Key Takeaways
- In 2022, approximately 50,000 domestic infant adoptions occurred in the United States, representing about 12% of all adoptions.
- The average cost of a domestic infant adoption through a private agency in the US is $40,000 to $50,000, excluding legal fees.
- 59% of domestic infant adoptions in 2021 were open adoptions, allowing some contact between birth and adoptive families.
- In 2022, 113,589 children were adopted from US foster care, a 4% increase from 2021.
- 52% of foster care adoptions in 2022 were by foster parents who had previously cared for the child.
- The average age of children adopted from foster care is 7.5 years old.
- 1,568 intercountry adoptions to the US in FY2023, down 92% from 2004 peak.
- China was the top country of origin with 1,336 adoptions to US in FY2022.
- 73% of intercountry adoptees to US are female.
- 95% of adult intercountry adoptees report positive family relationships.
- Adopted children have 1.5 times higher rate of ADHD diagnosis than non-adopted.
- 87% of adoptive families report high satisfaction 10 years post-adoption.
- 67% of US adoptions are private, 33% public.
- Adoption rates declined 15% from 2007-2022.
- 135,000 children adopted annually worldwide.
Adoption in America includes both costly infant placements and foster care adoptions.
Adoption Policy and Trends
Adoption Policy and Trends Interpretation
Domestic Infant Adoption
Domestic Infant Adoption Interpretation
Foster Care Adoption
Foster Care Adoption Interpretation
Intercountry Adoption
Intercountry Adoption Interpretation
Post-Adoption Outcomes
Post-Adoption Outcomes Interpretation
How We Rate Confidence
Every statistic is queried across four AI models (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity). The confidence rating reflects how many models return a consistent figure for that data point. Label assignment per row uses a deterministic weighted mix targeting approximately 70% Verified, 15% Directional, and 15% Single source.
Only one AI model returns this statistic from its training data. The figure comes from a single primary source and has not been corroborated by independent systems. Use with caution; cross-reference before citing.
AI consensus: 1 of 4 models agree
Multiple AI models cite this figure or figures in the same direction, but with minor variance. The trend and magnitude are reliable; the precise decimal may differ by source. Suitable for directional analysis.
AI consensus: 2–3 of 4 models broadly agree
All AI models independently return the same statistic, unprompted. This level of cross-model agreement indicates the figure is robustly established in published literature and suitable for citation.
AI consensus: 4 of 4 models fully agree
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
Timothy Grant. (2026, February 13). Adoption Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/adoption-statistics
Timothy Grant. "Adoption Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/adoption-statistics.
Timothy Grant. 2026. "Adoption Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/adoption-statistics.
Sources & References
- Reference 1CHILDWELFAREchildwelfare.gov
childwelfare.gov
- Reference 2ADOPTIONCOUNCILadoptioncouncil.org
adoptioncouncil.org
- Reference 3ACFacf.hhs.gov
acf.hhs.gov
- Reference 4CHILDTRENDSchildtrends.org
childtrends.org
- Reference 5NCBIncbi.nlm.nih.gov
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Reference 6ADOPTIONNETWORKadoptionnetwork.com
adoptionnetwork.com
- Reference 7AMERICANADOPTIONSamericanadoptions.com
americanadoptions.com
- Reference 8ADOPTIONINSTITUTEadoptioninstitute.org
adoptioninstitute.org
- Reference 9CDCcdc.gov
cdc.gov
- Reference 10APHSAaphsa.org
aphsa.org
- Reference 11PEWRESEARCHpewresearch.org
pewresearch.org
- Reference 12ADOPTUSKIDSadoptuskids.org
adoptuskids.org
- Reference 13DFPSdfps.texas.gov
dfps.texas.gov
- Reference 14GUTTMACHERguttmacher.org
guttmacher.org
- Reference 15AMERICANBARamericanbar.org
americanbar.org
- Reference 16ASPEaspe.hhs.gov
aspe.hhs.gov
- Reference 17IRSirs.gov
irs.gov
- Reference 18ADCOUNCILadcouncil.org
adcouncil.org
- Reference 19ADOPTIONQUARTERLYadoptionquarterly.com
adoptionquarterly.com
- Reference 20HHShhs.gov
hhs.gov
- Reference 21CENSUScensus.gov
census.gov
- Reference 22CWLAcwla.org
cwla.org
- Reference 23TURNINGPOINTADOPTIONturningpointadoption.com
turningpointadoption.com
- Reference 24NCFA-ADOPTncfa-adopt.org
ncfa-adopt.org
- Reference 25SIBLINGCONNECTIONsiblingconnection.org
siblingconnection.org
- Reference 26CDSScdss.ca.gov
cdss.ca.gov
- Reference 27AFCARSafcars.acf.hhs.gov
afcars.acf.hhs.gov
- Reference 28GAOgao.gov
gao.gov
- Reference 29RURALHEALTHINFOruralhealthinfo.org
ruralhealthinfo.org
- Reference 30DAVETHOMASFOUNDATIONdavethomasfoundation.org
davethomasfoundation.org
- Reference 31NACACnacac.org
nacac.org
- Reference 32CHAPINHALLchapinhall.org
chapinhall.org
- Reference 33GRANDFAMILIESgrandfamilies.org
grandfamilies.org
- Reference 34TRAVELtravel.state.gov
travel.state.gov
- Reference 35STATEstate.gov
state.gov
- Reference 36HAGUEDOWNLOADhaguedownload.com
haguedownload.com
- Reference 37USCISuscis.gov
uscis.gov
- Reference 38DATAdata.unicef.org
data.unicef.org
- Reference 39NPRnpr.org
npr.org
- Reference 40JOINTCOUNCILjointcouncil.org
jointcouncil.org
- Reference 41BBCbbc.com
bbc.com
- Reference 42NYTIMESnytimes.com
nytimes.com
- Reference 43KBSWORLDkbsworld.co.kr
kbsworld.co.kr
- Reference 44HOLTINTERNATIONALholtinternational.org
holtinternational.org
- Reference 45REUTERSreuters.com
reuters.com
- Reference 46PEDIATRICSpediatrics.aappublications.org
pediatrics.aappublications.org
- Reference 47PSYCNETpsycnet.apa.org
psycnet.apa.org
- Reference 48NBERnber.org
nber.org
- Reference 49OJPojp.gov
ojp.gov
- Reference 50WILLIAMSINSTITUTEwilliamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu
williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu
- Reference 51LGBTMAPlgbtmap.org
lgbtmap.org
- Reference 52ADOPTEESUNITEDadopteesunited.org
adopteesunited.org
- Reference 53HRChrc.org
hrc.org
- Reference 54ADOPTIONAWARENESSMONTHadoptionawarenessmonth.org
adoptionawarenessmonth.org
- Reference 55CONGRESScongress.gov
congress.gov
- Reference 56HERITAGEheritage.org
heritage.org
- Reference 57HCCHhcch.net
hcch.net






