Depression remains one of the most common health conditions in the United States, and heading into 2026 the clearest national measure comes from the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), released by SAMHSA in July 2025. That survey found that 8.2% of U.S. adults — an estimated 21.4 million people — had at least one major depressive episode in the past year (SAMHSA, 2025). This roundup pulls together the most recent figures available as of 2026, spanning adults, adolescents, sex and age breakdowns, treatment, and the global picture.
A quick but important note on the data. There is no “2026 survey” of depression; the newest national estimate is the 2024 NSDUH. Different federal instruments also measure different things, and two of the headline numbers in circulation — SAMHSA’s 8.2% and a separate 13.1% from the CDC’s NHANES screen — are not measuring the same population or the same threshold. We keep them clearly separated below so the trend lines are read correctly.
Because depression is closely linked to suicide risk, these figures carry weight beyond the clinic. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24/7.
Key Depression Numbers for 2026
- 21.4 million U.S. adults (8.2%) had a past-year major depressive episode (2024, SAMHSA)
- 14.7 million adults (5.6%) had an episode with severe impairment (2024, SAMHSA)
- 3.8 million adolescents ages 12–17 (15.4%) had a past-year episode — down from 20.8% in 2021 (2024, SAMHSA)
- Women 10.3% vs. men 6.2% — roughly a 1.7-to-1 gap (2021, NIMH)
- 13.1% of people 12+ screened positive on the NHANES PHQ-9 symptom screen — a distinct measure, not the same as MDE (2021–2023, CDC)
- ~332 million people worldwide live with depression (2021, WHO)
Depression in U.S. Adults (2024)
The annual NSDUH measures past-year major depressive episodes (MDE) — a stretch of at least two weeks of depressed mood or loss of interest, along with other symptoms, assessed against DSM criteria. In 2024, 8.2% of adults 18 and older, or 21.4 million people, met that threshold (SAMHSA, 2025).
Severity matters as much as prevalence. NSDUH separately counts episodes involving severe impairment — depression serious enough to substantially interfere with work, school, or daily functioning. In 2024, 5.6% of adults, an estimated 14.7 million, had an MDE with severe impairment (SAMHSA, 2025). That means well over half of adults with past-year depression experienced impairment serious enough to disrupt major life activities.
| Adult measure (2024, SAMHSA) | Prevalence | People |
|---|---|---|
| Past-year major depressive episode | 8.2% | 21.4 million |
| MDE with severe impairment | 5.6% | 14.7 million |
Depression is one slice of a broader mental health burden. In the same 2024 survey, 23.4% of adults — 61.5 million people — had any mental illness in the past year (SAMHSA, 2025). For the full cross-condition picture, see our mental health statistics 2026 roundup and the national overview.
Depression by Sex and Age
The national average hides sharp demographic differences. NIMH’s most recent detailed breakdown, based on 2021 NSDUH data, shows depression concentrated among women and younger adults.
| Adult group (2021, NIMH) | Past-year MDE prevalence |
|---|---|
| Female | 10.3% |
| Male | 6.2% |
| Ages 18–25 | 18.6% |
| Ages 26–49 | 9.3% |
| Ages 50+ | 4.5% |
Women are diagnosed with a past-year major depressive episode at roughly 1.7 times the rate of men (NIMH, 2023), a gap tracked in more detail on our women and men population pages. Age is an equally powerful factor: young adults ages 18 to 25 report depression at more than four times the rate of adults 50 and older. These are 2021 figures — the newest sex-and-age split NIMH publishes — and should be read as the demographic pattern rather than 2024 counts.
Teen Depression Is Falling
Depression is more common among adolescents than adults, but the trend has turned downward. In 2024, 15.4% of adolescents ages 12 to 17 — an estimated 3.8 million — had a past-year major depressive episode (SAMHSA, 2025). Episodes with severe impairment affected 11.3% of adolescents, or about 2.8 million.
That marks a meaningful decline from recent peaks. In 2021, the adolescent MDE rate stood at 20.8%, or roughly 5.2 million teens (SAMHSA, 2025). SAMHSA cautions that survey-method changes limit comparability across some years, but the 2021 and 2024 estimates were designed to be compared with each other, so the drop between those two points is real rather than an artifact.
| Adolescent measure (12–17) | 2021 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Past-year MDE | 20.8% (5.2M) | 15.4% (3.8M) |
| MDE with severe impairment | — | 11.3% (2.8M) |
Our teens population page and our dedicated teen depression statistics and youth mental health statistics articles track these movements in more depth.
