Even with life expectancy at 77.5 years in 2023, the United States still posts stark gaps in day to day health, including 36.8 million people uninsured in 2022 and 3,717.2 preventable hospitalizations per 100,000 tied to conditions that could often be managed in outpatient care. The same snapshot of American health also puts routine care and chronic illness in sharp focus, from 87.1% of children with a recent health care visit to 16.6% of adults reporting depression. Below, you will see how workforce, costs, and risk factors line up across the system.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, 87.1% of children aged 0–17 had a health care visit in the past year
- In 2022, maternal mortality rate in the United States was 22.3 deaths per 100,000 live births
- In 2023, life expectancy at birth in the United States was 77.5 years
- 34.6% of adults aged 18–64 were current smokers in 2022 (age-standardized, self-reported)
- 8.8% of children aged 3–17 had attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in 2021–2022
- 16.6% of adults aged 18+ had depression in 2022
- Health spending accounted for 17.3% of U.S. GDP in 2023
- In 2023, there were about 914,000 registered nurses (RNs) employed in the United States (full-time equivalents not specified)
- In May 2023, physicians (all other specialties) had a median annual wage of $239,220
- In May 2023, nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners had a median annual wage of $124,680
- In 2023, 33% of health care organizations used AI for clinical decision support
- 36.8 million people were uninsured in 2022 — number of people without health insurance at some point during the year (under age 65)
- 27.2 million people had problems paying medical bills in 2022 — number reporting medical bill payment difficulties
- 7.2% of adults had asthma in 2022 — percent of adults with asthma
- 31.7% of U.S. adults reported sleeping less than 7 hours on average in 2022 — percent reporting insufficient sleep duration
In 2023, high spending and limited access persist alongside heavy smoking, depression, and clinician shortages.
Related reading
01 · Category
Utilization And Outcomes4 stats
01
In 2022, 87.1% of children aged 0–17 had a health care visit in the past year
02
In 2022, maternal mortality rate in the United States was 22.3 deaths per 100,000 live births
03
In 2023, life expectancy at birth in the United States was 77.5 years
04
In 2022, preventable hospitalizations for conditions amenable to outpatient care were 3,717.2 per 100,000 population
Interpretation
Utilization And Outcomes Interpretation
For Utilization And Outcomes, the United States shows strong routine care with 87.1% of children having a health care visit in the past year, yet outcomes remain challenged as preventable hospitalizations still reach 3,717.2 per 100,000 and maternal mortality is 22.3 per 100,000 live births.
02 · Category
Health Status3 stats
01
34.6% of adults aged 18–64 were current smokers in 2022 (age-standardized, self-reported)
02
8.8% of children aged 3–17 had attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in 2021–2022
03
16.6% of adults aged 18+ had depression in 2022
Interpretation
Health Status Interpretation
Within the Health Status snapshot, smoking stands out as a major concern with 34.6% of adults aged 18 to 64 reporting they were current smokers in 2022, alongside mental health challenges such as 16.6% of adults 18+ with depression and 8.8% of children 3 to 17 with ADHD in 2021 to 2022.
03 · Category
Spending And Cost1 stats
01
Health spending accounted for 17.3% of U.S. GDP in 2023
Interpretation
Spending And Cost Interpretation
In 2023, health spending reached 17.3% of U.S. GDP, underscoring how high the country’s spending burden and overall cost pressures remain.
04 · Category
Providers And Capacity7 stats
01
In 2023, there were about 914,000 registered nurses (RNs) employed in the United States (full-time equivalents not specified)
02
In May 2023, physicians (all other specialties) had a median annual wage of $239,220
03
In May 2023, nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners had a median annual wage of $124,680
04
In 2022, there were 11.4 million home health and personal care aides employed in the United States
05
In 2022, the United States had 6,800 transplant centers
06
In 2022, the United States had 4.9 intensive care units (ICU) beds per 1000 residents (country-level estimate)
07
In 2023, there were 2.0 physicians per 1000 population in the United States
Interpretation
Providers And Capacity Interpretation
Within Providers and Capacity, the United States had about 2.0 physicians per 1,000 people in 2023 and 4.9 ICU beds per 1,000 residents in 2022, suggesting that despite large healthcare workforces such as 914,000 registered nurses and millions of home health aides, clinical availability may still be constrained when demand spikes.
More related reading
05 · Category
Technology And Risk1 stats
01
In 2023, 33% of health care organizations used AI for clinical decision support
Interpretation
Technology And Risk Interpretation
In 2023, 33% of health care organizations used AI for clinical decision support, showing that AI adoption is steadily rising even as its integration into clinical workflows brings new technology related risk to manage.
06 · Category
Access And Coverage2 stats
01
36.8 million people were uninsured in 2022 — number of people without health insurance at some point during the year (under age 65)
02
27.2 million people had problems paying medical bills in 2022 — number reporting medical bill payment difficulties
Interpretation
Access And Coverage Interpretation
In the access and coverage snapshot for 2022, 36.8 million Americans under age 65 were uninsured and 27.2 million struggled with medical bill payments, underscoring that both coverage gaps and affordability pressures limit who can reliably access care.
07 · Category
Clinical Outcomes7 stats
01
7.2% of adults had asthma in 2022 — percent of adults with asthma
02
31.7% of U.S. adults reported sleeping less than 7 hours on average in 2022 — percent reporting insufficient sleep duration
03
6.6% of U.S. adults had moderate to severe depressive symptoms in 2022 — percent meeting threshold on standardized depression measures
04
2.2% of adults (about 5.3 million) reported needing to have prescription medicines but couldn’t fill them due to cost in 2022 — percent and implied count for prescription affordability gaps
05
1.2% of adults reported using tobacco products in 2022 among those who use only cigars/cigarillos/pipe? — percent reporting tobacco product use (combustible) in 2022
06
7.2% of U.S. adults reported using e-cigarettes in 2022 — percent who used e-cigarettes
07
16.3% of adults aged 20+ had obesity in 2021–2022 — prevalence of obesity based on measured height/weight
Interpretation
Clinical Outcomes Interpretation
Clinical outcomes show that while 16.3% of adults aged 20+ had obesity in 2021–2022, significant shares also reported mental and respiratory challenges with 6.6% having moderate to severe depressive symptoms and 7.2% reporting asthma in 2022.
Reference
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.
APA
Marcus Afolabi. (2026, February 13). American Health Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/american-health-statistics
MLA
Marcus Afolabi. "American Health Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/american-health-statistics.
Chicago
Marcus Afolabi. 2026. "American Health Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/american-health-statistics.
Sources & references
25 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+16 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)