HIV Data in the United States

Summary

• Over 1 million people in the United States are living with HIV, and about 1 in 8 don’t know it.
• Nearly 39,000 people received an HIV diagnosis in the United States in 2024.
• Visit the AHEAD dashboard to get more in-depth data about the people and communities most affected by HIV.

Introduction

Today, people living with HIV are able to live long, healthy lives and prevent transmitting HIV to others thanks to advances in HIV care and treatment. However, despite decreases in estimated HIV infections in recent years, there is still progress to be made. The following data can help you better understand how HIV impacts people in the United States and which groups are most affected. Unless otherwise noted, data on this page are related to people aged 13 years and older.

Use this interactive data table to explore the latest available HIV data for six key Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. (EHE) initiative indicators.

For more detailed national- and jurisdiction-level information about the HIV indicators and demographic categories on this page, visit AHEAD. AHEAD is an interactive data visualization tool that can help inform local HIV-related planning and monitoring.

Incidence

HIV incidence is the estimated number of new HIV infections during a specific period of time. It is different from the number of people diagnosed with HIV in that same year because some people may live with HIV for some time before they receive a diagnosis.

An estimated 31,800 people acquired HIV in the United States in 2022, a 12% decrease from 2018. Annual HIV infections in the United States have fallen by about three-fourths since the height of the epidemic in the mid-1980s.

By age group: The largest number of new HIV infections (12,700) occurred among people aged 25–34 years. There were an estimated 6,400 new HIV infections among people aged 13–24 years in 2022, a 30% decrease from 2018.

By race/ethnicity: In 2022, Black/African American people accounted for 37% of new HIV infections, Hispanic/Latino people accounted for 33% of new HIV infections, and White people accounted for 24% of new HIV infections. Together, Black/African American people and Hispanic/Latino people made up more than two-thirds (70%) of estimated new HIV infections in 2022 despite only representing about 30% of the total U.S. population.

By sex, in 2022, males accounted for 81% (25,900) of new HIV infections, a 12% decrease from 2018, and females accounted for 19% (5,900) of new infections. In 2022, the rate for males (18.6 per 100,000 people) was more than 4 times the rate for females (4.1 per 100,000 people).

By HIV transmission category: In 2022, the majority of new HIV infections in the United States were attributed to sexual contact. About two-thirds (67%) were attributed to male-to-male sexual contact, a 10% decrease from 2018. New HIV infections attributed to male-to-male sexual contact and injection drug use decreased by 27% from 2018 to 2022. In 2022, the majority of new infections among males (83%) were attributed to male-to-male sexual contact, and the majority of new HIV infections among females (83%) were attributed to heterosexual contact.

At the end of 2022, an estimated 1.2 million people in the United States were living with HIV, including both people diagnosed with HIV and people living with undiagnosed HIV. An estimated 13% (158,200) of people with HIV in the United States don’t know they have HIV. Getting tested and receiving an early HIV diagnosis is crucial to ensure a person living with HIV can get into treatment and live a long, healthy life.  

In the United States and 7 territories and freely associated states, 18,240 people with diagnosed HIV died from any cause in 2024. Of those, about 24% (4,296) had a known cause of death related to HIV, a 13% decrease from 2020. This indicates that more people living with HIV are living long, healthy lives and not dying from HIV-related causes.

Knowledge of Status

Knowledge of status is an estimate of how many people (either a number or a percentage) living with HIV have received an HIV diagnosis within a given year. Getting tested and receiving a diagnosis is the critical first step to getting into HIV care and treatment, which can help someone living with HIV live a long, healthy life and prevent transmitting HIV to others.

In 2022, 1,079,751 people living with HIV in the United States (87%) were estimated to know their HIV status.

By age group: In 2022, more than 95% of all people ages 55 and older who were living with HIV knew their status. The lowest rates of knowledge of status were among people ages 13–24 (56%) and ages 25–34 (72%).

By race/ethnicity: The lowest rates of knowledge of status in 2022 were among American Indian/Alaska Native people (77%) and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander people (80%).

HIV Diagnoses

HIV diagnoses refers to the number of people who have received an HIV diagnosis during a year, regardless of when they got HIV. While many people are diagnosed soon after getting HIV, some people can live with HIV for years before receiving a diagnosis.

In 2024, 38,793 people received an HIV diagnosis in the United States and 7 territories and freely associated states.

By age group: In 2024, the largest number (14,183) of HIV diagnoses occurred among people aged 25‒34 years, followed by people aged 35‒44 years (9,114) and people aged 13‒24 years (6,872).

By race/ethnicity: In 2024,Black/African American people accounted for 39% of HIV diagnoses, Hispanic/Latino people accounted for 34% of HIV diagnoses, and White people accounted for 21% of HIV diagnoses. Together, Black/African American people and Hispanic/Latino people made up nearly three-fourths (73%) of estimated new HIV infections in 2024 despite only representing about 30% of the total U.S. population.

By sex: Men accounted for 80% (30,975) of HIV diagnoses in the U.S. in 2024.

By HIV transmission category: In 2024, diagnoses attributed to male-to-male sexual contact accounted for 65% (25,129) of all U.S. HIV diagnoses, and about 25% (9,888) of U.S. HIV diagnoses were attributed to heterosexual contact. The majority of HIV diagnoses among women (86%) were attributable to heterosexual contact, while only about 10% of HIV diagnoses among men were attributable to heterosexual contact. HIV diagnoses attributed to injection drug use made up 6% (2,426) of all U.S. HIV diagnoses.

Linkage to Care

Linkage to care refers to the number or percentage of people who received HIV care within one month of receiving an HIV diagnosis. Delays in starting care can indicate missed opportunities to start treatment promptly and may result in negative health outcomes and ongoing risk of transmitting HIV.

Among people in the United States who received an HIV diagnosis in 2024, 83% were linked to care within one month of diagnosis.

Viral Suppression

Viral suppression refers to the number or percentage of people living with diagnosed HIV who are virally suppressed at their most recent lab test in a calendar year. Viral suppression is defined as having less than 200 copies of HIV per milliliter of blood. Viral suppression keeps a person’s immune system working, prevents illness, and prevents transmitting HIV to others.

Among people in the United States living with HIV, 69% had achieved viral suppression at their last test in 2024.

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Coverage

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a medicine that people can take to reduce the chance of getting HIV. PrEP coverage is calculated as the number of people who have been prescribed PrEP divided by the estimated number of people who have indications for PrEP, meaning they could likely benefit from it. PrEP coverage is reported as a percentage.

Due to recent PrEP coverage data updates, including newly available data sources, PrEP coverage data are considered preliminary. Historical estimates will be updated using new data and updated methodology when available.

Preliminary data indicate that in 2022, only about one-third (36%) of people in the United States who could benefit had received a prescription for PrEP.