United States Meditator Demographic

Age

• Meditators in the US are more likely to be middle-aged: 15.9% of individuals aged 45 to 64 meditated compared to 13.4% individuals aged 18-to-44 and 13.4% seniors (65+).

Gender

• According to the National Health Interview Survey 2017, 16.3% of adult women in the US had practiced meditation versus 11.8% of adult men. In other words, 58% (16.3%/(16.3%+11.8%)) of all adult meditators were women and 42% (100%-58%) were men.
• Among children, 6% of girls and 4.9% of boys has tried meditation at least once.

Race

• Caucasians (15.2%) and African Americans (13.5%) were more likely to be meditators than Latinos (10.9%).

Education

• Meditators are typically college-educated.

Location

• Based on two articles--Sonima, Forbes--that list the top cities for meditation we determined the that California, New York, Oregon, Colorado, Iowa, Washington, Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan, Texas, Minnesota, and Massachusetts are the top states for meditation.
• Based on Pew Research data, the top 15 states with the most frequent meditators in 2014 were California (13%), New York (8%), Texas (8%), Florida (5%), Georgia (3%), Illinois (5%), Pennsylvania (5%), Virginia (4%), Georgia (3%), Massachusetts (3%), Michigan (3%), New Jersey (3%), North Carolina (3%), Ohio (3%), Wisconsin (3%).

California Meditator Demographic

Religion

• Among Californians who meditate several times a year, 55% are Christian, 11% are from non-Christian faiths, and 34% are either atheists, agnostic, or nothing in particular.

Age distribution

• 18-29: 23% 
• 30-49: 37% 
• 50-64: 24% 
• 65+: 14% 

Generational Breakdown

• Younger millennials: 16% 
• Older millennials: 14% 
• Generation X: 30% 
• Baby Boomer: 28% 
• Silent: 11% 
• Greatest: 1% 

Gender

•  Fifty-five percent of meditators in California are female and 45% are male.

Race

• White: 47% 
• Latino: 28% 
• Asian: 19% 
• Black: 2% 
• Other/ Mixed: 3% 

Income

• < $30,000: 26% 
• $30,000-$49,999: 22% 
• $50,000-$99,999: 17% 
• $100,000+: 34% 

Marital Status

• Married: 49% 
• Living with a partner: 15% 
• Divorced/separated: 8% 
• Widowed: 3% 
• Never married: 25% 

Children (under 18)

• Parents: 30% 
• Non-parents: 70% 

Additional Information

• Nearly two in four (39%) of meditators in the United States have chronic back pain.