Top 10 Most Common Chronic Diseases in the U.S. in 2025
Top 10 Most Common Chronic Diseases in the U.S. — 2025 Snapshot Based on 2023 CDC Data
Among the 12 selected chronic conditions analyzed in 2023 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data, high cholesterol had the highest U.S. adult prevalence at 35.3%, followed by high blood pressure at 34.5% and obesity at 32.7%.
The ranking uses weighted prevalence estimates published in a peer-reviewed article in CDC's Preventing Chronic Disease on April 17, 2025. The percentages describe 2023 observations, not projected 2025 prevalence.
Coverage: Top 10 of 12 selected chronic conditions. Unit: percent of U.S. adults age 18 or older. Direction: higher prevalence ranks higher. All 10 values are directly published; no calculated or projected prevalence values are used.
High cholesterol ranks first among the 12 selected chronic conditions evaluated in the source study.
COPD is the 10th-ranked condition. Chronic kidney disease and stroke fall below the Top 10.
The ranking selects the 10 highest published prevalence estimates from the 12-condition CDC dataset.
Every ranking value is directly reported in CDC Table 1. No 2025 projection is used.
Top 10 selected chronic conditions by U.S. adult prevalence
CDC BRFSS 2023 prevalence estimates published in 2025
| Rank | Condition | Prevalence | Source / method note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | High cholesterol | 35.3% | Official published value; CDC Table 1; 2023 BRFSS estimate; 95% CI 35.0–35.6. |
| 2 | High blood pressure | 34.5% | Official published value; CDC Table 1; 2023 BRFSS estimate; 95% CI 34.2–34.8. |
| 3 | Obesity | 32.7% | Official published value; BMI ≥30.0 from self-reported height and weight; 95% CI 32.4–33.0. |
| 4 | Arthritis | 25.4% | Official published value; CDC Table 1; 2023 BRFSS estimate; 95% CI 25.1–25.7. |
| 5 | Depressive disorder | 20.2% | Official published value; CDC depressive-disorder measure; 2023 BRFSS estimate; 95% CI 19.9–20.4. |
| 6 | Diabetes | 12.1% | Official published value; excludes diabetes reported only during pregnancy; 95% CI 11.9–12.3. |
| 7 | Current asthma | 9.8% | Official published value; current-asthma measure; 2023 BRFSS estimate; 95% CI 9.6–10.0. |
| 8 | Cancer, excluding skin cancer | 8.0% | Official published value; skin cancer excluded; 2023 BRFSS estimate; 95% CI 7.8–8.1. |
| 9 | Heart disease | 6.5% | Official published value; heart attack, angina or coronary heart disease; 95% CI 6.3–6.6. |
| 10 | COPD | 6.2% | Official published value; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; 2023 BRFSS estimate; 95% CI 6.1–6.4. |
Higher prevalence ranks higher. The ranking uses the percentages published in CDC Table 1 without projecting them forward to 2025.
Overview: what “most common” means here
“Most common” means highest weighted prevalence within the 12 selected chronic conditions evaluated in the CDC analysis. It does not mean highest mortality, medical spending, hospitalization burden or number of new diagnoses.
Most conditions were measured from respondents' reports that a doctor or other health professional had told them they had the condition. Current asthma uses a current-status measure, while obesity is defined as body mass index of at least 30.0 calculated from self-reported height and weight.
Cancer excludes skin cancer, diabetes excludes cases reported only during pregnancy, and the heart disease measure includes heart attack, angina or coronary heart disease.
Chart: Top 10 confirmed chronic conditions
The chart uses the same published prevalence values as the ranking table. Bar length is scaled to the 35.3% prevalence of high cholesterol.
Methodology
The numeric ranking comes from Table 1 of the peer-reviewed article “Trends in Multiple Chronic Conditions Among US Adults, By Life Stage, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2013–2023,” published in CDC's Preventing Chronic Disease on April 17, 2025.
Metric and unit
Weighted prevalence of each selected chronic condition among U.S. adults age 18 or older, expressed as a percentage.
Ranking rule
The 12 directly published 2023 prevalence values were sorted from highest to lowest. The 10 highest form this ranking.
Year logic
The observations are from 2023. The 2025 label refers to the publication snapshot, not a modeled 2025 prevalence estimate.
Coverage
Chronic kidney disease at 3.8% and stroke at 3.4% were the two lowest of the 12 published condition estimates and fall below the Top 10 cutoff.
Condition definitions
Most conditions rely on self-reported history of being told by a doctor or other health professional that the condition was present. Obesity and current asthma use separate definitions.
Survey treatment
The study used BRFSS survey weights, accounted for complex survey design and applied multiple imputation for missing data.
Kentucky and Pennsylvania did not collect enough 2023 BRFSS data to meet the minimum requirements for inclusion in the 2023 public-use dataset. The study also notes limitations related to self-report, recall, social-desirability bias and nonresponse.
