USA Facts

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Do women live longer than men in the US?

Women are expected to outlive men by 5.3 years.

https://usafacts.org/articles/do-women-live-longer-than-men-in-the-us/?

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Where do US immigrants come from?

The largest increase in immigration came from Mexico, with more than double the number of immigrants coming to the US in 2022 compared to 2006.

https://usafacts.org/articles/where-do-us-immigrants-come-from/?

Who are the nation’s veterans?

As of 2023, 15.8 million Americans identified as veterans. The number of living veterans in the United States is declining — but the veteran population is growing more diverse.

https://usafacts.org/articles/who-are-the-nations-veterans/?

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How many cars are built in the US?

The American automotive industry builds millions of cars each year and accounted for 2.8% of all nonfarm jobs in the US in 2024.

https://usafacts.org/articles/how-many-cars-are-built-in-the-us/?

How much do teachers get paid in the US?

About $63,000 per year in 2024. That’s the median annual wage for pre-K-12 teachers across the United States, based on estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The median marks the middle point—half of teachers earn more and half earn less. The lowest-paid 10% earned $46,800 or less, while the highest-paid 10% earned $102,000 or more.

https://usafacts.org/answers/how-much-do-teachers-get-paid-in-the-us/country/united-states/?

One last fact

In 2024, the US brought in $77 billion in customs duties, most of which came from tariffs. This comprised 1.6% of total federal revenue (which hasn’t been above 2% since the 1960s).

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How is the standard of living changing for veterans?

Veterans in the US earn higher incomes and have lower unemployment and poverty rates than the general population.

https://usafacts.org/articles/who-are-our-nations-veterans-and-how-is-their-standard-of-living-changing/?

Where do tornadoes do the most damage?

The state of Florida sustained $893 million in damages from tornadoes in 2024.

https://usafacts.org/articles/beyond-tornado-alley-which-states-have-the-most-tornadoes/?

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How universities spend billions in government funds

In FY 2023, the federal government provided nearly $60 billion to support research and development efforts at universities.

https://usafacts.org/articles/what-do-universities-do-with-the-billions-they-receive-from-the-government/?

How many people are laid off in the United States each month?

About 1.8 million in February 2025. This includes all terminations of employment by an employer — called layoffs and discharges — such as permanent layoffs, temporary layoffs, and terminations because of mergers, downsizing, closings, or employee performance.

https://usafacts.org/answers/how-many-people-are-laid-off-each-month/country/united-states/?

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What does the Social Security Administration do?

The Social Security Administration (SSA) is an independent executive branch agency responsible for administering Social Security, a program that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to eligible people. Its functions include managing the distribution of monthly payments to beneficiaries, enrolling Medicare recipients, and overseeing the issuance of Social Security numbers and cards. It was established in 1935 as part of the Social Security Act.

https://usafacts.org/explainers/what-does-the-us-government-do/agency/social-security-administration/?

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How many people die from gun-related injuries in the US each month?

An estimated 3.8K in August 2024, the most recent month for which data is available. This includes homicides, suicides, accidents, and other incidents where a shooting was considered the primary cause of death.

https://usafacts.org/answers/how-many-people-die-from-gun-related-injuries-in-the-us-each-month/country/united-states/?

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One last fact

The headline inflation rate was about 2.4% at the end of May. Core inflation was 2.8%.  See inflation data on everything from furniture to public transportation to seafood to eggs.

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What does it cost the IRS to collect taxes?

In 2023, it cost the IRS 34 cents to collect each $100.

https://usafacts.org/articles/what-does-it-cost-the-irs-to-collect-taxes/?

What does the US produce?

The US produces four times as many services as goods.

https://usafacts.org/articles/what-does-the-us-produce/?

One last fact

In 2022, people ages 30 to 49 comprised over half the teaching workforce. Teachers in their 40s made up the largest share of educators at 26.1%, followed by those in their 30s, at 25.4%.

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How is the federal budget distributed across agencies?

Explore how federal money flows through the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

https://usafacts.org/visualizations/agency-spending/?

What are free trade agreements and how do they affect trade?

The US has 14 agreements covering trade with 20 countries.

https://usafacts.org/articles/what-are-free-trade-agreements-and-how-do-they-affect-trade/?

