ADHD Statistics 2026: Adults, Children, Diagnosis
An estimated 15.5 million US adults, 6.0% or about one in 16, have a current ADHD diagnosis, and more than half of them were diagnosed as adults. About 7 million US children have a current diagnosis. A third of adults with ADHD get no treatment at all, and worldwide an estimated 366 million adults have ADHD symptoms. Here are the ADHD statistics worth knowing in 2026, each sourced inline with the year noted.
15.5 million US adults have ADHD
6.0% of US adults, about 15.5 million people, had a current ADHD diagnosis in 2023, based on self-report in a nationally representative CDC survey (CDC, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 2024).
55.9% of adults with ADHD received their diagnosis at 18 or older (CDC, 2024). Adult diagnosis is common, even though the diagnostic criteria require symptoms before age 12.
84.5% of adults with a current ADHD diagnosis are under 50, compared with 51.2% of adults who have never been diagnosed (CDC, 2024).
About 7 million US children have a current diagnosis
An estimated 7 million US children aged 3 to 17, 11.7%, had a current ADHD diagnosis, based on a 2024 national survey of parents (CDC, 2024 data).
In 2022, 7.1 million children (11.4%, about one in nine) had ever been diagnosed with ADHD (Danielson et al., Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 2024).
77.9% of children with current ADHD had at least one co-occurring condition, and 58.1% had moderate or severe ADHD (Danielson et al., 2024).
53.6% of children with current ADHD received ADHD medication, 44.4% had behavioral treatment in the past year, and 30.1% received no ADHD-specific treatment (Danielson et al., 2024).
One in three adults with ADHD gets no treatment
36.5% of adults with current ADHD were not receiving any treatment, while 35.2% received both medication and counseling or behavioral treatment (CDC, 2024).
50.4% of adults with ADHD were prescribed medication for it in the previous 12 months: 33.4% took a stimulant and 5.9% a nonstimulant (CDC, 2024).
About half of adults with ADHD have used telehealth for ADHD care (CDC, 2024).
71.5% of adults taking a stimulant had trouble filling their prescription because it was unavailable, during the shortage that began in 2022 (CDC, 2024).
366 million adults worldwide have ADHD symptoms
An estimated 6.76% of adults worldwide, 366.33 million people, had symptomatic adult ADHD in 2020, in a global meta-analysis adjusted to the world’s age structure (Song et al., Journal of Global Health, 2021).
2.58% of adults, 139.84 million, had persistent ADHD that began in childhood (Song et al., 2021).
Prevalence falls with age: persistent adult ADHD runs 5.05% among 18 to 24 year olds and 0.77% among adults 60 and over (Song et al., 2021). The 18 to 24 age group contributes the most cases.
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For more, see the best AI personal assistants for ADHD, AI calendar assistants for ADHD and AI email assistants for ADHD.
FAQ
How many adults have ADHD? About 15.5 million US adults, 6.0%, had a current ADHD diagnosis in 2023 (CDC, 2024). Worldwide, an estimated 366 million adults have ADHD symptoms (Song et al., 2021).
What percentage of children have ADHD? 11.7% of US children aged 3 to 17, about 7 million, had a current diagnosis in 2024 (CDC, 2024 data).
How many adults are diagnosed with ADHD as adults? More than half. 55.9% of US adults with ADHD received their diagnosis at 18 or older (CDC, 2024).
Do most adults with ADHD get treatment? Most do, but 36.5% of adults with current ADHD receive no treatment at all (CDC, 2024).
Related: Procrastination Statistics · Attention Span Statistics · Time Management Statistics · Burnout Statistics · Context Switching Statistics
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