In the next paragraphs, you will be reading about 30 detailed tattoo statistics for 2025.
So, whether you have a tattoo or two, or are considering getting a tattoo, you will learn the ups, downs, and other nuances of tattoos.
A tattoo is a permanent ink pigmentation injected just under the skin’s surface to create an image, words, or other decorative graphic.
People have tattoos with their partner’s name on their body, butterflies on their back, full-body tattoos, and many other types of tattoos.
We have gathered 30 statistics for your enjoyment, inspiration, and general information about tattoos.
Key Statistics
- Over half of all Americans under 40 years old have tattoos.
- Over 145 million Americans have tattoos.
- Women who have tattoos outnumber men who have tattoos by 18%.
- Millennials represent 41% of all people with tattoos.
- 65% of fashion designers prefer employees with tattoos.
- $1.65 billion is the amount spent on tattoos yearly.
- The oldest known tattooed person is a mummy named Otzi the Iceman.
- 92% of people with tattoos have no regrets.
- By 2027, the tattoo removal industry will be worth $795 million.
- 56 hours and 36 minutes is the record for the longest tattoo session.
- Surprisingly, female tattoo artists make more than male tattoo artists.
Detailed Tattoo Statistics
1. Over Half of All Americans Under 40 Years Old Have Tattoos.
A January 2022 Rasmussen Report reveals that 67% of adults in America have no tattoos. However, 21% have at least two tattoos.
Over 145 million Americans have tattoos.
Around 35% have at least one tattoo.
Roughly 9% of people have over 6 tattoos.
2. There Are 21,000 Recorded Tattoo Parlors in The United States.
Statistics reveal that there are an estimated 21,000 tattoo parlors in America that are registered and licensed to tattoo people.
This only represents the shops and parlors that offer tattooing; not all the tattoo artists who may or may not be licensed and registered.
3. Italy Has the Most People with At Least One Tattoo.
You may think that the United States is the country with the most residents with tattoos, but Italy takes the number one spot for people with at least one tattoo.
The statistics show that 48% of people in Italy have at least one tattoo.
Sweden ranked second at 47%, while the United States ranked third at 46%.
4. Women Who Have Tattoos Outnumber Men Who Have Tattoos by 18%.
According to statistics gathered from research reported by Lightspeed, women are more agreeable about getting a tattoo than men.
About 59% of women report having at least one tattoo.
In comparison, 41% of men report having at least one tattoo. Just a few short years ago, a woman getting a tattoo was taboo, but now they are getting tattooed more often than men.
5. It’s Illegal to Have a Tattoo in Islamic Countries.
The reason they have made tattoos illegal in countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, the UAE, Yemen, and Malaysia has to do with Sharia Law and religion.
If you are visiting these countries and have tattoos, you must cover them.
In Iran, tattoos are considered forbidden by God. So, anyone with a tattoo can be fined, arrested, or placed in prison.
In Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia, tattoos are illegal and have been banned by Sharia Law.
In the UAE, it’s illegal because it’s considered self-harm. In Malaysia, tattoos with religious quotes or symbols are illegal.
In Yemen, tattoos aren’t necessarily forbidden, but anyone with a tattoo can be accountable to Sharia Law.
Other countries where tattoos are either illegal or highly restricted include North Korea, South Korea, Cuba, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and some European countries
6. Millennials Represent 41% of All People with Tattoos.
Two in five Millennials have at least one tattoo. Among those from Generation Z, 32% have tattoos, and one-in-ten Baby Boomers have at least one tattoo, which accounts for 13% of all people with tattoos.
These stats come from Ipsos.
7. 65% of Fashion Designers Prefer Employees with Tattoos.
Of all the industries in a study by The Knowledge Academy, fashion designers ranked the highest for preferring employees with tattoos.
The beauty industry ranked second at 43%.
At the other end of the spectrum, 2% of MPs and 8% of lawyers said they prefer employees with tattoos.
Which industry didn’t mind either way? Football players at 75%.
8. 40% of People Choose Their Forearm for Tattoo Placement.
The forearm is where most people prefer to get a tattoo, according to the statistics.
Another 39% choose the back; 24% choose their hand or wrist; 33% choose their upper arms; 28% choose their shoulders; 23% want a tattoo on their lower leg, and 22% choose their ankle or foot for tattoo placement.
The other end of tattoo placement includes the stomach or neck at 12%, neck at 12%, side or thigh at 11%, buttocks and pelvis area at 5%, and the face is last at 5%.
Tattoo Industry Statistics
9. $1.65 Billion Is the Amount Spent on Tattoos Yearly.
In America, people spend an annual amount of $1.65 billion on tattoos.
The average cost for a small tattoo is $45, and for a large tattoo $150. In the UK, an extra small tattoo can cost as much as £60 to £90.
