Population articles
These reports cover the American experience ranging from aging population to civil rights to childcare to poverty.
Does access to healthcare differ by race and ethnicity?
Across several measures of health and access to healthcare, American Indian and Alaska Native, Black, and Hispanic adults often fare worse than other racial or ethnic identities. In 2024, about 14.8% of Americans were in fair or poor health. Zooming in on demographics reveals disparities between racial and ethnic groups. Adults in four groups — American Indian and Alaska Native, Black, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and Hispanic — report higher rates of fair or poor health than the national average.
Aug 1, 2025How many people are on Medicaid in the US?
On average, 89 million or 26.1% of the US population during FY 2024. Enrolling about 1 in 4 people in the US, Medicaid is one of the largest single health insurers in the country. Medicaid is a government-funded health insurance program that provides free or low-cost coverage to eligible low-income individuals and families, including children, pregnant women, seniors, and people with disabilities.
Updates annuallyAre hate crimes on the rise?
Nationwide, the number of reported hate crimes have increased by 114% since 2014, rising from 5,597 to 11,974.2014’s numbers marked a recent low in reported crimes, the fewest since this data collection began in 1991 (there were 4,589 reported hate crimes that year). However, there’s a chance low numbers of any kind are due to underreporting rather than fewer hate crimes. For example, between 2010 and 2019, an estimated 56% of hate crimes were not reported to the police.
Jul 24, 2025How many kids are in foster care?
An estimated 527,180 children passed through the foster care system in 2023. This number represents the number of children who were already in the system at the beginning of the federal fiscal year, and the children who entered or exited foster care as of September 30, 2022. On the last day of the fiscal year, 343,077 children remained in foster care.Foster care is intended to provide a temporary stable home for children who cannot safely remain in their current situations due to abuse, neglect, or abandonment. The federal foster care program, known as title IV-E, funds services that are managed locally — in 50 states, Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and tribes with approved title IV-E plans.How has the number of children in foster care changed?Over the last two decades, the number of children in foster care has declined each year, with the exception of a five-year span between 2013–2018.
Jul 24, 2025Just the Facts about the US population, demographics, and geography
Household size, racial demographics, the average age of an American: these stats are always changing. And who has a college degree? How many people are registered to vote? Here’s America by the numbers.
Which states have the highest and lowest adult literacy rates?
Between 2017 and 2023, the percentage of adults performing at the lowest proficiency level in literacy increased by 9 percentage points. This is the first statistically significant drop since the initial round of data collection in 2012.This recurring survey, called the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), measures the competency of working-age adults ages 16–65 in three areas: literacy, numeracy, and digital problem-solving.
Jul 10, 2025How many high schoolers are trans?
About one in 30 high schoolers identifies as transgender, according to the 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. What does it mean to be transgender?Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s glossary, “transgender” is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity is different from their sex assigned at birth. People whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth are called “cisgender.”What percentage of US high schoolers are trans?When given a description of what it means to be trans, 3.3% of high schoolers reported that it applied to them. Of the other students, 93.3% of reported not identifying as trans, 2.2% weren’t sure, and 1.3% didn’t understand the question.
Jul 7, 2025What is the poverty rate in the US?
About 11.1% of the population as of 2023. The poverty rate is the percentage of people whose household income falls below the poverty threshold set by the government. It measures the percentage of people in households that don’t earn enough to pay for basic needs like food, housing, and healthcare. In 2023, 36.8 million people lived in poverty.
Updates annuallyHow many people live in subsidized housing in the United States?
About 9.05 million people in 2023, or about 2.0 people per unit. Subsidized housing options vary by location, ranging from high-rise or garden-style apartments to single-family dwellings, duplexes, and more. On average, residents in 2023 had lived in their units for ten years and two months.
How many people are in the US military? A demographic overview
As of March 2025, the US military consisted of 2.86 million people worldwide. Data from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) indicates that, in 2024, the US has the world’s third-largest active military by size, surpassed by China and India, respectively.These forces are spread across six main service branches: the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Space Force – all tasked to protect and serve the US.How many people are in the military?The US military includes approximately 2.07 military personnel and 788,470 civilians as of March 2025. With 2.86 million troops and civilians combined, the military is slightly greater than the population of Chicago, the country's third-largest city.Of those military members, the Department of Defense (DOD) listed nearly 1.31 million people as active-duty troops, and 765,495 as National Guard/reserves.
