: The New York Times acquired Wordle in 2022, launched Connections in 2023, and reported over 10 million daily digital games players in 2024. Other publishers, including Vulture, Defector, Apple News, and Time magazine, have introduced or announced digital puzzle features in recent years. Ada Nicolle, who started a crossword blog in the 2010s, recently published "A-to-Gen Z Crosswords: 72 Puzzles That Hit Different," which includes clues referencing contemporary culture, such as the real name of a "BTS rapper who also goes by ‘Agust D.’"