In 2021, 13.6% of adults aged ≥18 years assessed their health as fair or poor. The percentage increased with age from 6.9% for those aged 18–44 years, to 16.8% for those aged 45–64 years, and 22.6% for those aged ≥65 years. The same pattern of increasing percentages with age was found for adults living in families with incomes 100% to <200% of FPL and ≥200% of FPL. For adults living in families with incomes <100% of FPL, the percentage in fair or poor health was lowest among those aged 18–44 years (16.2%), but similar among adults aged 45–64 years (42.8%) and those aged ≥65 years (43.0%). The percentage of adults in fair or poor health decreased with increasing incomes for each age group.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/index.htm
Footnotes
Abbreviation: FPL = federal poverty level.
With 95% CIs indicated by error bars.
Based on a response of “fair” or “poor” to the question, “Would you say your health in general is excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor?” The percentage of adults aged ≥18 years in fair or poor health was 13.6%.
Income was calculated as a percentage of FPL, which is based on family income and family size, using the U.S. Census Bureau’s poverty thresholds.
Estimates are based on household interviews of a sample of the civilian, noninstitutionalized U.S. population.