Use this page as a starting point when you need a reliable, plain-English fact about tattooing in the United States. It brings together recent public survey data and peer-reviewed research. Each statistic is dated and linked to its source.
Tattoo ownership and meaning
32%
of U.S. adults have a tattoo
Pew Research Center found that nearly one-third of U.S. adults reported having at least one tattoo.
Source: Pew Research Center, 2023 ↗22%
of U.S. adults have more than one tattoo
The same 2023 Pew survey found that 22% of adults have multiple tattoos.
Source: Pew Research Center, 2023 ↗41%
of adults ages 18 to 29 have a tattoo
Tattoo ownership is especially common among younger adults, based on Pew's 2023 U.S. survey.
Source: Pew Research Center, 2023 ↗46%
of adults ages 30 to 49 have a tattoo
Adults in their thirties and forties were the age group most likely to report having a tattoo in the survey.
Source: Pew Research Center, 2023 ↗38%
of U.S. women have a tattoo
Pew reported tattoo ownership among 38% of women, compared with 27% of men.
Source: Pew Research Center, 2023 ↗69%
got a tattoo to honor or remember someone or something
Among tattooed adults, this was the most common reason reported to Pew.
Source: Pew Research Center, 2023 ↗24%
of tattooed adults say they have ever regretted a tattoo
Pew found that three-quarters of tattooed adults say they have never regretted getting one.
Source: Pew Research Center, 2023 ↗Research snapshot
Ink safety and oversight
These findings describe individual studies, recalls, and safety alerts. They do not measure every tattoo ink or every tattoo experience.
26 of 75
ink samples tested had bacterial contamination
A 2024 peer-reviewed study of tattoo and permanent makeup inks found contamination in 26 of 75 samples. This is a study result, not a measure of all inks in use.
Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 2024 ↗18
voluntary recalls of contaminated tattoo inks were reported from 2003 to 2024
The FDA reported 18 voluntary recalls involving tattoo inks contaminated with a variety of microorganisms during that period.
Source: U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2024 ↗2
tattoo ink products were named in a 2025 FDA safety alert
In May 2025, the FDA identified two named ink products after laboratory analysis found pathogenic microorganisms. This alert applies to those products, not every tattoo ink.
Source: U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2025 ↗How these figures were chosen
This page uses named, published sources and keeps the scope of each statistic clear. The ownership, age, motivation, and regret figures come from Pew Research Center's July 2023 survey of U.S. adults. The contamination result comes from a 2024 peer-reviewed study of 75 tattoo and permanent makeup ink samples available in the U.S. market. The recall and alert figures come from FDA notices published in 2024 and 2025. None of the ink figures should be read as a count of all products or all tattoo experiences.
Sources
- Pew Research Center, “32% of Americans have a tattoo, including 22% who have more than one,” August 15, 2023.
- Yoon et al., “Detection of anaerobic and aerobic bacteria from commercial tattoo and permanent makeup inks,” Applied and Environmental Microbiology, July 2, 2024.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration, “FDA Issues Final Guidance on Tattoo Inks,” October 24, 2024.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration, “FDA Advises Consumers, Tattoo Artists, and Retailers to Avoid Using or Selling Certain Sacred Tattoo Ink Products Contaminated with Microorganisms,” May 7, 2025.
Cite this page
Tattoo Connection. “Tattoo Statistics in the U.S.: Key Facts and Sources.” Updated October 5, 2026. https://tattooconnection.com/tattoo-statistics
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