These are the key numbers on falls among adults 65 and older in the United States. Each one comes from the original source and links back to it. Every figure shows the year it describes, because falls statistics are updated often and older numbers keep circulating long after they've been replaced.
AgingSteady is an independent research site, not a government agency or research body. We don't produce any of these numbers. We check them against the source and show you where to find them.
Key numbers at a glance
On this page
How common falls are
| Statistic | What it measures | Data year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| More than 1 in 4 | Adults 65 and older who fall each year. CDC adds that less than half of them tell their doctor. | CDC page reviewed Sept. 8, 2026 | CDC: Facts About Older Adult Falls |
| Over 14 million | Older adults who report falling each year. | Survey data, 2020 | CDC: Older Adult Falls Data |
| 2 times | Falling once doubles the chance of falling again. | CDC page reviewed Sept. 8, 2026 | CDC: Facts About Older Adult Falls |
| 1 in 10 | Falls that cause an injury serious enough to limit activity for a day or more, or to need healthcare attention. | CDC page reviewed Sept. 8, 2026 | CDC: Facts About Older Adult Falls |
| About 37% | Share of people who fall who report an injury that needed medical treatment or limited their activity for at least a day (in 2018, 27.5% of adults 65+ reported a fall and 10.2% reported a fall injury). | Survey data, 2018 | CDC: Facts About Older Adult Falls CDC: Older Adult Falls Data Moreland et al., MMWR (2020), via PubMed Central |
Emergency care, hospital stays and deaths
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<a href="https://www.agingsteady.com/older-adult-falls-statistics"><img src="https://www.agingsteady.com/img/info/falls-er-and-deaths.png" alt="About 4.5 million emergency visits a year, split into about 3.1 million treated and released and 1.4 million hospitalized. The age-adjusted fall death rate for adults 65 and older rose 21 percent, from 64.7 per 100,000 in 2018 to 78.4 in 2024." width="1200" height="675"></a>
| Statistic | What it measures | Data year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| About 4.5 million | Emergency department visits a year due to older adult falls: about 3.1 million treated and released and 1.4 million hospitalizations. | CDC data (WISQARS), accessed Aug. 25, 2026 | CDC: Facts About Older Adult Falls |
| Over 43,000 | Deaths from falls among adults 65 and older. CDC calls falls the leading cause of injury death for that group. | 2024 | CDC: About Older Adult Fall Prevention |
| About 4.5 million | Emergency department visits for older adult falls. | 2024 | CDC: About Older Adult Fall Prevention |
| 21% higher | Increase in the age-adjusted fall death rate among adults 65 and older, from 64.7 per 100,000 in 2018 to 78.4 per 100,000 in 2024. | 2018 to 2024 | CDC: Older Adult Falls Data |
Hip fractures and head injuries
| Statistic | What it measures | Data year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 318,797 and 290,130 | Hip-fracture-related emergency department visits (318,797) and hospitalizations (290,130) among adults 65 and older. The same study counted 7,731 hip-fracture-related deaths. | 2019 | Moreland et al., Journal of Aging and Health (2023), via PubMed Central CDC: Facts About Older Adult Falls |
| 83% and 88% | Share of hip fracture deaths (83%) and of hip fracture emergency visits and hospitalizations (88%) that were caused by falls. | 2019 | Moreland et al., Journal of Aging and Health (2023), via PubMed Central CDC: Facts About Older Adult Falls |
| Most common cause | Falls are the most common cause of traumatic brain injuries in older adults. | CDC page reviewed Sept. 8, 2026 | CDC: Facts About Older Adult Falls |
CDC's facts page says "nearly 319,000 older people are hospitalized for hip fractures each year." The study it cites counts 318,797 as emergency department visits and 290,130 as hospitalizations, so we show the study's own breakdown.