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What’s in the “One Big Beautiful Bill”?

From tax reform to shifts in healthcare, immigration, and SNAP, this legislation will likely affect you.

https://usafacts.org/articles/whats-in-the-one-big-beautiful-bill/?

How do tariffs affect trade?

In 2024, the US imported $4.1 trillion and exported $3.2 trillion in goods and services. Higher tariffs can raise prices and the impact on US jobs is a complex issue. Join Steve as he talks through US trade, tariffs and their impact, US trade partners, trade agreements, and more.

https://usafacts.org/just-the-facts/trade/?

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What’s in Trump’s 2026 budget proposal?

The fiscal year 2026 budget proposal would keep base discretionary spending level.

https://usafacts.org/articles/whats-in-trumps-2026-proposed-budget/?

Americans aren't saving as much as they used to

Americans saved more disposable income during the pandemic, but people are still saving less than they did in the 1960s and ’70s on average.

https://usafacts.org/articles/why-arent-americans-saving-as-much-as-they-used-to/?

 

One last fact

In 2024, the federal government spent $100.3 billion on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — about 1.5% of total federal spending. The average monthly benefit in 2024 was $188 per person, down from the 2021 peak of $253.

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How many civilian jobs are in the US federal government?

About 2.96 million, as of May 2025. Federal jobs include all jobs ranging from janitors to air traffic controllers to nurses to postal workers and more. (Enlisted service people are considered government employees but aren’t included in this figure because they’re not civilians.) Out of the 159.6 million nonfarm jobs in the US, 1.9% are in the federal government, the nation’s largest employer. Another way to look at it: The federal government is responsible for one in every 50 jobs.

https://usafacts.org/answers/how-many-civilian-jobs-are-in-the-us-federal-government/country/united-states/?

How has military enlistment changed?

After decades of declining military applications and enrollments, the military expects to exceed 2025 recruiting goals.

https://usafacts.org/articles/is-military-enlistment-down/?

One last fact

Between fiscal years 2014 and 2024, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, made 3.62 million book-ins to detention facilities. In 2024, detention book-ins were down 34.7% from 2014. Book-in numbers can count people more than once if they are transferred several times.

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When does the One Big Beautiful Bill take effect?

The One Big Beautiful Bill, signed into law on July 4, is set to introduce a host of changes to everything from tax reform to government assistance programs to immigration and border policy. It introduces some brand-new policies and expands, restricts, or ends others.

https://usafacts.org/visualizations/obbb-timeline/?

What is the current inflation rate in the US?

About 2.7%, as of June 2025. Inflation refers to the rise in prices of goods and services over time, which reduces the purchasing power of the dollar. The inflation rate is the percentage that describes how quickly these prices are rising. While several government datasets track price changes, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) represents about 90% of the US population. The CPI measures inflation by tracking the price fluctuations of a “basket of goods and services” over time, providing a clear picture of how inflation affects everyday living expenses.

https://usafacts.org/answers/what-is-the-current-inflation-rate/country/united-states/?

One last fact

In 2021, Hawaii residents had the longest life expectancy in the nation: 79.9 years. Massachusetts residents followed closely at 79.6 years.     Mississippi had the shortest life expectancy, 70.9 years, one year less than in 2020. West Virginia and Alabama followed with life expectancies of 71 and 72 years, respectively.

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What goes into the monthly jobs report?

A look at how the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports on the economy.

https://usafacts.org/articles/how-does-the-us-government-gather-the-monthly-jobs-report/?

Why Social Security funds could run out in the next decade

The Social Security system brought in more money than it paid out every year from 1982 to 2020. But since then, it’s run on a deficit. The Social Security Administration (SSA) projects that the trust funds supporting the program could be depleted by 2034 unless Congress acts to change it. Let’s dive deep into this issue.

How Social Security works  US workers pay into the trust funds through payroll taxes and employers match these contributions. The SSA estimates that workers contributed $1.3 trillion to the trust funds in 2024. These payroll taxes go into the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance trust funds, which fund Social Security. The funds were worth a combined $2.7 trillion at the end of 2024.

