The US had about 155.4 million emergency room visits in 2022

Fireworks-related ER visits are on the rise—in 2024, they increased by 52% as compared to the prior year.

See Virginia's emergency stats broken down by date, type, and even body part

This dashboard from Virginia's health department provides a detailed look at various aspects of its emergency care services from January 2019 to December 2024, when there were more than 575,000 emergency incidents. More than 40% of its emergency services were devoted to slips and falls.

There may be a surplus of nearly 8,000 emergency room doctors by 2030

That was the 2021 prediction of the American College of Emergency Physicians, which led to a sudden steep decline in the field among medical students and residents. (Some users may encounter a paywall.)

11 people died from firework injuries in the US in 2024

Most of those deaths involved misuse of the explosives and device malfunctions or misfires. That fatality count doesn't include the almost 15,000 people who received treatment in the emergency room due to firework-related injuries. More than a third of all the injuries in 2024 were burns, underscoring the risks of using these explosive devices.

Dozens of US women in labor turned away from hospital between 2022 and 2024

An Associated Press analysis of federal hospital investigation data concluded that more than 100 pregnant women in medical distress were turned away from emergency rooms or treated negligently since 2022.

43% of Americans don't have savings to pay for a $1K emergency

That's according to data from January 2026 shared by US News. Among those who did have an emergency fund, the median balance was $5K.

Restaurants are where most of us contract food poisoning in the US

From 2014 to 2022, most reported foodborne illness cases occurred at restaurants. Between 2020 and 2022—when COVID-19 also likely influenced restaurant eating habits and tracking—there were only 238 foodborne illness outbreaks linked to restaurants, down from 714 the prior two years. Still, restaurants were behind most reported outbreak cases. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

Swimmer's ear is America's most common waterborne illness

Federal government analysis of the roughly 7 million waterborne illness cases that occur annually in the US found that swimmer's ear comprises some 4.7 million, or 65%, of the annual waterborne illnesses and 20% of hospitalizations. Norovirus infection comes in second place.

There are more than a dozen types of different emergency medicine specialties

This video details medical subspecialties in emergency medicine, including medical toxicology, pediatric emergency medicine, undersea and hyperbaric medicine, hospice medicine, and more. It discusses where these types of specialists may work, including beyond a hospital setting.

Mental illness in the US costs roughly $282B annually nationwide

That figure, estimated as part of a 2024 Yale analysis that aimed to better understand the macroeconomic implications of mental illness, included the costs of mental health treatment, income loss, and overarching economic setbacks associated with mental illness.

Hospitals are required to care for emergency patients, even if they can't pay

A federal law called the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which was passed in 1986, requires any Medicare-participating hospital with an emergency room to provide emergency medical care—including if the patient is in labor—until the patient is stable. That requirement applies regardless of the patient's ability to pay, insurance status, or, in some cases, immigration status.

Opioid prescription rates by states and counties

The origins of the US' ongoing opioid crisis are typically traced to the more than 1 billion prescription pain pills that flooded medicine cabinets between 2005 and 2019. This prescription opioid epidemic resulted in more than 210,000 fatal overdoses and set the stage for the ongoing crisis fueled by heroin and fentanyl.

Current US measles outbreak data from the CDC

This data portal from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracks current cases, hospitalizations, and deaths from measles. A 2025 outbreak in Texas and New Mexico drove US cases to their highest levels since the early 1990s.

In the US, 3.6 million babies were born in 2023

That year, about 40% of the babies were born to unmarried parents, and about 32% of the births were born via cesarean. On average, mothers were 27.5 years old when they had their first child.

Most Americans are now dying at home, reversing 20th century trends

For most of the 21st and 20th centuries most Americans died in hospital settings. But in 2016, home-based deaths overtook hospitals; most Americans are now dying at home, likely fueled by individual preferences to die at home or to receive at-home palliative care.

Alcohol use disorder is the most common addiction in the US

This comprehensive overview from the Addiction Center uses recent data from SAMHSA’s National Survey to examine the 10 most common substance dependencies in the United States. It ranks addictions from alcohol (affecting 28.3 million Americans) to barbiturates, while highlighting key trends, risks, and societal impacts.

Breast, prostate, and lung cancer are the most common forms of the disease

Close to 1.8 million cases of cancer are diagnosed each year in the US, with more than 600,000 deaths (about 0.2% of the total population). This visualization tool offers a searchable database of aggregate statistics on common cancers by gender, race, state, and other demographic information.