What falls cost
| Statistic | What it measures | Data year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| $80.0 billion | Healthcare spending on non-fatal older adult falls. The study found that Medicare paid the majority. | 2020 | Haddad et al., Injury Prevention (2024) |
| $83.4 billion | Estimated healthcare spending on non-fatal older adult falls: about $66.4 billion Medicare, $4.4 billion Medicaid and $12.7 billion private health insurance. | 2023 (estimate) | Healthcare expenditure on older adult non-fatal falls by state, Injury Prevention, via PubMed Central |
What raises the risk of a fall
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<a href="https://www.agingsteady.com/older-adult-falls-statistics"><img src="https://www.agingsteady.com/img/info/falls-risk-factors.png" alt="Seven CDC-listed fall risk factors: lower body weakness, vitamin D deficiency, walking and balance difficulty, some medicines, vision problems, foot pain or poor footwear, and home hazards. Falling once doubles the chance of falling again." width="1200" height="675"></a>
CDC's page lists these risk factors, and says most falls come from a combination of them, with more risk factors meaning a greater chance of falling:
- Lower body weakness
- Vitamin D deficiency
- Difficulty with walking and balance
- Some medicines, such as tranquilizers, sedatives and antidepressants (even some over-the-counter medicines can affect balance)
- Vision problems
- Foot pain or poor footwear
- Home hazards, such as broken or uneven steps, throw rugs and clutter
CDC also notes that fear of falling can lead people to cut back on activity, which makes them weaker and raises the chance of another fall. Source: CDC: Facts About Older Adult Falls.
Numbers that changed
Some older figures are still repeated widely after the source has updated them. If you’re citing a number, check it against this table first.
| Older figure still circulating | Current figure | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| About 3 million ER visits and about 1 million hospitalizations a year | About 4.5 million ER visits a year, including 1.4 million hospitalizations | Earlier versions of CDC's facts page, and many sites that copy them, give the lower figures. CDC's current page (reviewed Sept. 8, 2026) gives the higher ones. | CDC: Facts About Older Adult Falls |
| Over 38,000 deaths (2021) | Over 43,000 deaths (2024) | Older CDC pages cite 2021 deaths. CDC's current overview cites 2024. | CDC: About Older Adult Fall Prevention |
| About $50 billion a year (2015 data) | $80.0 billion (2020), and an estimated $83.4 billion (2023) | The $50 billion figure is the 2015 estimate. The 2024 study that produced the 2020 figure describes its result as substantially higher than previously reported estimates. | Haddad et al., Injury Prevention (2024) Healthcare expenditure on older adult non-fatal falls by state, Injury Prevention, via PubMed Central |
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<a href="https://www.agingsteady.com/older-adult-falls-statistics"><img src="https://www.agingsteady.com/img/info/falls-at-a-glance.png" alt="Four key falls figures: over 43,000 deaths in 2024, about 4.5 million emergency visits a year, more than 1 in 4 adults 65 and older fall each year, and $80.0 billion in healthcare spending in 2020." width="1200" height="675"></a>
How we verified these figures
- Checked against the source. Each figure was compared with the text of the original organization’s own page, report or study abstract, not copied from another website. In some cases we worked from that page’s text as published in a search index rather than the full page, so before you publish a number, open the linked source.
- Always with a year. Every figure shows the year it describes, because many statistics are revised annually and older versions keep circulating.
- As the source states them. We use the source’s own numbers. Where a source gives a range or calls something an estimate, we say so.
- Disagreements are shown. Where figures have changed or sources differ, the “Numbers that changed” table lists both.
- Corrections welcome. If you find a figure that has changed or is wrong, email hello@agingsteady.com and we’ll check and correct it.
Cite this page
AgingSteady Editorial Team. “Older Adult Falls Statistics: Deaths, ER Visits and Costs.” AgingSteady, last verified October 2026. https://www.agingsteady.com/older-adult-falls-statistics
For any individual figure, please cite the original source linked in its row. Press and research questions: hello@agingsteady.com. Download all of our statistics as a CSV file (with sources and data years).
Common questions
How many older adults fall each year?
More than one in four adults 65 and older falls each year, according to the CDC, and less than half tell their doctor. CDC survey data from 2020 put the number at over 14 million people.
How many older adults die from falls?
CDC reports that falls caused over 43,000 deaths among adults 65 and older in 2024, making falls the leading cause of injury death for that age group.
How much do falls among older adults cost?
A 2024 peer-reviewed study by CDC researchers estimated healthcare spending on non-fatal older adult falls at $80.0 billion in 2020, with Medicare paying the largest share. A later state-level analysis estimated $83.4 billion for 2023. The older figure of about $50 billion comes from 2015 data.
How many hip fractures are caused by falls?
In 2019 data analyzed by CDC researchers, falls caused 83% of hip fracture deaths and 88% of hip fracture emergency department visits and hospitalizations among adults 65 and older. That year there were 318,797 hip-fracture-related emergency department visits and 290,130 hospitalizations.