The number of Social Security recipients has grown by 266% since 1970. The SSA projects that nearly 69 million people will receive monthly benefits this year. Nearly 90% of people 65 and older were in the program at the end of 2024.     The 68.5 million recipients in December 2024 included:     51.8 million retired workers and their 2.6 million spouses and dependents   7.2 million disabled workers and their 1.1 million spouses and dependents   5.8 million survivors of eligible deceased family members who had paid Social Security taxes

Retirees and dependents received an average monthly benefit of $1,975 in December 2024 for a total of $104.7 billion. The SSA distributed an average of $1,581 to disability recipients and their dependents (totaling $11.9 billion). Survivors received an average of $1,546 (totaling $8.9 billion)    The trust funds supporting Social Security have run on a deficit since 2021. In 2024, they took in $1.42 trillion and spent $1.48 trillion, depleting the funds by a record $67 billion. Since reaching their peak in 2020, the overall value of the trust funds has decreased by $187 billion, or 6.4%.

Why are funds shrinking? The Social Security model relies on a balance between workers paying into the trust funds and beneficiaries receiving those funds. While Americans are living longer and the baby boomers have entered retirement age, the average birth rate has declined, meaning relatively fewer people are entering the workforce each year. The Census Bureau tracks this balance with a broad “dependency ratio,” which is the number of “dependent-age” people (those younger than 15 or older than 65) for every 100 “working-age” people (15 to 64). In 1960, there were 52.0 children and 15.5 elders per 100 working-age people. In 2023, there were 27.5 children and 27.4 elders per 100 working-age people.

A record number 4.3 million babies were born in 1957.  People born that year turned 65 in 2022. Since then, the share of the population that’s 65 and older nearly doubled, from 9.0% to 17.2%. Around 1960, 65-year-olds were expected to live to the age of 79. In 2022, they were expected to live to 84.     The national birth rate has been declining since 1990. Births are not the only way the workforce can grow — nearly 20% of all workers in 2024 were immigrants — but the slowing birth rate has contributed to a shifting US age distribution.    The SSA expects the number of Americans 65 and older to grow by 26% in the next 12 years, from about 61 million in 2023 to about 77 million in 2035.    So, is Social Security running out? Track the trends in several more charts at USAFacts and decide for yourself.

Want to see more?

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One last fact

Medicaid covered nearly 85 million people as of June 2024. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the changes to Medicaid and health insurance outlined in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act could lead to 16 million fewer people with insurance by 2034.

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Federal farm subsidies: What the data says

Federal farm subsidies make up an average of 13.5% of net farm income.

https://usafacts.org/articles/federal-farm-subsidies-what-data-says/?

What is the US poverty rate?

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.

https://usafacts.org/answers/what-is-the-us-poverty-rate/country/united-states/?

 

One last fact

The Constitution states that Congress has the sole authority to admit new states to the union. Most states are formed by drafting a state constitution and submitting it to Congress for approval. Once approved, it passes an Act of Admission, which the president must sign.    In 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify the Constitution and the first state admitted to the union. Hawaii was the most recent of the 50 states, added in 1959.

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Which cities have the highest murder rates?

Memphis, Tennessee, had higher murder rates in its home county than any other major city in the US.

https://usafacts.org/articles/which-cities-have-the-highest-murder-rates/?

How many people are in the US military? A demographic overview

The US military is the third-largest active military in the world.

https://usafacts.org/articles/how-many-people-are-in-the-us-military-a-demographic-overview/?

One last fact

Eighth-grade reading scores fell in 38 states from 2019 to 2024. According to the Nation’s Report Card, eighth graders must score 281 to be proficient, which means a student can form an opinion about an author’s arguments. In 2024, the average eighth-grader had a reading score of 258.

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How are public schools in the US funded?

Primarily from state and local governments. In the 2021–2022 school year, the most recent year of available data, about 44.1% of public school funding came from state sources like income and retail taxes, and another 42.2% came from local sources like property taxes. The federal government provided the remaining 13.7%, often through programs like Title I or IDEA that are aimed at supporting specific student needs. Altogether, public schools received $909.2 billion in funding, or $18,500 per student.

https://usafacts.org/answers/how-are-public-schools-in-the-us-funded/country/united-states/?

How many 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.

https://usafacts.org/articles/how-many-high-schoolers-are-trans/?

