U.S. data on substance use and behavioral addiction. Reviewed by Dr. Meenu Vaid, MD.
Quick answer: In 2024, an estimated 48.4 million people in the United States aged 12 or older (16.8% of that population) had a substance use disorder in the past year, including 27.9 million with an alcohol use disorder and 28.2 million with a drug use disorder. Addiction is common, measurable, and treatable.
Numbers do not treat anyone. But they do two useful things: they show people that what they are living through is common rather than shameful, and they show families the scale of a problem that is easy to underestimate from the inside.
Every figure on this page and the pages it links to comes from federal sources: the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Where a statistic has a year attached, that year matters; we update these pages as new survey data is released.
The national picture at a glance
Source: SAMHSA, 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), Annual National Report. Categories overlap, because a person can have both an alcohol and a drug use disorder.
One number deserves emphasis. More than 52 million people needed substance use treatment in a single year. Whatever else the data says, it says that needing help with substances is an ordinary human experience, not a rare failing.
Statistics by topic
Each page below covers one area in more depth, with sources and dates.
Alcohol Addiction StatisticsAlcohol use disorder prevalence and demographic patterns
Gaming Addiction StatisticsBehavioral addiction data and ICD-11 gaming disorder
Cannabis Impact by Age GroupHow cannabis use and risk differ across ages
E-Cigarette StatisticsVaping trends and youth use
How to read addiction statistics without being misled
Three cautions worth carrying into any article you read on this subject:
- “Use” is not “disorder.” Most people who drink alcohol or use a substance do not have a substance use disorder. A disorder is a clinical diagnosis based on specific criteria, not a headcount of who used something.
- Survey data undercounts. NSDUH relies on self-report from households, so it misses people who are incarcerated, unhoused, or unwilling to disclose. Real prevalence is likely higher than published figures.
- Old numbers travel far. Statistics get copied between articles for years after they are superseded. Always check the survey year. A 2015 figure quoted in a 2026 article tells you about 2015.
What the numbers cannot tell you
Prevalence data describes populations, not people. It cannot tell you whether your own drinking has become a problem, whether your teenager’s gaming is a phase or something more, or which treatment would work for your situation. Those are clinical questions, and they are answerable, but by assessment rather than by statistics.
Talk with a physician about your situation
Dr. Meenu Vaid is board-certified in Addiction Medicine and sees patients in Morgan Hill and by telehealth across California. If any of these numbers made you think of yourself or someone you love, that is reason enough for a conversation.
Sources
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Key Substance Use and Mental Health Indicators in the United States: Results from the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) in the United States: Age Groups and Demographic Characteristics.
- CDC, National Center for Health Statistics. VSRR Provisional Drug Overdose Death Counts.
Reviewed by Dr. Meenu Vaid, MD, board-certified in Internal Medicine, Infectious Disease, and Addiction Medicine. Last clinically reviewed on August 4, 2026.