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How many Americans have Alzheimer’s disease?

Millions of people suffer from memory loss and impaired judgment caused by Alzheimer’s disease. By the later stages, individuals grapple with significant communication barriers and diminished awareness of their environment. Millions more, from family members to professionals at memory care facilities, take care of Americans with cognitive decline. As of this year, 6.7 million people over age 65 have Alzheimer’s. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) expects that to reach 14 million by 2060.

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  • The number of people with Alzheimer’s doubles every five years after the age of 65. About one-third of people 85 and older could have Alzheimer’s disease.

Worsening cognitive decline afflicts larger percentages of the populations of Michigan, Utah, Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, and Tennessee, compared to other states.

  • Tennessee has the highest percentage of people 65 and older reporting worsening cognitive function over the previous year: 16.2%. Colorado followed (15.6%). The lowest rate was in North Carolina: 8.3%.

  • Hispanic and African American populations are more likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. By 2060, the CDC projects that Hispanic people could be diagnosed at a rate seven times higher than the total population, and the African American case rate could increase fourfold.

  • Signs of Alzheimer’s disease can remain hidden for up to a decade before becoming evident. However, about 200,000 people (or less than 10% of cases) are diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s, which can begin in a person’s 30s. 


Visit USAFacts for more on this condition that’s affecting a growing percentage of the population. 

How is the US helping foster children?

Foster care provides a temporary home for children facing abuse, neglect, or abandonment. While the system prioritizes placements with relatives to uphold family bonds, sometimes that isn’t possible. USAFacts has two new reports on who is in foster care, the roads to reunification or adoption, and the mental health challenges foster children face. 

  • Approximately 606,031 children passed through the US foster care system in federal fiscal year 2021. On September 30, 2021, the end of the fiscal year, about 391,098 kids were still in the system.

In the late '90s, there were more Black children in foster care than white children. That changed in 2001 and has remained so ever since.

  • The racial composition of foster care has changed over the past few decades. In 2001, white and Black kids each comprised 38% of the system. By 2021, 43% of kids in foster care were white, 22% were Black, and 22% were Hispanic. The remaining 13% were of other races or children of unknown descent.

  • The most populous states have the most children in foster care. (California had 47,871, followed by Texas with 28,042.) State rates tell a different story: West Virginia’s was the highest, with 1,710 kids in care per 100,000 residents under 21. Alaska was second (1,413), and Montana was third (1,112). New Jersey had the lowest rate (137).

  • Department of Health and Human Services data shows that 90.6% of children in foster care were abused or neglected by their parents, compared to 5.6% by other relatives and 3.3% by an unmarried partner of a parent. Less than 1% (0.3%) of abused and neglected children were harmed by their foster parents. 


  • About 215,000 kids left the foster care system in 2021. Three out of five children reunited with their parents or other family. Another 54,200 were adopted from foster care, while 114,000 were waiting to be adopted at the end of the fiscal year.

  • Foster children who turn 18 while in care can sometimes continue receiving support. A 2008 federal law gave states the option to allow people 18 and up to remain in care provided they are in school, enrolled in an employment program, working, or incapable of such options due to a medical condition.

  • The rate of post-traumatic stress disorder is nearly five times higher in adults who were once in foster care than in the general adult population.

Learn more about who is in foster care and how many kids end up in permanent homes.

Data behind the news

On September 6, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the United States would provide Ukraine with an additional $1 billion in aid. We’ve updated this article for a fuller picture of how much assistance the US has given the nation since Russia’s invasion. 


The first hearing on the impeachment inquiry for President Biden will be held this week. How many Americans have been impeached? Read the article here. 

 

A potential government shutdown at the end of September may hinder the Federal Reserve's ability to raise interest rates in November due to limited access to crucial inflation data. Here’s an explanation of the Federal Reserve and how it keeps the economy afloat. 


Plus, here’s an article from the USAFacts archives on the cost of the longest government shutdown on record.


The latest weekly fact quiz is right here!

One last fact

Nurse practitioners have the nation's fastest-growing occupation

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the number of jobs nationwide will grow by 8.3 million between 2021 and 2031. It anticipates 924,000 new jobs for home health and personal care aides by 2031—more than double that of any other occupation. Which three states project the most job growth by 2030? Read the article to find out.