Schoolhouse stats

What does “back to school” look like across the US? Grab a notebook and pencil, find a desk, and study up on the data shaping the new school year. Your syllabus includes the latest data on how public schools are funded, what we pay teachers, student math and reading scores, and the role the Education Department plays in it all.

https://usafacts.org/education/school-stats/?

 

One last fact

In January 2024, about 771,000 Americans were homeless, up 18% from 2023. That was about 23 out of every 10,000 people.   The rate rose the most in Hawaii, nearly doubling from 44.0 per 100,000 people in 2019 to 80.5 in 2024. The rate dropped slightly in Wyoming, Maryland, Mississippi, and Texas.

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How much of the American workforce is unionized?

Yesterday was Labor Day, a holiday the Labor Department says honors the social and economic achievements of American workers. We thought it was a fitting time to look at our data on the workforce. Specifically, how many people are in labor unions? Turns out the story fluctuates by state, sector, and workers’ ages. We dug into the numbers for insights on the state of US unions.  About 9.9% of US workers, or 14.3 million people, were in a labor union in 2024. That’s the lowest percentage since 1983. (This percentage includes wage and salary workers who are 16 or older. Self-employed workers excluded.)  Since 2000, union membership rates have fallen in all but five states. Rates fell the most in Wisconsin (down 11.4 percentage points). They rose the most in Vermont (up 3.9 percentage points).    Public sector workers are five and a half times more likely to be unionized than private sector employees. In 2024, 32.2% of public sector employees were union members, compared to 5.9% in the private sector.     Workers ages 45 to 64 are most likely to be in a union. Last year, 12.6% of employees in this age range were union members. Meanwhile, 4.3% of workers ages 16 to 24 were unionized, the lowest percentage of any group.    The industries with the fewest unionized employees in 2024 were professional and business services (2.0%), agriculture and related industries (1.4%), and financial activities (1.3%). Want to see more?

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Measles cases hit new highs

This year, the US has had the highest incidence of measles since the disease was declared eliminated 25 years ago. As of July 29, there had been at least 1,333 confirmed measles cases and three confirmed deaths in 2025. For comparison, there were 285 confirmed measles cases in 2024, with no reported deaths. Measles is a highly contagious airborne disease that’s spread by coughs and sneezes. It can lead to serious health complications, especially in young children and people with weakened immune systems.

The CDC has identified 29 measles outbreaks linked to about 87% of the 1,333 reported cases. More than 700 cases of measles have been confirmed in Texas, more than any other state. Kansas and New Mexico each have reported more than 50 cases of measles.   Before the measles vaccine became available in 1963, about 3 to 4 million people were infected annually, and about 400 to 500 of those people died. The measles vaccine is usually combined with mumps and rubella (MMR), or mumps, rubella, and varicella (MMRV) vaccines.    The nation’s vaccination program led to a sharp decline in measles cases, and the disease was considered eliminated in the US in 2000. Elimination doesn't mean zero new infections — there were 85 reported cases in 2000; it means the disease is no longer spreading continuously.    Outbreaks are more likely in communities with low vaccination coverage. Of the people with measles confirmed between January and July 29, 92% were unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccination status.

Want to see more?

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One last fact

School’s back in session, and more kids than ever are headed to charter schools. In 2022, 3.7 million students, or 7.6% of public students nationally, attended charter school, up from 4.6% a decade prior. In some parts of the US, more than 20% of K-12 students attend charter schools.

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Are immigrants eligible for government assistance?

Federal programs such as Medicaid, Social Security, and food assistance (e.g., SNAP) have strict eligibility rules that are often based on income or work history. For immigrants, there’s typically another requirement: an eligible immigration status.

https://usafacts.org/articles/immigrant-program-eligibility/?

How many people does ICE arrest?

While criminal investigations and arrests are part of ICE’s mission, it is the administrative arrests made by ERO that are the focus of this page. ERO enforces immigration law — not criminal law — in the US interior, administratively arresting people outside the border regions who are in violation of the law (the border is handled by US Customs and Border Protection [CBP]). Only noncitizens (also called aliens in US immigration law) who have civil immigration violations are subject to administrative arrest, a key distinction from the HSI arrests that target citizens and noncitizens alike for alleged criminal conduct relating to transnational crime.

https://usafacts.org/answers/how-many-people-does-ice-arrest/country/united-states/?