10. The Tattoo Industry Has a Market Size of Over $3 Billion in The US.
The tattoo industry is worth a lot of money, even in the wake of the pandemic and the after effects of the global lockdowns.
According to the statistics, the industry is growing, and there are no signs of it slowing down.
11. Ipsos Research Revealed that The Number of Americans with Tattoos Rose by 9% Between 2012 and 2019.
Ipsos is a market research company that showed that in 2012, about 21% of Americans had tattoos compared to 30% in 2019.
Oddly, Canadian figures are almost the same. It seems the age of expression continues.
12. 40% of Tattoo Wearers Claimed to Be 18 or Younger when They Got Their First Tattoo.
In 2019, 40% of people with tattoos said they were 18 or younger when they got their first ink.
The next level of people with tattoos got theirs between the ages of 19 and 29. At the other end of the age spectrum, only 2% of people between 50 and 59 got their first tattoos.
Fun Tattoo Facts
This section of the article will discuss some interesting and fun tattoo facts.
13. The Oldest Known Tattooed Person Is a Mummy Named Otzi the Iceman.
The group that found Otzi the Iceman named him because he was found in the Otzal Alps.
His mummy was found between Austria and Italy in 1991. It’s believed this mummy is from between 3370 BC and 3100 BC.
The experts counted 61 tattoos all over his body. The tats were mostly on his knees, kidney area, and ankles.
The tattoos are believed to have been made using fire ash. Since this discovery, more tattooed human remains have been found in 49 other locations.
14. Lucky Diamond Rich Is the Most Tattooed Man on The Globe.
Gregory Paul McLaren is a man from New Zealand born of Australian Aboriginal heritage.
His claim to fame is that he is tattooed over 99.9% of his body, making him Guinness’ most tattooed man in the world.
Lucky Diamond Rich started getting tattoos at age 16 and has gone through over 1,000 hours of tattooing in his lifetime.
15. Billy Gibby Is Called Billy the Human Billboard Because of His Tattoos.
Billy Gibby is an amateur boxer who lives in Alaska. While he’s living his dream of being a boxer, he is making his living by selling “space’ on his body for tattoos.
The tattoos on Gibby’ body are logos of corporate sponsors. By 2010, Gibby had 26 corporate logo tattoos on his body.
Since those days, Gibby has gotten married and is the father of five children. He has been getting his facial tattoos surgically removed since 2018.
16. Martin Hildebrandt Is the First-Known Professional Tattoo Artist in America.
Hildebrandt arrived in Boston in 1846 and opened a tattoo parlor just after the Civil War era.
He is believed to have been the first tattooist in New York City. There is very little known about Hildebrandt, but what is known appears to be inaccurate or contrived.
17. In 2007, Tommy Lee Became the First Man to Get a Tattoo Done on An Airplane.
Tommy Lee, well-known bass player for the band Motley Crue, got a tattoo done 40,000 feet in the air.
The tattoo artist was Mario Barth, who made it into the Guinness Book of World records for tattooing Lee in the air, and is also the inventor of one-time use sterile inks.
18. Aging and The Sun Can Affect how Your Tattoo Looks.
According to data, the elastin in your skin starts breaking down as you age, mostly because of the harmful UV rays emitted by the sun. Even taking good care of your tattoo won’t stop it from changing as you age.
There are things you can do to slow the tattoo aging process, but ultimately, it will look different even 10 years after you have it done.
Tattoos and Regret
Do people regret getting tattoos?
Yes.
Some people do regret getting tattoos enough to have them removed.
How common does tattoo regret happen?
Tattoo removal often costs more than the tattoo itself, so if you plan to get a tattoo, be sure you want one.
Let’s look at some statistics about tattoo regret and removal.
19. Tattoo Removal Can Cost from $423 to Over $4,000.
The cost of tattoo removal depends on the size, skin color, body part, ink depth, ink color, and if there are any scars involved.
Laser tattoo removal comes with a $423 price tag for a small tattoo, and can cost as much as $4,000 to remove a large one.
Insurance doesn’t cover tattoo removal, so you will have to pay for it out of pocket.
20. It’s Believed that By 2027 the Tattoo Removal Market Will Reach $795 Million.
The tattoo removal industry is expected to grow in the coming years.
Whether that’s due to tattoo regret, or for other reasons is yet to be uncovered.
Not only is this industry expected to swell between now and 2027, the technology used for tattoo removal is expected to improve.
21. The Biggest Tattoo Regret Is Getting a Name Tattooed on The Body.
Tattoos are so accepted these days that they are even replacing wedding bands for some couples.
Also, people have almost always gotten their partner’s name tattooed somewhere on their body.
What happens when that relationship ends? Tattoo regret happens, that’s what. This tattoo regret happens most with men.
