8 Billion Lives
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Where you could be born /

Born in United States

About 1 in 36 people born in 2023 started life in United States. A boy can expect to live 77 years and a girl 82, up from 65 and 71 in 1950. Most people live in cities, and nearly everyone has basic drinking water.

1 in 36
odds of being born here
3.7 million births · Ranked 8th of 230
77 / 82
years of life, boys / girls
Was 65 / 71 in 1950
$33,928
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 22nd of 203 · extrapolated
80%
live in a city
The rest live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 11 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 37 in every 1,000 births to 6.2.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

0255075100195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
010203040195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth76.9 years for boys, 81.8 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 56.2 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year2,976,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people3.7World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles92%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year3 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 3.1 children on average in 1950. Now it is 1.6, below the 2.1 it takes to keep a population steady.

Children per woman
01234195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman1.62UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth29.9 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 47 and the poorest fifth 5.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2024
5%Poorest fifth
10%Second
15%Middle
23%Fourth
47%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $33,928 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth47% / 5% (2024)World Bank PIP
Unemployment3.6% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises4.1% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person2.1% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming2% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed6% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment98% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is New York City, with 8.8 million people.

80%
live in cities
100%
have electricity at home
100%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
New York City8.8 million
Los Angeles3.8 million
Brooklyn2.7 million
Chicago2.7 million
Queens2.3 million
Languages
Share of people who can use each
English96%
Spanish10%
English, Spanish is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

California33.3 million
New York22.2 million
Texas18.5 million
Florida13.2 million
Illinois8.8 million
Arizona5.8 million
Ohio5.7 million
Massachusetts5.6 million
New Jersey5.1 million
Washington5.0 million

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

Large cities

Sourced: GeoNames Cities with a page: a million people or more.

All 51 regions
  • California33.3 million
  • New York22.2 million
  • Texas18.5 million
  • Florida13.2 million
  • Illinois8.8 million
  • Arizona5.8 million
  • Ohio5.7 million
  • Massachusetts5.6 million
  • New Jersey5.1 million
  • Washington5.0 million
  • North Carolina4.6 million
  • Virginia4.5 million
  • Michigan4.3 million
  • Colorado3.8 million
  • Maryland3.8 million
  • Pennsylvania3.7 million
  • Georgia3.5 million
  • Tennessee3.5 million
  • Indiana3.4 million
  • Minnesota3.3 million
  • Connecticut2.8 million
  • Wisconsin2.7 million
  • Missouri2.7 million
  • Nevada2.5 million
  • Oregon2.5 million
  • Kentucky2.4 million
  • Utah2.3 million
  • Oklahoma2.3 million
  • Alabama2.0 million
  • Louisiana1.8 million
  • Kansas1.7 million
  • Iowa1.5 million
  • South Carolina1.3 million
  • Hawaii1.3 million
  • New Mexico1.3 million
  • Arkansas1.2 million
  • District of Columbia1.1 million
  • Nebraska1.1 million
  • Mississippi987,346
  • Rhode Island932,048
  • Idaho917,403
  • New Hampshire540,737
  • North Dakota421,219
  • Alaska397,755
  • Montana379,514
  • Maine365,066
  • South Dakota334,614
  • West Virginia293,089
  • Wyoming232,059
  • Delaware183,861
  • Vermont94,053

People on the move

About 0.9% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are Mexico, Canada, United Kingdom.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
Mexico823,502
Canada256,571
United Kingdom243,570
Residents born abroad15.2% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 0.9% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostMexico (823,502), Canada (256,571), United Kingdom (243,570)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $9.3 billion a year (2025)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

100% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 51%.

100%
of older people receive a pension (2023)
51%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2021)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 20241,193,165Our World in Data, from WHO
Significant earthquakes recorded since 195025; the deadliest, in 1964, killed about 139 people (magnitude 9.2)NOAA NCEI
Hurricane-strength storms since 198066NOAA IBTrACS
Deaths in organized violence2,986 between 2001 and 2001UCDP

Now live it.

Born in United States, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in United States

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences