Depression Statistics (2026): 78 Sourced Figures

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This page collects figures on depression: how common it is, who is affected, and how many people receive treatment. Most figures cover the United States. Every number links to the document that first published it. Screening-based prevalence comes from two surveys run by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Major depressive episode figures come from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), as summarized by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Self-reported diagnosis figures come from Gallup. Global figures come from the World Health Organization (WHO). Broader figures on mental illness and treatment are on Mental Health Statistics, and figures on suicide are on Suicide Statistics. For a comparison of the record and practice software that therapy and psychiatry practices use, see the StatWharf comparison of mental health software.

Key figures at a glance

Depression prevalence by screening (NHANES, 2021 to 2023)

NCHS Data Brief No. 527, Depression Prevalence in Adolescents and Adults: United States, August 2021 to August 2023, was published in April 2025. NHANES participants complete the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Depression is defined as a score of 10 or higher, covering symptoms in the past two weeks.

• Depression prevalence was 13.1% among people aged 12 and older, up from 8.2% in 2013 to 2014.
• Prevalence was higher in females, 16.0%, than in males, 10.1%.
• Prevalence fell with age. It was highest among adolescents aged 12 to 19, 19.2%, and lowest among adults aged 60 and older, 8.7%.
• Among females, prevalence fell from 26.5% at ages 12 to 19 to 10.6% at age 60 and older. The rate among adolescent females was more than double that of adolescent males, 12.2%.

By family income

Daily functioning and care

• 87.9% of people with depression reported at least some difficulty with work, home or social activities because of their symptoms.
• 39.3% of people with depression received counseling or therapy from a mental health professional in the previous 12 months.
• Females with depression were more likely to have received counseling or therapy, 43.0%, than males, 33.2%.

Depression symptoms among adults (NHIS, 2019)

NCHS Data Brief No. 379, Symptoms of Depression Among Adults: United States, 2019, was published in September 2020. It uses the eight-item PHQ-8 in the National Health Interview Survey and groups adults by symptom severity in the past two weeks.

• Any symptoms were most common among adults aged 18 to 29, 21.0%, followed by those aged 45 to 64 and 65 and over, 18.4% each, and least common among those aged 30 to 44, 16.8%.
• 21.8% of women had any symptoms, compared with 15.0% of men.

Major depressive episode (NSDUH, 2021)

A major depressive episode (MDE) in NSDUH is a period of at least two weeks of depressed mood or loss of interest, with other symptoms, in the past year. NIMH’s major depression statistics page, last updated in July 2023, summarizes the 2021 NSDUH as originally published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The figures are the 2021 estimates as first published. The 2025 NSDUH figures are on Mental Health Statistics.

Adults

• MDE prevalence was highest among adults aged 18 to 25, 18.6%, compared with 9.3% at ages 26 to 49 and 4.5% at age 50 or older.

Adolescents aged 12 to 17

• 20.1% of adolescents (5.0 million) had at least one MDE in the past year in 2021, and 14.7% (3.7 million) had an MDE with severe impairment.
• Prevalence was higher among adolescent females, 29.2%, than adolescent males, 11.5%.
• 40.6% of adolescents with an MDE received treatment in the past year, as did 44.2% of those with an MDE with severe impairment.

Antidepressant use (NHANES, 2015 to 2018)

NCHS Data Brief No. 377, Antidepressant Use Among Adults: United States, 2015 to 2018, was published in September 2020. It measures use of antidepressant medication in the past 30 days. Antidepressants are also prescribed for conditions other than depression.

• 13.2% of adults aged 18 and over used antidepressants in the past 30 days. Use was higher among women, 17.7%, than men, 8.4%.
• Use rose with age, from 7.9% at ages 18 to 39 to 14.4% at ages 40 to 59 and 19.0% at age 60 and over. Use was highest among women aged 60 and over, 24.3%.
• Between 2009 to 2010 and 2017 to 2018, use increased from 10.6% to 13.8%. The brief reports that the increase was among women, not men.

Self-reported depression diagnosis (Gallup, 2023)

Gallup published Depression Rates Reach New Highs on May 17, 2023. The survey of 5,167 US adults in the Gallup Panel was conducted February 21 to 28, 2023. The 2017 comparison comes from an address-based sample of 12,482 adults. The figures are self-reports of a diagnosis or of current depression, not clinical screenings.

• Lifetime diagnosis rates were highest among adults aged 18 to 29, 34.3%, and 30 to 44, 34.9%, compared with 26.1% at ages 45 to 64 and 21.3% at 65 and older.
• Lifetime diagnosis rose fastest among Black adults, to 34.4%, and Hispanic adults, to 31.3%, between 2017 and 2023.

Global figures

The WHO fact sheet Depressive disorder (depression) is dated September 11, 2026. Its prevalence figures draw on the 2023 Global Burden of Disease study and are attributed to WHO here.

• In 2023, an estimated 4% of the world population experienced depression, including 5.2% of adults.
• Among adults, 6.2% of women and 4.1% of men experienced depression. WHO states depression is about 1.5 times more common among women than among men.
• Approximately 322 million people worldwide have depression.
• More than 10% of pregnant women and women who have just given birth experience depression.
• In high-income countries, only about one third of people with depression receive mental health treatment. WHO states that effective treatment exists for mild, moderate and severe depression.

Method

• Data window. Figures date from 2009 to September 2026. Each series uses the latest release that was reachable at the check date. Earlier years appear only as trend baselines.
• Primary sources only. Each figure links to the body that published it: CDC NCHS, NIMH, Gallup and the WHO. NSDUH figures are cited from NIMH’s published summary of the 2021 survey. WHO global prevalence figures are WHO’s reporting of the Global Burden of Disease study. Statistics aggregators, advocacy roundups and news articles that re-quote figures were not used.
• Checks. StatWharf Editorial opened each source in November 2026 and checked that the figure and its date appear there. The SAMHSA 2025 NSDUH report was not reachable at the check date, so no 2025 NSDUH figure is cited on this page. Figures without a reachable primary source were left out.
• No modeling. The page reports published figures only. No value is estimated by StatWharf. Chart bar lengths are scaled to the largest value shown.
• Measures differ. NHANES uses the PHQ-9 over the past two weeks. NHIS uses the PHQ-8 over the past two weeks. NSDUH MDE is a past-year measure. Gallup reports self-described diagnosis or current depression. Comparisons are valid within one source, not across sources.
• Safe messaging. The page follows recommendations for reporting on mental health and suicide. It reports no detail on means of self-harm, notes that effective treatment exists, and lists crisis support at the top and bottom.

Using these figures

Screening surveys put US depression prevalence at about one in eight people aged 12 and older, with the highest rates among adolescent females and people in low-income families. Writers who cite these figures are encouraged to include the 988 Lifeline. Practices comparing clinical record and billing systems will find the StatWharf comparison of mental health software. Other StatWharf data pages are listed in the research directory. Send corrections to any figure to the editorial address below.

If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. Veterans can call 988 and press 1.

Factual corrections are free: editorial@statwharf.com.