About 4% of Americans identify as vegetarian, and 1% identify as vegan. Those numbers come from Gallup’s 2023 Consumption Habits poll, and they’ve held remarkably steady for over two decades. Despite the explosion of plant-based products on grocery shelves and restaurant menus, the share of Americans who fully commit to a meatless diet hasn’t meaningfully budged.
The Numbers Have Barely Changed
Gallup has tracked vegetarian and vegan identification for years, and the 4% vegetarian figure is essentially where it’s been since the early 2000s. There’s a small overlap between the two groups: less than 1% of adults say they’re both vegetarian and vegan. Combined and accounting for that overlap, roughly 5% of the U.S. population avoids meat entirely.
That stability is surprising given how much the food landscape has shifted. Plant-based burgers are in fast food chains, oat milk is a standard coffee shop option, and “Veganuary” campaigns make headlines every January. Yet the percentage of people who actually drop meat from their diet stays flat. The cultural visibility of plant-based eating has grown far faster than adoption.
Who Is Most Likely to Be Vegetarian
Women make up the majority of vegetarians in the United States. Research on gender and meatless dieting consistently finds that women are more likely than men to adopt and maintain a vegetarian identity. The reasons are complex, but studies point to differences in how men and women relate to meat culturally, with meat consumption more tightly linked to masculine identity in American society.
People tend to associate vegetarianism with Democrats more than Republicans, with liberals more than conservatives, and with higher social classes more than lower ones. But the actual picture is more nuanced than those perceptions suggest. Research published in the journal Appetite found that the disconnect between who people think is vegetarian and who actually is vegetarian was most pronounced when it came to social class. In reality, different income groups don’t differ much in their attitudes toward vegetarianism or veganism.
The Flexitarian Middle Ground
The 4% figure only captures people who fully identify as vegetarian. A much larger group is quietly eating less meat without adopting the label. A 2022 survey of 1,000 U.S. adults found that 38% of the population qualifies as flexitarian, meaning they’re actively reducing or replacing their meat intake, especially red and processed meats, without eliminating it entirely.
An additional 42% were categorized as “future flexitarians,” people who aren’t yet making conscious changes but show openness to reducing meat. That means roughly 8 in 10 Americans are either already cutting back on meat or potentially willing to. This is where the real dietary shift is happening: not in the jump to full vegetarianism, but in the gradual reduction of meat at the center of the plate. If you’ve noticed more “meatless Monday” references or colleagues ordering the veggie option at lunch, this is the trend driving it.
Where Plant-Based Eating Is Most Popular
Plant-based eating clusters heavily in certain parts of the country. Based on a combination of search trends, restaurant density, and community groups, the states with the highest concentration of plant-based residents are:
- Nevada: roughly 942 vegans per million people, boosted largely by Las Vegas’s diverse restaurant scene
- California: 838 per million, with 11 vegan restaurants per million residents
- Oregon: 688 per million, and the highest vegan restaurant density on this list at 16 per million
- Hawaii: 622 per million, with an unusually high number of animal welfare organizations per capita
- New York: 622 per million, driven heavily by New York City’s plant-based dining culture
Western and coastal states dominate the top of the list. States in the Southeast and Great Plains, where cattle ranching and barbecue traditions run deep, tend to rank lowest. Urban areas consistently outpace rural ones regardless of state, since cities offer more plant-based restaurant options and grocery variety.
Why the Number Stays at 4%
Fully eliminating meat is a significant lifestyle change, and most people who try vegetarianism don’t stick with it. Previous research has estimated that roughly 84% of people who adopt a vegetarian or vegan diet eventually return to eating meat. Social pressure, inconvenience, cravings, and nutritional concerns all play a role in that high dropout rate.
The 4% who remain vegetarian at any given time represent a mix of long-term committed vegetarians and newer adopters who may or may not stay. This revolving door helps explain why the percentage remains flat even though millions of Americans try meatless eating every year. People cycle in and out at roughly the same rate, keeping the snapshot number steady.
The more meaningful trend may not show up in the vegetarian percentage at all. It shows up in how much meat the average American eats per week, how many meals include a plant-based protein, and how normal it’s become to skip meat without calling yourself anything in particular. The 4% label holders are a small, stable group. The shift in American eating habits is happening around them, in the 38% who are simply eating less meat than they used to.