Women in their twenties account for the largest share of abortions in the United States. In 2022, this age group made up 56.5% of all abortions, according to CDC surveillance data. But age is only one piece of the picture. Income, race, marital status, and parental status all reveal distinct patterns in who seeks abortion care.
Age: Women in Their Twenties
The single largest age group is women aged 20 to 29, who together represent more than half of all abortions each year. This has been consistent across multiple years of CDC data. Teenagers account for a relatively small and shrinking share, while women in their thirties and older make up most of the remainder.
Race and Ethnicity
Among abortions reported with known race in 2022, Black women accounted for 40%, White women for 32%, Hispanic women for 21%, and women of other racial backgrounds for 7%. These figures come from KFF’s analysis of 31 reporting areas, since not all states collect or report racial data on abortion. That incomplete reporting means the national picture has some gaps, but the pattern has been consistent over time.
These numbers reflect raw counts, not rates adjusted for population size. Black women make up roughly 14% of the U.S. female population of reproductive age but account for a disproportionate share of abortions. Researchers consistently link this disparity to structural factors: higher rates of poverty, less access to consistent contraception, and geographic barriers to reproductive healthcare.
Income: Poverty Is the Strongest Predictor
Economic status may be the most striking demographic factor. In 2014, nearly half of all abortion patients (49%) were living below the federal poverty level, and another 26% were low income, earning between 100% and 199% of the poverty line. That means three out of four people who obtained an abortion were poor or near-poor. The Guttmacher Institute found that abortion patients were more likely to be poor in 2014 than they had been in 2008, suggesting this concentration has deepened over time.
The connection between poverty and abortion is not simply about wanting fewer children. People with lower incomes face more barriers to obtaining reliable contraception, are more likely to experience gaps in health insurance, and often cite financial inability to support a child as a central reason for ending a pregnancy.
Marital Status
The vast majority of people who obtain abortions are unmarried. In 2021, 87.3% of abortion patients were unmarried, while 12.7% were married. The gap becomes even more dramatic when expressed as a ratio: there were 404 abortions per 1,000 live births among unmarried women, compared to 41 per 1,000 live births among married women.
Most Already Have Children
Contrary to a common assumption that abortion is primarily sought by young, childless women, roughly 55% of people who obtained an abortion had already given birth at least once. Many are parents managing the demands of existing children and deciding they cannot take on another pregnancy for financial, medical, or personal reasons.
Religious Affiliation
A 2014 survey of abortion patients found that the majority reported some religious affiliation. About 24% identified as Catholic, 17% as mainline Protestant, and 13% as evangelical Protestant. Another 8% identified with other religions. The largest single category was no religious affiliation, at 38%. In other words, more than six in ten abortion patients described themselves as religious.
Contraceptive Use Before the Pregnancy
About half of abortion patients (51%) reported using a contraceptive method during the month they became pregnant. This challenges the notion that abortion is primarily a consequence of not using birth control at all. Contraceptive failure, inconsistent use due to cost or access, and methods with lower effectiveness rates all contribute to unintended pregnancies even among people actively trying to prevent them.
The Composite Picture
No single demographic defines who gets an abortion, but the data points toward a consistent profile that appears most frequently: a woman in her twenties, already a mother, unmarried, and living at or near the poverty line. She is more likely to be Black or Hispanic than the general population, and there is a good chance she was using some form of contraception when she became pregnant. Over half of all abortions in 2022 were medication abortions, reflecting a shift toward earlier, non-surgical options that has accelerated dramatically, with medication abortion use increasing 129% between 2013 and 2022.
These patterns are shaped far more by economics and access than by personal attitudes toward pregnancy. The concentration of abortions among low-income women has grown over time, reinforcing that financial hardship and gaps in healthcare access remain the most powerful forces driving who ends up seeking this care.