Tattoo Statistics

• 17% of those who have tattoos, regret them. The most often reason for regret is “It’s a name of another person”.
• More women regret their tattoos than men.
• United States have more than 20,000 tattoo parlors. This number grows by one every day.
• Of those who have tattoos, 70% have more than one tattoo and 20% have more than five.
• 36% of Americans between the age of 18 and 29 have at least one tattoo.
• 72% of adults with tattoos have tattoos that are usually hidden by clothing.
• In 2012, 21% of Americans had one or more tattoos. That is around 45 million people in US alone.
• 30% of all college graduates in United States have tattoos.
• The most common place for a tattoo in women is ankle (27%) and in men is upper back shoulder (34%). 5% of those that do not like their tattoos decide to cover it with another tattoo instead to remove it.
• In Australia, 47% of tattoos that are removed with a Q-switched laser, require up to 10 sessions to be successfully removed. 26% of tattoos require more than 15. 5% of those that do not like their tattoos decide to cover it with another tattoo instead to remove it.
• United States citizens spend $1.65 billion a year on tattoos.
• 31% of those that have tattoo feel that tattoo made them sexy, 29% feel that it made them (or shows them as) rebellious, while 5% feels that a tattoo shows them as intelligent.
• The most searched language as an inspiration for tattoos is Japanese.
• In the U.S., 15 % of men and 13% of women have tattoos.
• 36% of military veterans and those that currently serve the Army in United States have tattoos.
• 69% of people do not see people with tattoos any more or less deviant than people without tattoos.

Dr. Wetherington is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. He is a member of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. He is a former President of the Georgia Society of Plastic Surgeons.