Just how common are allergies? Here’s a look at some allergy facts and statistics from a variety of different sources:

1. Nearly 55% of Americans experience a reaction to at least one allergen. The most common sources are trees, grasses, weeds, mold, and dust mites. Around 50 million Americans suffer from allergy-related ailments, including sinusitis, hay fever and food allergies. (Grant, 2009)

2. As many as 30% of the world’s population suffer from airborne allergies. (Engelhaupt, 2020)

3. Nearly 20 million Americans, or about 8% of the population, suffer from seasonal allergies. (McGinty, 2019)

4. Around 60% of Americans who suffer from asthma or allergies are also allergic to cockroaches, whether dead or alive. (Miller, 2004, p. 49)

Food allergy statistics

1. In the U.S. an estimated 5.6 million children suffer from food allergies, which amounts to around 2-3 kids in every classroom of students. (Marantz-Henig, 2020)

2. Around 25% of parents think their child has a food allergy, yet only 8% or fewer of kids actually do, according to David Fleisher of the National Jewish Medical Research Center.

3. Of the roughly 8% of kids with a food allergy, 40% have a history of severe reactions. (Reddy, 2017)

4. Roughly 2% of kids have a peanut allergy. (Landhuis, 2019)

5. Children with food allergies are two- to four-times as likely as other kids to have related conditions, such as asthma or other allergies, according to a CDC report. (Szabo, 2008)

Allergy trends: The rising rates of allergies

Allergy rates have been on the rise in recent decades, largely as a consequence of our modern lifestyles:

1. According to 2010 study by pediatrician Scott Sicherer and his colleagues, the prevalence of childhood allergies more than tripled between 1997 and 2008, jumping from 0.6% to 2.1%. (Wallis, 2019)

2. The number of people hospitalized for severe allergic reactions to food between 2004 and 2006 was more than 3 1/2 times the number of those hospitalized from 1998 to 2000. (Szabo, 2008)

3. A study of insurance claims related to anaphylactic shock found that severe reactions to food allergies have risen nearly five-fold over the past decade. (Reddy, 8-22-2017)

4. The number of kids diagnosed with food allergies increased 18% from 1997-2007. (Szabo, 2008)