Close to 30 million cosmetic procedures were performed in the United States alone in 2024, combining both surgical and nonsurgical treatments. That breaks down to roughly 1.6 million cosmetic surgeries and over 28 million minimally invasive procedures like injectable treatments and chemical peels. Globally, the numbers are even larger, with the U.S. consistently ranking as the top market for aesthetic procedures.
U.S. Plastic Surgery by the Numbers
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reported 1,585,878 cosmetic surgical procedures in 2024. That figure covers operations like breast augmentation, liposuction, facelifts, and eyelid surgery. But surgery is a small fraction of the full picture. Minimally invasive cosmetic procedures totaled 28,243,407 in the same year, a number driven largely by injectable treatments.
To put that in perspective, for every person who goes under the knife for a cosmetic procedure, roughly 18 others get a nonsurgical treatment instead. The gap between these two categories has been widening for years, as newer injectable products and energy-based skin treatments continue to expand the menu of options that don’t require an operating room.
The Most Popular Procedures
Globally, eyelid surgery overtook liposuction in 2024 as the most common cosmetic operation for the first time, according to the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. The top five surgical procedures worldwide are now eyelid surgery, liposuction, breast augmentation, scar revision, and rhinoplasty (nose reshaping).
On the nonsurgical side, the numbers are dominated by two treatments. Neuromodulator injections (the category that includes Botox and similar products) accounted for nearly 9.5 million procedures in 2023, up 9 percent from the year before. Hyaluronic acid fillers, which add volume to areas like the lips, cheeks, and under-eye hollows, totaled about 5.3 million procedures, up 8 percent. After those two, the most popular nonsurgical treatments globally were hair removal, nonsurgical skin tightening, and chemical peels.
Who Is Getting These Procedures
The stereotype of plastic surgery as something primarily for older patients doesn’t hold up in the data, but neither does the social media narrative that young people are driving the trend. Teenagers account for just 1 percent of all plastic surgery patients. People in their 20s make up about 9 percent. The bulk of cosmetic procedures happen in the 30-to-69 age range, and patients 70 and older represent about 5 percent.
The gender split is heavily skewed. In 2022, women accounted for roughly 21.1 million cosmetic procedures compared to about 1.6 million for men. That means women made up over 93 percent of the patient population. The most popular procedure for both genders was the same: neuromodulator injections. Women received about 8.2 million of these treatments, while men received around 526,000.
What These Procedures Cost
Average surgeon fees give a sense of the financial commitment involved. Breast augmentation runs about $4,875 on average, and liposuction is close behind at $4,711. These figures cover only the surgeon’s fee, not anesthesia, facility costs, or post-operative care, so the total bill is typically higher. Neuromodulator injections average $435 per session, though most people repeat them every three to four months to maintain results, making the annual cost closer to $1,300 to $1,700.
How Often Revisions Happen
One detail that rarely comes up in marketing materials is the revision rate. A study published in PRS Global Open found an overall revision rate of 9.2 percent among cosmetic surgery patients, meaning roughly 1 in 11 went back for a second operation to correct or improve the result. The study also uncovered a significant difference based on who performed the initial surgery: when a surgeon operated independently, the revision rate was 3.6 percent, but when a surgical trainee participated, it jumped to 22.2 percent. Patients in that group were over seven times more likely to need a follow-up procedure.
This doesn’t mean every revision reflects a complication. Some revisions address minor asymmetries or refine results that healed differently than expected. But the numbers suggest that asking about a surgeon’s personal revision rate, and whether trainees will be involved in your procedure, are practical questions worth raising before scheduling any operation.
Regional Patterns in the U.S.
Cosmetic procedures aren’t evenly distributed across the country. The South Atlantic region, stretching from Maryland down through Florida, accounted for about 28 percent of all cosmetic procedures in 2024, the highest share of any region. The South Central states followed at 18 percent, with the North Central region at 14 percent and the New England and Mid-Atlantic corridor at 11 percent. Florida, Texas, and California have long been the dominant markets, a pattern shaped by population size, cultural attitudes toward aesthetics, and the concentration of board-certified plastic surgeons in those areas.