Jun 22, 2025How many Americans voted in 2024?
According to the Census Bureau, 65.3% of US citizens voted in the 2024 election, the third-highest turnout in the past 34 years. Turnout increased by 13.1 percentage points since the most recent mid-term elections in 2022, but decreased by 1.5 percentage points since the 2020 presidential election.
Jun 18, 2025Minimum wage in America: How many people are earning $7.25 an hour?
Although the federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, the minimum an employer must pay depends on the state in which the employee resides. Many states have mandated minimum wages that are different from the federal minimum
Jun 3, 2025Data on Pacific Islander ethnicities, education, and income
There are 1.6 million Americans who identify as Pacific Islander, making up 0.49% of the population in 2023. From 2013 to 2023, the Pacific Islander population grew by 32.7%, or 400,000 people. Asian Americans are sometimes grouped with Pacific Islanders under the “AAPI” umbrella and are jointly celebrated every May during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. This population is diverse, with education and income varying widely between ethnic groups. What are the different ethnic groups among Pacific Islanders?There are three Pacific Islands regions: Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia. Ethnicities are based on the island that a person’s family and ancestors originated from.
May 22, 2025What are the current swing states, and how have they changed over time?
Swing states, also known as battleground states, are states that could “swing” to either Democratic or Republican presidential candidates depending on the election. Because of their potential to go either "blue" or "red", political parties often spend much of their time and campaign resources on winning these states.While there is no universal definition of a swing state, they typically have small vote margins and vote for candidates from both major political parties over time. In the last nine elections, 20 states have “swung” from one party to the other at least twice. And 26 states were won by less than three points in at least one presidential election. What are the current swing states?Six states that voted for Democrat Joe Biden in 2020 swung to Republican Donald Trump in 2024. These states were Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. All but Nevada also swung from Republican to Democratic in 2020. Tight margins may also indicate a swing state — a narrow race could mean a state has a better chance of swinging in future elections. In 2024, five states were won by a margin of three percentage points or less: Georgia, Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
May 14, 2025How many immigrants are in the United States?
About 47.8 million immigrants in 2023. This represents approximately 14.3% of the population, or about 1 in 7 residents in the United States. Immigrants are defined as foreign-born residents. This includes people who became US citizens, are authorized to come to the US (e.g., for work), or are undocumented residents.
Updates annuallyAAPI Demographics: Data on Asian American ethnicities, geography, income, and education
There are 25.8 million Asian Americans living in the US, making up 7.7% of the population. Among them, 3.6 million identify as Asian in combination with another race.Asian Americans are sometimes grouped with Pacific Islanders under the “AAPI” umbrella, and the joint Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage month is celebrated annually in May. The AAPI population is the fastest growing racial group in the US, with a population that nearly doubled from 2000 to 2023.The demographics of Asian Americans vary drastically across ethnic groups. Taiwanese and Indian Americans have the highest educational and income outcomes, while Southeast Asian Americans have lower incomes and educational attainment.
Apr 25, 2025What is the income of a US household?
About $77,700 in median income in 2023. Household income is the total money received in a year — wages, pensions, investments, public assistance, and more — by everyone in a household over 15.
Updates annuallyWho are the nation’s veterans?
The population of living veterans in the US — nearly 16 million people — is both shrinking in size and growing more diverse. What is a veteran, and who is considered one? Title 38 of the United States Code defines a veteran as “a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service, and who was discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable.” The code also outlines who qualifies for veteran status beyond active duty to include service members such as reservists, members of the National Guard, cadets and midshipmen at military academies, commissioned officers outside the Armed Forces, and those in training for military service. The Department of Veteran Affairs is responsible for determining veteran status and maintaining veteran benefit eligibility. What is a protected veteran? The Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 prohibits discrimination against certain veterans. Protected veterans meet the Title 38 qualifications but are afforded additional consideration due to disability, recent discharge, participation in wartime, or service recognition.
Apr 14, 2025Six charts on the age of federal workers
The average federal worker is around 47 years old, and one out of 20 federal workers were over 65 in 2024. Of the 2.1 million full-time, permanent federal workers, over 28% were age 55 or above, according to September 2024 data from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
Apr 9, 2025What is the labor force participation rate in the US?
It was 62.3% in June 2025. The labor force participation rate measures the percent of people ages 16 and older engaged in the labor market, including those who are working or who are unemployed but actively looking for a job.
Updates monthly