The National Parks System is a popular attraction in the US

More than 16 billion people have visited the US National Park System since 1904. Curious about how something like World War II affected park visitation? This table of annual recreational visits spans the early 20th century through 2023, demonstrating the slow-but-steady rise in visitors over the decades.

Read a study about racial differences in Lyme disease diagnosis

The research published in September 2025 examined differences in Lyme disease diagnosis among Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries using data from 2016 to 2021. It notes that though US Lyme disease surveillance data indicates more than 90% of diagnosed Lyme cases are among white people, people of color—particularly those who identify as Black or African American—have higher rates of more severe disease of Lyme, with symptoms including arthritis and neurologic impacts.

In 2024, the US had more organ transplants than ever before—besting the 2023 record

More than 48,000 organ transplants were performed in 2024, and about 46,630 were performed in 2023. These record highs are illustrated here as part of data from 1988 to partway through 2025. Kidneys, livers, and the heart remain the most common transplanted organs. (Some users may encounter a paywall.)

Most US fire departments are staffed entirely by volunteers, though they tend to serve smaller communities

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's 2024 registry, 70% of US fire departments are all volunteer, while 9.5% are fully staffed with paid employees. Volunteer departments are mainly found in rural and suburban areas, whereas most urban Americans are served by career or mixed departments.

America doesn't have enough estradiol patches for menopause and perimenopause demand

Fueled in part by the lifting of the FDA's black box warning about HRT risks, sales of estradiol patches in the US have shot upward. More than 142 million units of the patches were sold in 2025 versus 46.5 million in 2020. Suppliers are failing to keep up with demand—11 patch products were in short supply in early 2026. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Pickleball injuries were responsible for $350M in medical costs in 2023

Unsurprisingly, picklers over 50 account for 90% of the injuries, with the most common being sprains, strains, and fractures. Experts say a substantial pregame warm-up can prevent most injuries.

Why car insurance rates are skyrocketing

The average annual premium for auto insurance coverage in the US rose 26% in 2024, and rates are only expected to increase. The rate hikes aren’t simply a result of more people getting into crashes. This video explores how a lack of trained auto mechanics, a tighter supply of used vehicles, record healthcare bills, and litigation are contributing to higher monthly insurance bills.

Annual flu shots remain the best defense against influenza

Flu vaccination typically reduces the risk of medical visits by 30 to 60% and lowers hospitalization rates by around 40%. Between 2023 and 2024, in the US alone, vaccines prevented an estimated 120,000 hospitalizations and nearly 7,900 deaths.

Between 10 million and 50 million people in the US develop rashes from poison ivy, poison sumac, and poison oak each year.

The EPA budget was 0.2% of total federal spending in 2024

The EPA spent $13.7B in 2024, making it 23rd among federal agencies in total expenditures. Of that money, more than half was distributed to state environmental agencies for sustainability and environmental protection programs.

Explore what it's like inside a patient isolation unit, used in situations such as treating a patient or suspected patient with Ebola.

Roughly 43 million US borrowers owe roughly $1.7T in student debt, the second-largest source of consumer debt behind mortgages.

Experimental hantavirus vaccines and therapies, still under development, have long been funded by the US military.

Discover the catastrophic consequences of a failure of the US electrical grid—something that is more likely than many Americans think.

View the ten deadliest tornadoes in US history.

About 12.5% of US adults experience a phobia in their lifetime, a diagnosis that hinges on the intense fear interfering with daily life and persisting for at least six months.

Telehealth demand for GLP-1s for weight loss is booming as consumers seek easier access.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

The US first hosted the World Cup in 1994, a tournament that lives in soccer infamy for its poor planning and the murder of Colombian player Andres Escobar, who'd accidentally scored on his own net.

The USPS spent $3.97B in 2024, accounting for .058% of the federal budget.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

The United States is one of only around two dozen countries with a fully federal system of government, in which power is divided between national and state governments.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

Before the current East Wing ballroom project, only two White House renovations in the past 100 years cost more than $10M.

Explore an interactive map of battles from the American Revolution, along with detailed summaries of each engagement

See the 25 of the best photos of auroras from around the world.

See 33 images that became central to huge scandals, including a young Charles and Camilla, Michael Jackson's baby on a hotel balcony, and Hugh Grant's mugshot.

When a Paris department store hesitated to sell Estée Lauder's perfume, she 'accidentally' broke a bottle, causing the smell to spread throughout the store and shoppers to start asking to buy the scent.