22. 92% of People with Tattoos Have No Regrets.
According to a 2019 Ipsos poll, 92% of people who have a tattoo don’t regret getting it.
Most people are happy with their tattoo, so the likelihood of tattoo removal in these instances is low.
23. A Common Reason for Tattoo Removal Is Not Liking how It Looks.
While most people with tattoos have no regrets, it seems that some who don’t like the design or something else about the tattoo will have it removed.
It can happen soon after the tattoo or even years later as the tattoo changes due to age.
Tattoo Artist Statistics
What about the people who do the tattooing? Here are some interesting statistics about tattoo artists you will enjoy.
24. 56 Hours and 36 Minutes Is the Record for The Longest Tattoo Session.
In 2016, tattoo artist Krzsztof Barnas stayed awake for more than 2 days to complete a tattooing session of 11 distinct tattoos.
He beat the record of 6 hours by a long shot. He said he relied heavily on coffee.
He only took 5 minutes for every hour worked throughout the event, including bathroom breaks and food
25. There Are More Male Tattoo Artists than Females.
Among the world’s tattoo artists, 75% are men and 25% are women. There is no data to report based on the gender gap in this industry.
It’s more about career choice than gender.
26. Surprisingly, Female Tattoo Artists Make More than Male Tattoo Artists.
Though the gender gap is real in the tattoo artist realm, the income gap swings in the female direction.
Female tattoo artists make $1.05 for every $1.00 earned by male tattoo artists. It may not seem like a lot, but it adds up over time.
27. 59% of Tattoo Artists Are Caucausian, Accounting for The Biggest Ethnicity Demographic.
While over half of all tattoo artists are white, 21.4% are Hispanic or Latino, and 10% are Black or African American.
The Asian tattoo artist market share is 6.1%. There is a 2.8% unknown ethnicity among tattoo artists, and 0.7% are American Indians and Alaska Natives.
28. The Average Age Range for Tattoo Artists Is 40 Years Old and Older at 50%.
The age demographic is spread across all races and genders for these statistics.
The next largest age demographic for tattoo artists is in the 20- to 30-year-old range. The other 20% belongs to the 30- to 40-year-old crowd.
29. Most Tattoo Artists Have at Least a High School Diploma.
Statistics reveal that 39% of tattoo artists have their high school diploma.
Another 23% of tattoo artists have their bachelors degree and 20% have their associates degree.
The wage earnings are higher for those with higher education.
30. the Average Time that A Tattoo Artist Stays at Their Job Is Between 1 and 2 Years.
Data shows that 26% of tattoo artists stay at their job for one to two years.
Oddly, 17% of tattoo artists stay at their jobs for less than a year, but also for between 5 and 7 years, and 11 years or longer.
FAQs
What Designs Are Most Used for Tattoos?
The most-used tattoo designs come from Chinese and Japanese symbols.
Other popular tattoo designs include classic Americana, Tribal, Realism, Watercolor, New School, Neo-Traditional, Blackwork, Illustrative, and Chicano designs.
How Do Tattoo Artists Practice Their Art?
Tattoo artists often use oranges, lemons, and grapefruits to practice tattooing designs. Some even use bananas to practice.
The reason they use these fruits is because of their texture. Other things they use to practice their art include pig skin and synthetic skin.
Do People Get Addicted to Tattoos?
More than 32% of people with tattoos claim to be addicted to getting more.
Obviously, this group doesn’t experience tattoo regret.
Which Ink Color Is the Easiest to Remove?
Regarding tattoo inks, black is the easiest of all colors to remove.
Black is a very common ink color for tattoos.
How Long Does It Take for Tattoos to Heal?
Since everyone’s healing ability and process is different, it commonly takes between two weeks to several months for a tattoo to totally heal.
Smaller tattoos on thicker skin usually heal faster than large tattoos.
Tattoos will also heal faster with proper care.
Conclusion
Tattoos have been used for the identification of families or tribes for centuries. Now, most tattoos are a means for self-expression and are decorative in nature.
Most people do get tattoos that have meaning.
Tattoos are body art created by tattoo artists who are highly creative and skilled people.
This factor is so important that people often choose a tattoo artist for their popularity or for their tattoo style.
Tattoo industry statistics reveal that there is a potential for the tattoo industry to experience some slow times, but will grow again in popularity.
Due to the nature of tattoos, it’s not likely that this mode of self-expression will ever fade away.
Tattoos were once taboo in the workplace, but are more accepted today than ever.
This fact has resulted in some uptake of people getting tattoos that they might normally steer clear of because of their job or career.
No matter how you feel about tattoos, you know more about them than you would before you read this article.
We hope you have enjoyed these tattoo statistics, and have gotten something out of this information.
