Tattoo, Regret and Tattoo Ink Statistics

How many Americans have tattoos

In a Pew Research Center survey of 8,480 U.S. adults conducted July 10 to July 16, 2023, 32% said they have at least one tattoo and 22% have more than one. Applied to the Census Bureau's estimate of 262,266,460 adults in 2023, that is roughly 83 to 85 million people (our calculation).

Women are more likely than men to have a tattoo (38% vs. 27%), including 56% of women ages 18 to 29 and 53% of women ages 30 to 49. By age, 41% of adults under 30 and 46% of those 30 to 49 have one, compared with a quarter of those 50 to 64 and 13% of those 65 and older.

Pew found no major differences by political party or by urban, suburban or rural community. A 23% figure from Pew's 2010 phone survey is not directly comparable because the survey method and wording changed.

How many regret a tattoo

Most people with tattoos do not regret them. 24% of tattooed adults say they ever regret getting one or more of their tattoos; 76% say they do not.

Multiplying the two Pew figures (32% have a tattoo, 24% of them say they ever regret getting one) gives about 7.7% of all U.S. adults, or about 1 in 13. With the Census Bureau's estimate of 262,266,460 adults in 2023, that is roughly 19 to 21 million people. The range reflects Pew's rounding only; the survey's margin of error would widen it.

Regret is not the same as wanting a tattoo removed. Pew did not ask about removal, so these figures do not show how many people seek it.

Why people get tattoos, and who may get one next

Among adults with tattoos, 69% say honoring or remembering someone or something is a reason for at least one of them, 47% say making a statement about what they believe, and 32% say improving their appearance.

Among adults without a tattoo, 6% say they are extremely or very likely to get one in the future and 9% somewhat likely; 85% say they are not too or not at all likely. 80% of all adults say society has become more accepting of people with tattoos over the past 20 or so years.

Tattoo inks and the FDA

FDA regulates tattoo inks as cosmetics. Its tattoo page says more than 50 different pigments and shades are in use and that, although a number of color additives are approved for cosmetics, none are approved for injection into the skin.

Our study of FDA records found 23 recalls of tattoo and permanent makeup inks in FDA's Enforcement Report from July 2003 to July 2026; 22 were for contamination with bacteria or mold. openFDA lists 495 adverse event reports naming a permanent tattoo or permanent makeup ink, received from November 2003 to February 2025 (the file runs through August 2025). We counted permanent inks only; numbing products, tattoo removal products and temporary tattoos are excluded. Reports are unverified and do not show that a product caused a problem.

Method

Survey figures are from Pew Research Center's American Trends Panel, wave of July 10 to July 16, 2023, 8,480 U.S. adults, weighted to the adult population (margin of error +/- 1.5 percentage points for all adults; larger for the 2,485 adults with tattoos). We read them from Pew's article and checked the totals against Pew's topline.

Where Pew gives a phrase instead of a number ("a quarter", "three-in-ten"), we show the phrase and its plain value.

Pew asked adults with tattoos: "Do you ever regret getting your tattoo/any of your tattoos?" Our estimate of adults who say they ever regret a tattoo multiplies Pew's two rounded figures and applies the result to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey 2023 1-year estimate of adults 18 and over (262,266,460, table S0101). The range comes from rounding: each Pew figure could be up to half a point higher or lower.

Ink figures are from our study of FDA records, which has its own method, data files and check.

Limits

• One survey, one point in time (July 2023). Pew's 2010 figure used a different method and cannot be compared.
• The regret question was "Do you ever regret getting your tattoo/any of your tattoos?" It does not ask whether people want a tattoo removed.
• Our national estimates leave out the survey's sampling error; treat them as approximate.
• No state-level survey of tattoos was available to us, so we do not estimate figures for New Jersey.