(WGN) – Look at the person to your left. Look at the person to your right. Odds are, one of you has at least one tattoo.
A new survey conducted by the Pew Research Center appears to suggest that sporting a tattoo has become broadly accepted among Americans in recent decades. What’s more, Pew’s study indicates a trend which seems to span fairly evenly across a variety of demographics.
The survey, which polled nearly 8,500 people, found that 32% of adults say they have at least one tattoo — and the majority of those adults actually had more than one.
As for who is most likely to have a tattoo, the survey broke down results by: gender; race and ethnicity; age; education; income; religion; and sexual orientation. Those demographics were further broken down by the likelihood of having only a single tattoo versus multiple tattoos.
Though the combined percentages show a decent amount of variance, the likelihood of having a single tattoo is almost equal across all groups at approximately 11%.
What do the combined percentages show?
% of surveyed Americans who have at least one tattoo
Total: 32%
Gender
- Men: 27%
- Women: 38%
Race and Ethnicity
- White: 32%
- Black: 39%
- Hispanic: 35%
- Asian: 14%
Age
- 18-29: 41%
- 30-49: 46%
- 50-64: 25%
- 65+: 13%
Education
- H.S. or less: 39%
- Some College: 35%
- Bachelor’s: 24%
- Postgraduate: 21%
Income
- Lower: 43%
- Middle: 31%
- Higher: 21%
Sexual Orientation
- LGB: 51%
- Straight: 31%
The survey also found there were no major differences in likelihood to have a tattoo between political affiliations; between veterans and non-veterans; and whether someone lived in an urban, suburban, or rural community.
As for why so many Americans have tattoos, the most commonly cited reason (at 69%) was to honor or remember someone or something.
The full survey results, which include findings concerning the perception of tattoos, can be found at the Pew Research Center’s official website.
