## Breadcrumb - [Home](/) - [Understanding Parkinson's](/understanding-parkinsons) ## Breadcrumb - [Home](/) - [Understanding Parkinson's](/understanding-parkinsons) # Statistics Get informed about Parkinson's disease with these key numbers. ![statistics](/sites/default/files/styles/1902x600/public/images/statistics.jpg?h=83615a45&itok=zkC1wFWa) IN THIS SECTIONIN THIS SECTION - [Understanding Parkinson’s](/understanding-parkinsons) View Menu - [Understanding Parkinson’s](/understanding-parkinsons) - [What is Parkinson's?](/understanding-parkinsons/what-is-parkinsons) - [10 Early Signs](/understanding-parkinsons/10-early-signs) - [Causes](/understanding-parkinsons/causes) - [Movement Symptoms](/understanding-parkinsons/movement-symptoms) - [Non-Movement Symptoms](/understanding-parkinsons/non-movement-symptoms) - [Getting Diagnosed](/understanding-parkinsons/getting-diagnosed) - [Statistics](/understanding-parkinsons/statistics) - [Living with Parkinson’s](/living-with-parkinsons) View Menu - [Living With Parkinson’s](/living-with-parkinsons) - [New to Parkinson's](/living-with-parkinsons/new-to-parkinsons) - [Our Care Programs](/living-with-parkinsons/care-programs) - [Finding Care](/living-with-parkinsons/finding-care) - [Treatment](/living-with-parkinsons/treatment) - [Management & Lifestyle](/living-with-parkinsons/management) - [Emotional & Mental Health](/living-with-parkinsons/emotional-mental-health) - [Legal, Financial & Insurance](/living-with-parkinsons/legal-financial) - [My PD Story](/living-with-parkinsons/stories) - [Resources & Support](/resources-support) View Menu - [Resources & Support](/resources-support) - [Helpline](/resources-support/helpline) - [In Your Area](/your-area) - [PD Library](/resources-support/pd-library) - [Hospital Safety Guide](/resources-support/hospital-safety-guide) - [Online Education](/resources-support/online-education) - [Events](/resources-support/events) - [Community Grants](/resources-support/community-grants) - [For Care Partners](/resources-support/carepartners) - [For Professionals](/resources-support/professionals) - [Find Your Chapter](/resources-support/find-your-chapter) - [Blog](/resources-support/blog) - [Advancing Research](/advancing-research) View Menu - [Advancing Research](/advancing-research) - [Finding A Cure](/advancing-research/finding-cure) - [Our Research](/advancing-research/our-research) - [Understanding Research](/advancing-research/understanding-research) - [Join A Study](/advancing-research/join-study) - [Advocate for Research](/advancing-research/advocate-research) - [For Researchers](/advancing-research/for-researchers) - [Drug Discovery and Development](/advancing-research/parkinsons-drug-discovery) - [How You Can Help](/how-to-help) View Menu - [How You Can Help](/how-to-help) - [Donate Now](/how-to-help/donate) - [Why Support Us](/how-to-help/why-support-us) - [Make a Tribute Gift](/how-to-help/tribute) - [Fundraise](/how-to-help/fundraise) - [Volunteer](/how-to-help/volunteer) - [Corporate Sponsors](/how-to-help/corporate-sponsors) - [Planned Giving](/how-to-help/more-ways-to-give/planned-giving) - [More Ways to Give](/how-to-help/more-ways-to-give) - [Policy & Advocacy](/how-to-help/policy-advocacy-priorities) ## 💡 Quick Summary - Parkinson’s disease affects more than 1.1 million people in the U.S. - Nearly 90,000 people are newly diagnosed each year. - The Parkinson’s Foundation studies reveal that PD prevalence and incidence increase with age, affect men 1.5 times more than women and are higher in regions like the Rust Belt, Southern California and Florida. - With annual U.S. healthcare costs nearing $82.2 billion, understanding Parkinson’s demographics, [care access](/your-area "In Your Area") and geographic distribution helps guide research, resources and [treatment advancements](/blog/research/medication-treatment "PD and Medication: Advancing Treatment"). ## How common is Parkinson's disease? - An estimated 1.1 million people in the U.S. are living with Parkinson's disease (PD). This number is expected to rise to 1.2 million by 2030. Parkinson's is the second-most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's disease. - Nearly an estimated 90,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with PD each year. - More than 10 million people worldwide are estimated to be living with PD. - The [incidence of Parkinson’s disease](/understanding-parkinsons/statistics/prevalence-incidence "Prevalence & Incidence") increases with age, but an estimated 4% of people with PD are diagnosed before age 50. - Men are 1.5 times more likely to have Parkinson's disease than women. 