A Different Number: the NHANES PHQ-9 Screen
A second figure — 13.1% — circulates widely and is often mistaken for a rising depression rate. It comes from a different instrument and should not be read as “depression is now 13%.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics reported that 13.1% of people ages 12 and older screened positive for depression on the PHQ-9 during August 2021 to August 2023 (CDC, 2025). The PHQ-9 is a two-week symptom screen: it asks about the frequency of depressive symptoms over the prior two weeks and flags people at or above a threshold score. That is fundamentally different from NSDUH’s 8.2%, which reflects a past-year, DSM-based major depressive episode. Different instrument, different time frame, different population base — so the two numbers cannot be stacked or compared directly.
Within the NHANES screen, the pattern mirrors the survey data elsewhere: prevalence was highest among adolescents ages 12 to 19 (19.2%), and higher among females (16.0%) than males (10.1%). The screen-positive rate rose from 8.2% in 2013–2014 to 13.1% in 2021–2023 (CDC, 2025), pointing to a genuine increase in reported symptoms over the past decade — but as a symptom-screening trend, distinct from the diagnostic MDE measure above.
The takeaway: use 8.2% / 21.4 million when you mean diagnosed major depressive episodes, and treat the 13.1% figure as a separate symptom-screen benchmark. For a plain-language walkthrough of both, see how many people have depression.
Treatment
Depression is treatable, and most people with a diagnosable mental illness do receive some care — though large gaps remain. Because depression falls within the broader “any mental illness” category, the clearest recent treatment figures come from that measure. In 2024, 52.1% of adults with any mental illness — about 32.0 million people — received mental health treatment in the past year, rising to 70.8% (10.3 million) among adults with serious mental illness (SAMHSA, 2025).
That still leaves roughly half of adults with a mental illness receiving no treatment in a given year, a shortfall examined in our analysis of the mental health treatment gap. Cost, provider shortages, and stigma remain the most-cited barriers, and they fall hardest on rural and low-income communities — patterns also visible in states with the highest depression rates.
Global Depression
Depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide. The World Health Organization, drawing on the 2021 Global Burden of Disease estimates, reports that approximately 332 million people were living with depression globally (WHO, 2025). The same sex gap seen in U.S. data appears internationally, with women affected at higher rates than men. Because depression is both common and treatable yet frequently goes unaddressed, the WHO continues to rank it among the top contributors to the global disease burden.
| Population | Depression measure |
|---|---|
| U.S. adults (past-year MDE, 2024) | 8.2% / 21.4 million |
| U.S. adolescents 12–17 (past-year MDE, 2024) | 15.4% / 3.8 million |
| People 12+, NHANES PHQ-9 screen (2021–2023) | 13.1% |
| Global (2021) | ~332 million |
For the underlying condition detail behind these numbers, see our depression pillar page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the latest depression statistic for 2026?
The most recent national figure is from the 2024 NSDUH, released in 2025: 8.2% of U.S. adults — about 21.4 million people — had a past-year major depressive episode (SAMHSA, 2025). There is no separate 2026 survey; this is the newest available estimate.
Is depression really 13% now?
No. The 13.1% figure is a two-week PHQ-9 symptom screen from NHANES covering people 12 and older in 2021–2023 (CDC, 2025). It is not the same as the 8.2% diagnosed major depressive episode rate from NSDUH — different instrument, time frame, and population — so the two should not be conflated.
Is teen depression rising or falling?
Falling, by the diagnostic measure. Adolescent past-year major depressive episodes dropped from 20.8% (5.2 million) in 2021 to 15.4% (3.8 million) in 2024 (SAMHSA, 2025). The 2021 and 2024 estimates were built to be comparable to each other.
Is depression more common in men or women?
Women. Among U.S. adults, 10.3% of women had a past-year major depressive episode compared with 6.2% of men — roughly a 1.7-to-1 ratio (NIMH, 2023).
How many adults with depression get treatment?
SAMHSA does not publish a depression-specific treatment rate in the 2024 highlights, but among the broader group of adults with any mental illness, 52.1% received treatment in the past year, rising to 70.8% for those with serious mental illness (SAMHSA, 2025).
How many people have depression worldwide?
The World Health Organization estimates about 332 million people were living with depression globally, based on 2021 Global Burden of Disease data (WHO, 2025).
Sources
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Results from the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Annual National Report. SAMHSA; 2025. https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2024-nsduh-annual-national-report
- National Institute of Mental Health. Major Depression. NIMH; updated 2023. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/major-depression
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Depression Prevalence in Adolescents and Adults, August 2021–August 2023. NCHS Data Brief No. 527. CDC; 2025. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db527.htm
- World Health Organization. Depressive disorder (depression). WHO; 2025. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression