Brought to you by The Pew Charitable Trusts
Americans are fascinating. Inspiring. And unique. Join us as we tell the stories behind the trends shaping America today—one fact at a time. Follow along on Twitter or Instagram at #50Facts.
Young Adults Reimagining Religion
Fascinating Fact #50: Just 28% of younger Millennials attend a weekly religious service — compared to 38% of Baby Boomers
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Why Do You Vote?
Fascinating Fact #49: 91% of Americans say that voting in elections is important
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Do You Prefer Reading Print or Digital Books?
Fascinating Fact #48: 7% of American adults say they read only digital books
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Sydney Barber Just Became the First Black Woman to Be Named Brigade Commander
Fascinating Fact #47: Women make up 1 in 7 active-duty U.S. military members, as of 2019
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Say Hello to Digital Voice Assistants
Fascinating Fact #45: 55% of Americans ages 18 to 49 say they use digital voice assistants
Learn More Living with Multiple Generations
Fascinating Fact #44: 1 in 5 Americans live in a household with multiple generations under one roof
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Why wasn't Ohio considered a state before 1953?
Fascinating Fact #43: Ohio didn't formally become a state until 1953
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How the Supreme Court Decides Which Cases to Hear
Fascinating Fact #42: The Supreme Court agrees to hear about 80 cases each year out of an average of 7,000 to 8,000 petitions
Dive In Alaska Has the Highest Proportion of Veterans in the U.S.
Fascinating Fact #40: Alaska is the state with the highest proportion of veterans as part of its population — 11%
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Learn About the Origin of Veterans Day
Fascinating Fact #39: President Woodrow Wilson declared Nov. 11, 1919, the first commemoration of Armistice Day. In 1954, Congress changed the holiday to Veterans Day.
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Young Americans Hit Hard by the Pandemic’s Economic Toll
Fascinating Fact #38: In June 2020, 28% of young people were neither in school nor in the workplace, the highest rate recorded for any June since 1989
Dive In Kids Are Volunteering
Fascinating Fact #37: 53% of parents say their school-age children have done volunteer work
Learn More Protection from a Higher Power
Fascinating Fact #36: 77% of U.S. adults say they believe God or a higher power has protected them
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Who Was Eligible to Vote in the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election?
Fascinating Fact #35: 13% of eligible voters in the 2020 U.S. presidential election were Hispanic
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Explore the Little-Known History Behind the Supreme Court
Fascinating Fact #34: It took 146 years for the Supreme Court to get its own building
Watch Now Americans' Health
Fascinating Fact #33: 16.9M Americans are living after receiving a cancer diagnosis
Learn More What Percentage of Americans Don't Have Bank Accounts?
Fascinating Fact #32: 6% of American adults do not have a bank account
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American Democracy Can Be Found at the Library
Fascinating Fact #31: 78% of Americans feel that public libraries help them find information that is trustworthy and reliable
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America’s Latinos Among Hardest Hit by Pandemic’s Fallout
Fascinating Fact #30: 70% of Latino adults in the U.S. said they didn’t have emergency funds to cover three months of expenses, compared with 47% of White adults
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Majority of Religiously Unaffiliated Believe in a Higher Power
Fascinating Fact #29: 72% of U.S. adults who are religiously unaffiliated say they believe in a higher power of some kind
Learn More Millennials in the Workforce
Fascinating Fact #28: 35% of the American workforce are Millennials, the largest generation in the labor force
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Finding Meaning
Fascinating Fact #27: 4 in 10 American adults believe spiritual energy can be found in physical objects
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Why Some Americans Didn’t Check the Box in 2018
Fascinating Fact #26: 61% of Americans who did not vote in the 2018 midterms said they wish they had.
Get the Facts Most Americans Have High School Diplomas
Fascinating Fact #25: 9 in 10 Americans age 25 and older have a high school diploma — the biggest share of graduates in U.S. history
Learn More Most of America’s Veterans Agree on This
Fascinating Fact #24: 79% of U.S. veterans say they would advise a young person close to them to join the military
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Students, Educators Struggle as the Pandemic Widens the Digital Divide
Fascinating Fact #23: 15% of school-age kids in America have no internet access at home
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How Do Coloradans Stay Fit?
Fascinating Fact #22: At 84%, residents of Colorado have the highest self-reported rate of physical activity of any U.S. state, as of 2018
Dive In The Golden State Is a Multilingual Land
Fascinating Fact #21: California the state with the highest percentage of people over age 5 who speak a language other than English at home — 44%
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Who Has Paid Sick Leave in the U.S.?
Fascinating Fact #20: 24% of the civilian workforce in the U.S. don't have paid sick leave
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How Much Sugar Do Americans Really Consume?
Fascinating Fact #19: 38% of Americans say they limit their sugar intake
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No Place Like Home
Fascinating Fact #18: 42% of Americans live in or near the community where they grew up
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Labor of Love
Fascinating Fact #17: 585K the approximate number of Americans participating in registered apprenticeship programs in the U.S. in fiscal year 2018
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Women in the Military
Fascinating Fact #16: 16.9% of active-duty military personnel were women in FY 2019 — up from 9% in 1980
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More Dads Staying at Home
Fascinating Fact #15: 7% of fathers are stay at home dads as of 2016 — compared to 4% in 1989
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Rural Broadband - A Digital Divide
Fascinating Fact #14: 58% of Americans living in rural areas say access to high-speed internet is a problem in their area
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Full of Gratitude
Fascinating Fact #13: 46% of U.S. adults say they feel a deep sense of wonder about the universe at least once a week
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Boommates = Boomer Roommates
Fascinating Fact #12: 32% of women age 65 and up live alone, as of 2014 — compared with 38% in 1990
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Loving Where You Live
Fascinating Fact #11: About 6 in 10 Americans feel attached to their communities
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More Screen Time for Seniors
Fascinating Fact #10: 61% of Americans age 65 and older owned a smartphone in 2020 — up from 53% in 2019
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How Religious Are Americans?
Fascinating Fact #9: 26% of Americans say they identified as atheist, agnostic, or nothing in particular in 2018 and 2019 — up from 17% in 2009
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Neighborly Spirit
Fascinating Fact #8: 40% of Americans in rural areas say they know all or most of their neighbors
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Going Beyond the Bookshelves
Fascinating Fact #7: 53% of Millennials said in 2016 that they had used a public library in the last year
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Waiting to Wed
Fascinating Fact #6: 28 The median age at first marriage for women in 2020, compared with 21 in 1969
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Keep on Moving
Fascinating Fact #5: 24% of American adults met federal guidelines for aerobic physical activity in 2018 — up from 18% in 2008
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Finding Fulfillment
Fascinating Fact #4: 69% of Americans mentioned "family" when asked to name what provides them with a sense of meaning in life
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Finding Love Online Remains (For Now) Largely for the Young
Fascinating Fact #3: The median age of people who met their partners online was 36, compared to 51 among those who met their partners another way.
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One Family, Two Faiths
Fascinating Fact #2: 21% of Americans were raised in interfaith homes
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More Say Yes to Motherhood
Fascinating Fact #1: 85% of women ages 40 to 44 were mothers in 2018, compared to 81% in 1998.
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