1 in 6 U.S. Adults Report Frequent Fatigue

Younger adults and women reported the highest rates of frequent fatigue in a national CDC survey of about 27,000 adults.

Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Sleep Disorders

Gouache-painted editorial illustration of a single half-closed dusty rose eye resting on a cream field, suggesting persistent tiredness. — A CDC survey released this month found about one in six U.S. adults reports frequent fatigue, with the highest rates among younger adults and women. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Live Poll

Have you felt very tired or exhausted most days over the past three months?

A CDC National Center for Health Statistics report released this month found that about 71.5% of U.S. adults experienced fatigue on multiple days over a three-month period. Frequent fatigue affected about 1 in 6 adults, with the highest rates among younger adults and women.

Why it matters

Fatigue is one of the most common reasons adults describe feeling unwell, and this national snapshot shows how widespread it is across age, sex and region. The findings give clinicians and public health officials a baseline for tracking how often Americans feel persistently tired.

This is a national survey of about 27,000 adults ages 18 and older conducted in 2024. It measured how often adults experienced fatigue over three months, and it reports frequent fatigue rates by age, sex, race and region without examining causes.

The players

National Center for Health Statistics

The statistical arm of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that produces national health data, including population surveys on symptoms and chronic conditions.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The federal public health agency that monitors disease and health trends across the United States and publishes national health guidance.

The details

The NCHS study asked about 27,000 adults in 2024 about their health and daily lives, including how many days they felt fatigued over three months. Adults with frequent fatigue also commonly reported other functioning difficulties, most often anxiety (69.6%), difficulty with cognition (46.1%) and symptoms of depression (45.0%). The survey itself does not identify what drives these patterns, so the connections between fatigue and these conditions are not established by this report.

The NCHS survey of about 27,000 adults was conducted in 2024.
Fatigue was measured over a three-month period.
The CDC report on adult fatigue was released in November 2026.

Health Landscape

Fatigue is a symptom rather than a single diagnosis, so national surveys like this one are one of the few ways to measure how common it is across the population. The report adds a population-level baseline to the broader national effort to track adult health and daily functioning.

If you have felt tired on many days recently, it is worth mentioning to your primary care clinician, especially alongside changes in mood, concentration or sleep. Because these patterns are population-level, the findings are best used as context for a conversation with your doctor rather than as a personal diagnosis.

The takeaway

Frequent fatigue is common, and it showed up most often among younger adults and women in this national survey. If tiredness persists, bring it up with your physician so that any underlying factors can be looked at together.