Facts That Inform and Inspire
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.
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
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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 projected to be 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
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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: 16.5% of active-duty military personnel were women in FY 2018 — 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: 53% of seniors surveyed in 2019 own a smartphone — which is up from 18% in 2013
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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 percent 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 2019, 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: 86% of women ages 40 to 44 were mothers in 2016, compared with 80% a decade earlier
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