Basic Statistics

HIV remains a persistent public health problem in the United States. While great progress has been made in preventing and treating HIV, there is still much to do. This section provides a broad overview of HIV in the United States and its territories. For more detailed analysis of HIV data and its impact in the United States, visit our Statistics Center. For information on HIV’s impact around the world, visit CDC’s Global HIV and TB website.

New HIV Diagnoses and People with Diagnosed HIV in the US and Dependent Areas by Area of Residence, 2020*

Data for 2020 should be interpreted with caution due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to HIV testing, care-related services, and case surveillance activities in state and local jurisdictions.
* Among people aged 13 and older.
Source: CDC. Diagnoses of HIV infection in the United States and dependent areas, 2020. HIV Surveillance Report 2022;33

How many people receive an HIV diagnosis each year in the United States and 6 dependent areas?

In 2020, 30,635 people received an HIV diagnosis in the United States and dependent areas.^a,b The annual number of new diagnoses decreased 8% from 2016 to 2019.

How many people have HIV in the United States?

An estimated 1,189,700 people in the United States^c had HIV at the end of 2019, the most recent year for which this information is available. Of those people, about 87% knew they had HIV.

How does HIV affect different groups of people?

There are different ways to answer this question.

In 2020, male-to-male sexual contact^d accounted for 68% of all new HIV diagnoses in the United States and dependent areas. In the same year, heterosexual contact accounted for 22% of all HIV diagnoses.

If we look at HIV diagnoses by race and ethnicity, we see that Black/African American people are most affected by HIV. In 2020, Black/African American people accounted for 42% (12,827) of all new HIV diagnoses. Additionally, Hispanic/Latino people are also strongly affected. They accounted for 27% (8,285) of all new HIV diagnoses.

The most affected subpopulation is Black/African American gay and bisexual men.

There are also variations by age. Young people aged 13 to 24 are especially affected by HIV. In 2020, young people accounted for 20% (6,135) of all new HIV diagnoses. All young people are not equally affected by HIV, however. Young gay and bisexual men accounted for 84% (5,161) of all new HIV diagnoses in people aged 13 to 24 in 2020.^e Young Black/African American gay and bisexual men are even more severely affected, as they represented 53% (2,740) of new HIV diagnoses among young gay and bisexual men.

CDC’s fact sheets explain the impact of HIV on various populations in the United States.

How many deaths are there among people with HIV?

In 2020, there were 18,489 deaths among people with diagnosed HIV in the US and dependent areas.^a These deaths could be from any cause.

Are some regions of the United States more impacted by HIV than others?

Yes. HIV is largely an urban disease, with most cases occurring in metropolitan areas with 500,000 or more people. The South has the highest number of people living with HIV, but if population size is taken into account, the Northeast has the highest rate of people living with HIV. (Rates are the number of cases of disease per 100,000 people. Rates allow number comparisons between groups of different sizes.)

^a Unless otherwise noted, data in this web content are for adults and adolescents aged 13 and older.
^b American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the Republic of Palau, and the US Virgin Islands.
^c In the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
^d The term male-to-male sexual contact is used in CDC surveillance systems. It indicates a behavior that transmits HIV infection, not how individuals self-identify in terms of their sexuality.
^e Includes infections attributed to male-to-male sexual contact and injection drug use (men who reported both risk factors).

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