Asthma and Black/African Americans

  • From 2019–2021, there were an estimated 4.2 million non-Hispanic Black or African Americans in the United States who had asthma.1
  • In 2024, non-Hispanic Black or African American adults had a rate of asthma that was 14% higher than the total adult population.2
  • In 2024, non-Hispanic Black or African American children had a rate of asthma that was 60% higher compared to children of the total population.3
  • In 2021, non-Hispanic Black or African American children died of asthma 3.85 times more often than children of the total population.4

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Prevalence

Current asthma among adults ages 18 and over, percentage, 2024
 Non-Hispanic BlackTotal PopulationNon-Hispanic Black /
Total Population Ratio
9.88.61.14
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). National Center for Health Statistics. Interactive Summary Health Statistics for Adults. Percentage of current asthma for adults aged 18 and over, United States, 2023.
Adults age 18 and over who have ever been told they have asthma, percentage, 2018 
 Non-Hispanic BlackTotal PopulationNon-Hispanic Black /
Total Population Ratio
14.813.61.09
Source: CDC, 2019. Summary Health Statistics: National Health Interview Survey: 2018. Table A-2a. 
Current asthma among children under 18 years of age, percentage, 2024
 Non-Hispanic BlackTotal PopulationNon-Hispanic Black /
Total Population Ratio
10.36.51.60
Source: CDC. National Center for Health Statistics. Interactive Summary Health Statistics for Children. Percentage of current asthma for children under 18 years, United States, 2024.
Children under 18 years of age who have ever been told they have asthma, percentage, 2024
 Non-Hispanic BlackTotal PopulationNon-Hispanic Black /
Total Population Ratio
14.09.71.44
Source: CDC. National Center for Health Statistics. Interactive Summary Health Statistics for Children. Percentage of ever having asthma for children under 18 years, United States, 2024.
Current asthma among children under 18 years of age, percentage, 2019–2021
 Non-Hispanic BlackTotal PopulationNon-Hispanic Black /
Total Population Ratio
11.66.51.78
Source: CDC, 2022. Data, Statistics, and Surveillance. Most Recent National Asthma Data.

Death rates

Asthma mortality among adults ages 18 and over, rate per million, 2021
Non-Hispanic BlackTotal PopulationNon-Hispanic Black /
Total Population Ratio
29.713.12.30
Source: CDC, 2022. Data, Statistics, and Surveillance, Most Recent National Asthma Data.
Asthma mortality among children ages 0–17, rate per million, 2021
Non-Hispanic BlackTotal PopulationNon-Hispanic Black /
Total Population Ratio
7.72.03.85
Source: CDC, 2022. Data, Statistics, and Surveillance, Most Recent National Asthma Data.

Treatment

Emergency department visits with asthma as the first listed diagnosis in the past 12 months among adults ages 18 and over, rate per 10,000 population, 2020
Black/African American AloneTotal PopulationBlack/African American Alone /
Total Population Ratio
80.627.82.90
Source: CDC. Asthma: Healthcare Use Data 2020. Table A.
Emergency department visits with asthma as the first listed diagnosis in the past 12 months among children ages 0–17, rate per 10,000 population, 2020
Black/African American AloneTotal PopulationBlack/African American Alone /
Total Population Ratio
89.536.42.50
Source: CDC. Asthma: Healthcare Use Data 2020. Table A.
Number and rate of hospital inpatient stays with asthma as the first-listed diagnosis per 10,000 population Adults 18+, 2020
Black/African American AloneTotal PopulationBlack/African American Alone /
Total Population Ratio
6.52.62.50
Source: Asthma: Healthcare Use Data 2020. Table B.
People with current asthma who are now taking preventive medicine daily or almost daily, percentage, 2020
Non-Hispanic BlackTotal PopulationNon-Hispanic Black /
Total Population Ratio
37.8Not ReportedNot Reported
Source: AHRQ. National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports. Data Query.

1 CDC, Most Recent National Asthma Data Source: 2019–2021 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) (Back to top)

2 National Center for Health Statistics. Percentage of current asthma for adults aged 18 and over, United States, 2024. National Health Interview Survey. Generated interactively: Aug 14 2025 from https://wwwn.cdc.gov/NHISDataQueryTool/SHS_adult/index.html (Back to top)

3 CDC. National Center for Health Statistics. Interactive Summary Health Statistics for Children. Percentage of current asthma for children under 18 years, United States, 2024. (Back to top)

4 CDC Most Recent National Asthma Data Source: 2019–2021 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). (Back to top)


Date Last Reviewed: September 2025