The share of U.S. children and adolescents ages 5-17 who have ever received an attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder diagnosis rose from 9.9% in 2019 to 13.8% in 2025, according to CDC data published Oct. 29.
The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics released the findings as a QuickStats feature in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Nazik Elgaddal of the National Center for Health Statistics wrote the analysis, which draws on National Health Interview Survey data from 2019 through 2025. The estimates measure whether a child had ever received an ADHD diagnosis, not whether the condition is currently active or under treatment. The CDC also published a supplementary table with year-by-year figures by sex.
Here are four things to know:
1. The overall rate increased over six years. Lifetime ADHD diagnoses among school-age children grew from 9.9% in 2019 to 13.8% in 2025, a gain of 3.9 percentage points.
2. The gain amounts to a roughly 39% relative increase in the share of children who have received an ADHD diagnosis.
3. Diagnoses rose among both boys and girls. The share of boys with an ADHD diagnosis rose from 13.2% in 2019 to 17.5% in 2025, while the share among girls rose from 6.5% to 9.9%, the data show.
4. Boys are more likely to have been diagnosed. In 2025, 17.5% of boys had ever received an ADHD diagnosis, compared with 9.9% of girls.
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