The ranking does not measure incidence, mortality, disease severity, medical spending, hospitalization burden or disability burden. No cross-source averaging or 2025 projection was performed.
Interactive Top 10 ranking
Use the controls to search the confirmed conditions, filter by publication status or change the display order. All 10 rows remain visible when JavaScript is disabled.
Top 10 selected chronic conditions by 2023 U.S. adult prevalence
| Rank | Condition | Prevalence | Source / method note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | High cholesterol | 35.3% | Official published value; CDC Table 1; 2023 estimate; 95% CI 35.0–35.6. |
| 2 | High blood pressure | 34.5% | Official published value; CDC Table 1; 2023 estimate; 95% CI 34.2–34.8. |
| 3 | Obesity | 32.7% | Official published value; BMI ≥30.0 from self-reported height and weight; 95% CI 32.4–33.0. |
| 4 | Arthritis | 25.4% | Official published value; CDC Table 1; 2023 estimate; 95% CI 25.1–25.7. |
| 5 | Depressive disorder | 20.2% | Official published value; CDC depressive-disorder measure; 2023 estimate; 95% CI 19.9–20.4. |
| 6 | Diabetes | 12.1% | Official published value; pregnancy-only diabetes excluded; 2023 estimate; 95% CI 11.9–12.3. |
| 7 | Current asthma | 9.8% | Official published value; current-asthma measure; 2023 estimate; 95% CI 9.6–10.0. |
| 8 | Cancer, excluding skin cancer | 8.0% | Official published value; skin cancer excluded; 2023 estimate; 95% CI 7.8–8.1. |
| 9 | Heart disease | 6.5% | Official published value; heart attack, angina or coronary heart disease; 95% CI 6.3–6.6. |
| 10 | COPD | 6.2% | Official published value; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; 2023 estimate; 95% CI 6.1–6.4. |
Insights from the Top 10
Key Insight
Only 2.6 percentage points separate high cholesterol at 35.3% from obesity at 32.7%, making the top three much closer to one another than to arthritis at 25.4%.
Notable Pattern
The largest step between adjacent Top 10 ranks is between depressive disorder at 20.2% and diabetes at 12.1%, a difference of 8.1 percentage points.
Source Concentration
All ranking values come from the same 2023 BRFSS analysis and the same published CDC table, avoiding a mix of incompatible surveys or observation years.
Outlier / Cutoff
No statistical outlier test is applied. The relevant cutoff is rank 10: COPD is 6.2%, while chronic kidney disease at 3.8% and stroke at 3.4% remain outside the Top 10.
What this ranking means
The table compares prevalence, not severity. A condition can rank lower by prevalence while still contributing substantially to deaths, disability, hospitalizations or medical costs.
Measurement definitions also differ. Most conditions rely on self-reported history of a professional diagnosis, current asthma is a current-status measure, and obesity is derived from BMI based on self-reported height and weight.
These percentages should therefore be interpreted as comparable surveillance estimates within this CDC study, not as a complete clinical ranking of every chronic disease in the United States.
Download the Top 10 Most Common Chronic Diseases in the U.S. in 2025 dataset
Top 10 Most Common Chronic Diseases in the U.S. in 2025
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Download Excel + CSV Data PackFAQ
Are these actual 2025 prevalence figures?
No. The prevalence estimates are from 2023 BRFSS data. The 2025 date refers to the year the peer-reviewed CDC journal article was published.
What does “most common” mean in this ranking?
It means highest weighted adult prevalence among the 12 selected chronic conditions evaluated in the study.
Are the percentages directly published?
Yes. All 10 percentages come directly from Table 1 of the published study. None is a calculated or modeled 2025 prevalence estimate.
Why are high cholesterol and obesity included?
They are included because the CDC analysis treats them as part of its 12 selected chronic conditions. The ranking preserves that source framework.
Does the cancer figure include skin cancer?
No. The study's cancer measure excludes skin cancer.
Does the diabetes figure include gestational diabetes?
Diabetes reported only during pregnancy is excluded from the study's diabetes measure.
Why are chronic kidney disease and stroke missing from the Top 10?
They are included in the original 12-condition dataset but rank below the cutoff: chronic kidney disease is 3.8% and stroke is 3.4%.
Sources
CDC Preventing Chronic Disease — Trends in Multiple Chronic Conditions Among US Adults
Primary numeric source. Table 1 provides every prevalence value used in the ranking. Published April 17, 2025.
CDC — 2023 BRFSS Survey Data and Documentation
Supporting source for the 2023 survey year, public-use dataset and official BRFSS technical documentation.
CDC — BRFSS Overview 2023
Supporting methodology source for BRFSS population coverage, survey design and 2023 data collection.
https://www.cdc.gov/brfss/annual_data/2023/pdf/Overview_2023-508.pdf
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — Multiple Chronic Conditions: A Strategic Framework
Supporting federal framework for chronic-condition terminology and multiple chronic conditions; not used for the ranking values.
https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/ash/initiatives/mcc/mcc_framework.pdf
