Where adult diabetes is most and least common
In 2022, the age-adjusted share of U.S. adults with diagnosed diabetes ranged from 7.0% in Vermont to 14.6% in West Virginia — a more than two-fold spread across the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The national age-adjusted estimate was 10.8%, and the median state sat near 10.2%. These figures come from the CDC's U.S. Chronic Disease Indicators, built on the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), the same survey that powers the CDC U.S. Diabetes Surveillance System.
A persistent regional map
The high-prevalence states form a familiar band. West Virginia (14.6%), Arkansas (14.1%), Mississippi (13.9%), Alabama (13.6%), Texas (13.4%), Louisiana (13.3%), Tennessee (13.1%), and Kentucky (13.0%) cluster across Appalachia and the Deep South — the region often described as the "Diabetes Belt." Oklahoma (12.2%) and Delaware (11.9%) round out the top ten.
At the other end, the lowest-burden states sit in the Mountain West and Northern New England: Vermont (7.0%), Montana (7.1%), Colorado (7.6%), Wyoming (8.1%), South Dakota (8.1%), and New Hampshire (8.2%). These geographic patterns track closely with state-level differences in obesity, physical activity, age structure, income, and access to care, and they have been stable for many years rather than reflecting a single-year fluctuation.
Large, populous states land near the middle: California (10.7%), New York (10.0%), Florida (9.6%), and Illinois (10.8%). Among U.S. territories returned by the same dataset, prevalence ran notably higher — Guam at 21.5%, Puerto Rico at 15.2%, and the U.S. Virgin Islands at 12.5% — though territories are excluded from the 50-state ranking above.
Important caveats
These numbers describe diagnosed diabetes only. BRFSS is a self-reported telephone survey, so it depends on respondents knowing and recalling a clinician's diagnosis; adults with undiagnosed diabetes are not captured, meaning true prevalence is higher than shown. Because estimates are age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population, they let you compare states fairly regardless of how old or young each state's population is — but age-adjusted values differ from the crude rates some other sources publish. Survey-based estimates also carry sampling uncertainty (confidence intervals), so small differences between adjacently ranked states may not be statistically meaningful. The data source for this CDC indicator changed to BRFSS with the 2022 release, so year-over-year comparisons with older Diabetes Atlas figures should be made cautiously.
*This study reports public health statistics only and is not medical advice. Consult a qualified healthcare professional for any questions about diabetes risk, screening, or care.*