1,112,643 **people in the U.S. are estimated to live with Parkinson's disease.** 90,000 **people in the U.S. are estimated to be diagnosed with Parkinson's every year.** ## Healthcare Costs and Care Access Related to PD in the U.S. Medicare covers the care of approximately 90% of people with Parkinson's in the U.S. The combined direct and indirect cost of Parkinson’s, including treatment, social security payments and lost income, was calculated to be [$82.2 billion in 2024](https://www.michaeljfox.org/sites/default/files/media/document/Economic%20Burden%20of%20Parkinson%E2%80%99s%20and%20Atypical%20Parkinsonism%20in%20the%20United%20States_0.pdf). Medications alone cost an average of $2,500 a year. While therapeutic surgery can cost up to $100,000 per person. [A Parkinson’s Foundation study](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41531-023-00523-y) examining how people with Parkinson’s access care found that most people living with Parkinson’s disease seek their care from neurologists, with approximately 50% of people seeing a community neurologist and 9% seeing a [movement disorders specialist](/library/fact-sheets/specialist "Finding a Specialist") (a neurologist with specialized training). Surprisingly, nearly 40% of people with PD do not see a neurologist for their care but see a primary care provider (29%) or no provider (11%). ## Powerful Numbers When a large population of people have a disease like Parkinson’s disease, it is essential to have an accurate understanding of how many people have the disease, where they live and why they have it. The key terms *incidence* and *prevalence* are often used when talking about PD statistics. - **Incidence**: A measure of *new* cases arising in a population over a *period of time*. Typically, incidence is measured as the number of people diagnosed per year. - **Prevalence**: A measure of all individuals affected by the disease at a *particular time*. ### Incidence of Parkinson’s in the U.S. A 2022 Parkinson’s Foundation-backed study revealed that nearly 90,000 people are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in the U.S. each year. This represents a steep 50% increase from the previously estimated rate of 60,000 diagnoses annually. The study, titled [Incidence of Parkinson Disease in North America](/about-us/news/incidence-2022 "New Study Shows the Incidence of Parkinson’s Disease in the U.S. is 50% Higher than Previous Estimates"), found that: - PD incidence estimates increase with age in the 65+ range. - The primary risk factor for PD is age. - PD incidence estimates are higher in men compared to women at all ages. - The increase in the incidence of PD aligns with the growth of an aging population. - PD incidence rates are higher in certain geographic regions: the “Rust Belt” (parts of the northwestern and midwestern U.S. previously regulated by industrial manufacturing), Southern California, Southeastern Texas, Central Pennsylvania and Florida. This study is the most comprehensive assessment of PD incidence in North America based on five epidemiological (the study of a disease and its impact) sets of data to count the number of diagnoses in 2012. Prior PD incidence rates, based on smaller studies, were estimated to be in the 40,000 – 60,000 range per year. The new incidence rate is 1.5 times higher at nearly 90,000 cases annually. This study was supported by the Parkinson’s Foundation and The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF), as well as the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES). [Learn More](/understanding-parkinsons/statistics/prevalence-incidence "Prevalence & Incidence") ### Parkinson's Prevalence According to the Parkinson’s Foundation [Parkinson’s Prevalence Project](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41531-018-0058-0) study published in 2018, 1.2 million people in the U.S. will be living with Parkinson’s by 2030. In 2014, the Prevalence Project sought to update outdated calculations and provide an accurate and current estimate of the prevalence of Parkinson’s in North America. This study drew on a large group of populations with a diverse range of backgrounds. (function(d){var js, id="pikto-embed-js", ref=d.