Fair or Poor Health Among U.S. Adults by Income and Age, 2021

Adults in fair or poor health, by family income and age group, 2021. Error bars show 95% confidence intervals. CDC.

Key points

• In 2021, 13.6% of adults aged 18 and over described their health as fair or poor.
• The share rose with age: 6.9% at 18–44, 16.8% at 45–64 and 22.6% at 65 and over.
• The share fell as income rose, in every age group.
• In families below the poverty level, it was 16.2% at 18–44 — and more than 4 in 10 at older ages: 42.8% at 45–64 and 43.0% at 65 and over, about the same.
• In families at 100% to under 200% and at 200% or more of the poverty level, the share rose steadily with age, as it did overall.

About the data

• Question: "Would you say your health in general is excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor?"
• Income is family income as a percentage of the federal poverty level, which accounts for family size, using Census Bureau poverty thresholds.
• Source: the National Center for Health Statistics' National Health Interview Survey, 2021 — household interviews of a sample of the civilian, noninstitutionalized population.

Sources

Based on Nazik Elgaddal and Ellen A. Kramarow, "QuickStats: Percentage of Adults Aged ≥18 Years in Fair or Poor Health, by Family Income and Age Group — National Health Interview Survey, United States, 2021," Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; a work of the United States government in the public domain.