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  3. Trends in Lung Disease
  4. Asthma Trends Brief
  5. Current Asthma Demographics

Current Asthma Demographics

Current asthma rates are not the same across demographic groups. This page describes current asthma rates, defined as those who have ever been diagnosed with asthma by a healthcare professional and report still having asthma, by the following demographics: sex and age, race/ethnicity, Hispanic subgroups, family income, health insurance coverage, and state.

Current Asthma Rates by Sex and Age

  • Among children, current asthma is more common for males (7.0%) than females (5.4%). However, among adults, females (10.8%) are more likely than males (6.5%) to still have asthma.

Current Asthma Rates by Race/Ethnicity

  • Black individuals and Indigenous Peoples have the highest current asthma rates compared to other races and ethnicities. In 2022, Black individuals (10.3%) were 44% more likely than white individuals (8.4%) to still have asthma.
  • Latino individuals (6.7%) and Asian individuals (4.4%) had lower current asthma prevalence rates than other racial and ethnic groups.

Current Asthma Rates by Hispanic Subgroups

  • While asthma rates are relatively low for Latino individuals overall, rates vary significantly among subgroups. Puerto Ricans in the continental United States have the highest current asthma rate of any racial or ethnic group, at 14.0 percent over 2016 to 2018.

Current Asthma Rates by Family Income

  • In 2022, current asthma rates decreased as family income increased, with the highest rates (11.3%) among those with a family income below the poverty threshold.

Current Asthma Rates by Health Insurance Coverage

  • In 2022, current asthma rates among adults ages 18 to 65 were highest for those on Medicaid and lowest for those with no medical insurance.

Current Asthma by State

Adult
  • In 2023, current asthma rates among adults ranged from 7.1% in Mississippi to 14.1% in Puerto Rico.
Child
  • Asthma prevalence data for children is not available for every state and year. Among the twenty-seven states with 2023 data, current asthma rates among children ranged from 4.1% in Nebraska to 16.0% in Puerto Rico.

Current Asthma by State, 2023
State Child Adult
  Count Percent Year Count Percent
Alabama 85,669 8.6%   350,749 8.8%
Alaska --- ---   59,838 10.8%
Arizona 129,244 8.1% 2016 601,018 10.3%
Arkansas --- ---   231,412 9.9%
California 467,755 6.3%   2,688,439 8.8%
Colorado --- ---   524,666 11.3%
Connecticut 52,012 7.9%   316,879 10.8%
Delaware --- ---   90,644 11.0%
District of Columbia 12,265 9.7% 2021 59,577 10.6%
Florida 243,486 6.1%   1,559,429 8.5%
Georgia 200,923 8.7%   801,375 9.4%
Hawaii 18,144 6.7%   113,386 9.8%
Idaho --- ---   157,515 10.5%
Illinois 162,764 6.4%   937,468 9.5%
Indiana 95,429 6.8%   605,345 11.5%
Iowa 41,623 5.8% 2011 221,751 8.9%
Kansas 43,004 6.9%   221,805 9.9%
Kentucky 88,024 9.5% 2022 377,365 10.8%
Louisiana 94,076 8.8% 2015 373,621 10.6%
Maine 16,627 7.2%   146,401 12.9%
Maryland 77,305 6.0% 2022 525,607 10.8%
Massachusetts 70,547 5.9%   672,211 11.9%
Michigan 140,935 7.3%   869,040 11.0%
Minnesota 64,374 5.3%   436,181 9.8%
Mississippi 42,710 6.9% 2022 161,450 7.1%
Missouri 101,464 8.0%   476,023 9.9%
Montana 15,376 6.8%   104,678 11.7%
Nebraska 18,732 4.1%   127,138 8.5%
Nevada 46,822 7.2% 2020 219,839 8.8%
New Hampshire 17,003 7.1%   134,973 11.8%
New Jersey 123,092 6.8%   627,531 8.6%
New Mexico 30,569 7.1%   160,815 9.7%
New York 333,623 9.2%   1,553,999 9.9%
North Carolina 250,591 11.5% 2014 856,919 10.0%
North Dakota 10,025 6.5% 2012 61,046 10.1%
Ohio 159,955 6.8%   1,007,049 11.0%
Oklahoma 88,720 9.8% 2016 348,844 11.3%
Oregon 55,007 6.9% 2019 399,253 11.8%
Pennsylvania 240,281 9.9% 2022 1,033,741 10.1%
Puerto Rico 85,239 16.0%   381,849 14.1%
Rhode Island 15,795 8.5%   108,515 12.2%
South Carolina --- ---   370,455 8.8%
South Dakota --- ---   67,878 9.7%
Tennessee 139,190 9.7% 2014 614,808 11.0%
Texas 515,483 7.5%   1,966,297 8.5%
Utah 56,494 6.2%   272,035 11.0%
Vermont 8,135 7.7%   59,448 11.2%
Virginia --- ---   697,841 10.2%
Washington 115,898 7.3% 2016 659,914 10.7%
West Virginia 34,638 9.4% 2014 196,326 13.9%
Wisconsin 71,565 6.2%   504,682 10.9%
Wyoming 11,697 8.6% 2012 44,619 10.0%
United States* --- 6.9%   24,748,581 9.8%

Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2011-2023. Analysis by the American Lung Association Epidemiology and Statistics Unit.

  • * National child asthma prevalence is based on data from 27 states and Washington, D.C.
  • Child asthma data is from 2023 unless an earlier year is noted, in which case that is the most recent year of data available. If a state has not collected child asthma data since 2011, no rate is listed.
  • Adult asthma data is from 2022 for Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
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Page last updated: June 20, 2025

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