 

One last fact

Bullying and harassment of K-12 students based on sex, race, or disability fell 84% from the 2011–2012 school year to 2020–2021. In that decade, the number of full-time school counselors nationwide also increased by 83%, from about 69,359 to 127,201.

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Where kids are getting vaccine exemptions

When kindergarteners started school this year, many hopped off the school bus with vaccine exemption forms in hand. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, schools have required children to be vaccinated against various illnesses for years. But now, more families are opting out for medical and nonmedical reasons. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's vaccine recommendations committee has wrapped up two days of meetings regarding MMRV vaccines and more. Let’s take a look at the data. During the 2014–2015 school year, 2.2% of kindergarteners had a vaccine exemption. By the 2024–2025 school year, 3.6% did.    Medical exemptions have remained around 0.2% since 2014, varying little. Meanwhile, nonmedical exemptions rose from 2.0% in 2014–2015 to 3.4% when the school year started in 2024.    Maine had the highest medical exemption rate: 0.8%. Another 18 states reported rates of 0.1%, the lowest nationwide.    Nonmedical exemptions varied widely by state. The highest rates were in Idaho (15.1%), Utah (10.0%), Oregon (9.7%), Alaska (9.0%), and Arizona (9.0%). The lowest was Connecticut (0.1%), which repealed nonmedical exemptions in 2021.  Over the past decade, Idaho’s nonmedical exemption rates have grown more than any other state (+8.9 percentage points). Utah followed (+5.9), then Nevada (+5.6), and South Dakota (+5.2).    Nonmedical exemption rates dropped in three states: Vermont was down 2.2 points, Connecticut was down 1.5, and Colorado, 1.3. Vermont and Colorado have also restricted or repealed certain exemptions.  Want to see more? Understanding jurisdictions within US law enforcement High-profile law enforcement actions across the US this year have led to questions on the overlapping jurisdictional boundaries between state and federal agencies. USAFacts details how they work — and breaks down how many officers are in each federal law enforcement agency — in this new article.  Nearly 100 federal agencies and 17,500 state and local agencies are involved in the nation’s law enforcement.   State and local agencies focus on crime within their physical boundaries. Local police handle towns and cities, sheriffs cover counties, and state police patrol highways and conduct statewide investigations. Federal agencies respond to bank robberies, kidnappings, immigration violations, and other federal crimes, as well as crimes that cross state lines.     There are 72 federal Offices of Inspectors General that investigate fraud, abuse, misconduct, and certain potential crimes within their respective agencies. Each office is led by a designated official; there’s one at the Securities and Exchange Commission. One at the US Postal Service. However more than 30 spots are currently vacant.    There have been multiple court actions this year to sort out what level of cooperation between ICE and local agencies is required by law. Appellate courts have ruled on the legality of ICE’s detention requests, stating that some may violate the Fourth Amendment’s protection against detention without probable cause.   It’s rare but not unprecedented for the military to be involved in civilian law enforcement. Laws, including the Posse Comitatus Act, which limits the use of armed forces in civilian law enforcement, and the Insurrection Act, regulate such actions.   Want to see more?             One last fact The Bureau of Labor Statistics defines a major work stoppage as a strike or a lockout that involves at least 1,000 workers and lasts one full shift at the place where the strike started. Last year, more than 270,000 workers were involved in 31 work stoppages.     In 1983, union members comprised about 20% of the employees in the US. By 2024, they were 10%.

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How does the government budget process work?

Congress hasn't passed a full budget on time since 1997. How is the government getting funded?

https://usafacts.org/articles/how-does-the-government-budget-process-work/?

What is the crime rate in the US?

In 2024, for every 100,000 people, 359 violent crimes and 1,760 property crimes. Simply speaking, violent crimes are committed against people, property crimes are not. These crime rates do not include every violent and property crime, but rather four violent offenses and three property offenses that have been tracked since 1929.

https://usafacts.org/answers/what-is-the-crime-rate-in-the-us/country/united-states/?

One last fact

The US has trade relations with more than 200 countries, territories, and regional associations. Mexico, Canada, and China have been the top three trading partners with the US since 2004. China’s position has bounced around; it was the sixth top trading partner in 1999, but the first from 2016 to 2018.