Chronic pain in the United States: what the latest CDC numbers say

Chronic pain is neither rare nor isolated. According to the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), run by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, 24.3% of U.S. adults had chronic pain in 2023 — nearly 1 in 4 people.^[1]

This article summarizes what that official data shows, how it is defined, and why it matters when you are looking for treatment.

What counts as “chronic pain”?

In the CDC survey, a person has chronic pain when they felt pain on most days or every day in the past 3 months. It is high-impact chronic pain when that pain also frequently limited their life or work activities over the same period.^[1]

The distinction matters: not all chronic pain stops you from working or doing chores, but high-impact pain does, and it is the kind that hurts quality of life the most.

The headline numbers for 2023

Source: CDC/NCHS, NCHS Data Brief No. 518 (2024), using National Health Interview Survey data.^[1]

Two more findings from the same report:

• Among people with chronic pain, 34.9% have high-impact pain — more than a third are frequently limited in daily life.^[1]
• Women report more chronic pain (25.4%) than men (23.2%), and more high-impact pain too (9.6% vs. 7.3%).^[1]

Pain increases with age

Age is one of the strongest factors. In 2023, chronic pain affected 12.3% of adults aged 18 to 29, but 36.0% of adults 65 and older.^[1]

Adults with chronic pain by age group, U.S. 2023

Chronic painHigh-impact

Ages 18–29

12.3%3.0%

Ages 30–44

18.3%4.9%

Ages 45–64

28.7%11.3%

65 and older

36.0%13.5%

Living outside big cities matters too

The CDC report shows chronic pain becomes more common as urbanization decreases. In nonmetropolitan areas 31.4% of adults report it, compared with 20.5% in large central metro areas.^[1]

Adults with chronic pain by urbanization level, U.S. 2023

Chronic painHigh-impact

Large central metro

20.5%7.3%

Large fringe metro

22.5%7.7%

Medium and small metro

26.4%9.0%

Nonmetropolitan

31.4%11.5%

Differences by race and ethnicity

The report also breaks the data down by race and Hispanic origin. Among Hispanic adults, 17.1% reported chronic pain and 6.5% high-impact pain.^[1]

Source: CDC/NCHS, NCHS Data Brief No. 518 (2024).^[1] These are self-reported survey figures; a group reporting less pain does not mean it deserves less care when pain is present.

Is the problem growing?

Within the same survey, chronic pain went from 20.4% of adults in 2019 to 24.3% in 2023.^[1] An earlier CDC analysis of 2019–2021 data had already estimated that in 2021 about 51.6 million adults lived with chronic pain and 17.1 million with high-impact chronic pain.^[2]

What this data means for you

1. Living with daily pain is not “normal.” Being common doesn’t mean you have to accept it: if pain lasts more than 3 months or limits your activities, it deserves an assessment.
2. There are options beyond painkillers. The CDC’s 2022 clinical guideline states that nonopioid therapies are preferred for subacute and chronic pain, and asks clinicians to make the most of non-drug treatments.^[3]
3. The goal is function, not just pain. Guidelines focus on improving pain and your ability to live your life: work, sleep, move.^[3]

If your pain has lasted for weeks and keeps you from doing what you used to do, a medical assessment can help identify the cause and choose the right treatment.