Diabetes in America by the Numbers: CDC Data by Age

About 40.1 million people in the United States had diabetes in 2023, or 12.0% of the population, according to the CDC's National Diabetes Statistics Report. That total includes an estimated 11.0 million adults whose diabetes had not been diagnosed. Diabetes rises sharply with age: the CDC's crude estimates show 4.6% of adults 18 to 44 had diabetes in August 2021 through August 2023, compared with 28.8% of adults 65 and older.

This page pulls the report's national prevalence figures by age into a few tables, explains how the CDC produced them, and covers what they mean if you're shopping for life insurance. Every figure below appears in the CDC report exactly as shown there.

What are the headline findings?

1. 40.1 million people had diabetes in 2023. That's 12.0% of the U.S. population, counting diagnosed and undiagnosed cases, and includes 29.1 million people with diagnosed diabetes.
2. 27.6% of adults with diabetes were undiagnosed in 2023, representing 11.0 million people.
3. 28.8% of adults 65 and older had diabetes in 2021 to 2023, versus 20.6% of adults 45 to 64 and 4.6% of adults 18 to 44 (crude estimates).
4. 115.2 million adults had prediabetes in 2023, including 31.3 million people 65 and older, or 52.1% of that age group.
5. Diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in 2023, based on 95,190 death certificates listing it as the underlying cause.

How common is diabetes by age?

Diabetes becomes far more common after 45. The table shows the CDC's crude prevalence for 2021 to 2023 and its estimated number of adults for 2023.

Table 1. Diabetes among U.S. adults by age

Source: CDC, National Diabetes Statistics Report, crude prevalence for August 2021 to August 2023 and estimated numbers for 2023. The CDC notes subgroup numbers may not add up to the total because of rounding.

A few other figures from the same report help round out the picture:

• All ages: 29.1 million people had diagnosed diabetes in 2023, or 8.7% of the U.S. population.
• Children and teens: 364,000 people younger than 20 had diagnosed diabetes, including 314,000 with type 1.
• Type 1: 2.1 million people had diagnosed type 1 diabetes, including 1.8 million adults aged 20 and older.
• Insulin: 3.8 million adults aged 20 and older started using insulin within a year of their diagnosis, 13.3% of U.S. adults with diagnosed diabetes.
• Trend: Age-adjusted total diabetes among adults was 11.2% in 2001–2004 and 13.5% in 2021–2023. The CDC calls this a significant increase for total and diagnosed diabetes, with no significant change in undiagnosed diabetes.

How many adults have prediabetes?

The CDC's Diabetes Basics page says more than 2 in 5 U.S. adults have prediabetes and about 8 in 10 people with prediabetes don't know they have it. The report defines prediabetes as a fasting blood sugar of 100 to under 126 mg/dL or an A1C of 5.7% to 6.4%.

Table 2. Prediabetes among U.S. adults by age

Source: CDC, National Diabetes Statistics Report, crude estimates. Awareness is based on self-report and is measured only among adults with prediabetes.

On an age-adjusted basis, the share of adults with prediabetes who knew they had it rose from 5.6% in 2005–2008 to 19.8% in 2021–2023, according to the report.

How many adults are newly diagnosed each year?

About 1.5 million adults were newly diagnosed with diabetes in 2023, and the largest group was aged 45 to 64.

Table 3. Newly diagnosed diabetes among U.S. adults, 2023

Source: CDC, National Diabetes Statistics Report, estimated number of adults with newly diagnosed diabetes, 2023.

The CDC reports that the age-adjusted incidence of diagnosed diabetes was 6.2 per 1,000 adults in both 2000 and 2023, with a significant decreasing trend from 2008 until 2020.

How many deaths are linked to diabetes?

The report tracks deaths through death certificates. In 2023, diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S. It was listed as the underlying cause on 95,190 death certificates, a crude rate of 28.4 per 100,000 people, and as an underlying or contributing cause on 339,342 death certificates, a crude rate of 101.3 per 100,000 people.

The report also counts serious complications. For example, among adults with diagnosed diabetes, 41.7% had chronic kidney disease (stages 1 to 4) in 2021 to 2023. In 2021, 60,113 people developed end-stage kidney disease with diabetes as the primary cause, and the report identifies diabetes as the leading cause of end-stage kidney disease.

Methodology

All figures come from the CDC's National Diabetes Statistics Report, published on the United States Diabetes Surveillance System site. The full report page says it was last updated March 11, 2026, and the CDC's summary page was updated September 16, 2026. We retrieved the data on September 29, 2026.

• Prevalence among adults (Table 1 and Table 2) comes from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), August 2021 to August 2023. People who said a doctor had told them they had diabetes (not during pregnancy) count as diagnosed. People who didn't report diabetes but had a fasting plasma glucose of 126 mg/dL or higher or an A1C of 6.5% or higher count as undiagnosed.
• Numbers of people were estimated by the CDC by applying the NHANES percentages to U.S. Census Bureau resident population estimates for July 1, 2023. The CDC notes this assumes prevalence was the same in 2023 as in the survey years and the same in the resident population as in the civilian, noninstitutionalized population NHANES samples.
• The all-ages total of 40.1 million adds adults with diagnosed or undiagnosed diabetes to people younger than 18 with diagnosed diabetes, using the 2021–2023 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) for young people.
• New diagnoses (Table 3) come from NHIS 2021–2023 rates applied to 2023 Census population estimates.
• Crude vs. age-adjusted. Tables show crude estimates, the actual share of each age group. The CDC's age-adjusted figures use the 2000 U.S. standard population with age groups 18–44, 45–64 and 65 and older.
• Diabetes type. Most estimates don't separate type 1 and type 2. The CDC says type 2 accounts for 90% to 95% of cases, so the data mostly reflect type 2.

We did not calculate any new figures. Each number is reported as the CDC publishes it, and the CDC also publishes 95% confidence intervals for these estimates.

How to cite this data

Suggested citation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Diabetes Statistics Report (2026), as compiled in "Diabetes in America by the Numbers: CDC Data by Age," reviewed September 30, 2026.

What do these numbers mean for life insurance?

Diabetes is common, so many life insurance applicants have it: 29.1 million people were living with diagnosed diabetes in 2023. The Texas Department of Insurance explains that a company can charge more if you have health conditions or refuse to sell if it considers you a high risk, and that rates vary by company.

Here's how the data connects to shopping for coverage:

• Age and diabetes rise together. Because diabetes is most common after 65, many people applying for final expense insurance for diabetics have it. Simplified issue and guaranteed issue policies are common options for that age group.
• Undiagnosed diabetes is common. Some insurers review lab results, so an application can surface high blood sugar you didn't know about. Getting checked and treated helps your health first, and good records help later.
• A1C matters. The report's definitions use A1C thresholds, and so do underwriters. Our guide to A1C and life insurance rates explains how insurers generally read your results.
• Insulin is widespread. Millions of adults use insulin, and it's a detail insurers ask about. See life insurance for diabetics on insulin.

For a full overview, start with our guide to life insurance for diabetics or browse the diabetes life insurance hub.