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];if (d.getElementById(id)) { return;}js=d.createElement("script"); js.id=id; js.async=true;js.src="https://create.piktochart.com/assets/embedding/embed.js";js.setAttribute('data-theme', "pikto");ref.parentNode.insertBefore(js, ref);}(document)); - ### About the Map The Parkinson’s Prevalence Map is a graphical representation of the Marras et al. (2018) study’s results applied to the population structure of individual states (people 45 years old and older) using 2023 state-level U.S. Census data. These results are then averaged with the prevalence estimates derived from Yang et al. (2020) using the same Census data. This recognizes that the Marras et al. study may underestimate PD prevalence while the Yang et al. study may overestimate prevalence. Estimates of state level incidence are calculated using the findings from Willis et al. (2022) using 2023 state-level U.S. Census data. States with larger populations or large numbers of older adults have higher estimated numbers of people living with and being diagnosed with PD. The Foundation is working to help support federal efforts to create a comprehensive national measure of PD statistics. ### Parkinson’s Prevalence Facts 1. The study confirms that men are more likely to have PD than women and that the number of those diagnosed with PD increases with age, regardless of sex. 2. The study found that the prevalence of people diagnosed with PD varies by region. Researchers are currently working to find out how. 3. Prior to this 2018 study, the last major PD prevalence study was completed in 1978. - ### Sources Marras, C., Beck, J. C., Bower, J. H., Roberts, E., Ritz, B., Ross, G. W., Abbott, R. D., Savica, R., Eeden, S. K. V. D., Willis, A. W., Tanner, C., & Group, on behalf of the P. F. P. (2018). Prevalence of Parkinson’s disease across North America. *npj Parkinson’s Disease*, 4(1), 21. Pearson, C., Hartzman, A., Munevar, D., Feeney, M., Dolhun, R., Todaro, V., Rosenfeld, S., Willis, A., & Beck, J. C. (2023). Care access and utilization among medicare beneficiaries living with Parkinson’s disease. *npj Parkinson’s Disease*, 9(1), 108. Willis, A. W., Roberts, E., Beck, J. C., Fiske, B., Ross, W., Savica, R., Eeden, S. K. V. D., Tanner, C. M., Marras, C., Alcalay, R., Schwarzschild, M., Racette, B., Chen, H., Church, T., Wilson, B., & Doria, J. M. (2022). Incidence of Parkinson disease in North America. *npj Parkinson’s Disease*, 8(1), 170. Yang, W., Hamilton, J. L., Kopil, C., Beck, J. C., Tanner, C. M., Albin, R. L., Dorsey, E. R., Dahodwala, N., Cintina, I., Hogan, P., & Thompson, T. (2020). Current and projected future economic burden of Parkinson’s disease in the U.S. *npj Parkinson’s Disease*, 6(1), 15. ## Related Materials Videos & Webinars ### [ Neuro Talk: What To Know About Parkinson’s Disease Statistics ](/library/videos/statistics) [Watch Now](/library/videos/statistics) Fact Sheets ### [ Getting Involved in Research ](/library/fact-sheets/research) [Read Now](/library/fact-sheets/research) Podcasts ### [ Episode 15: Why and How to Participate in Parkinson’s Research ](/library/podcast/15) [Listen Now](/library/podcast/15) ## Join the Fight Against Parkinson's Support ground-breaking research, care and community outreach [$35](https://secure3.convio.net/prkorg/site/Donation2?11283.donation=form1&df_id=11283&mfc_pref=T&l&set.DonationLevel=26812) [$50](https://secure3.convio.net/prkorg/site/Donation2?11283.donation=form1&df_id=11283&mfc_pref=T&l&set.DonationLevel=26813) [$100](https://secure3.convio.net/prkorg/site/Donation2?11283.donation=form1&df_id=11283&mfc_pref=T&l&set.DonationLevel=26814) [$250](https://secure3.convio.net/prkorg/site/Donation2?11283.donation=form1&df_id=11283&mfc_pref=T&l&set.DonationLevel=26815) [Donate](https://secure3.convio.net/prkorg/site/Donation2?11283.donation=form1&df_id=11283&mfc_pref=T&l&set.DonationLevel=26822&set.Value=) - Share on Facebook - Share on X - Share on LinkedIn