At a glance
- overall multivitamin use
- 31.2%
- 20-39
- 24%
- 40-59
- 29.8%
2014
2018
2018
| Group | Value |
|---|---|
| US adults overall (any MVM) | 31.2% |
| Adults aged 20-39 (MVM) (20-39) | 24% |
| Adults aged 40-59 (MVM) (40-59) | 29.8% |
| Adults aged 60+ (MVM) (60+) | 39.4% |
| Women aged 19-30 (MVM) (Women 19-30) | 26.1% |
| Men aged 19-30 (MVM) (Men 19-30) | 19.5% |
| Women aged 51-70 (MVM) (Women 51-70) | 36.2% |
| Men aged 51-70 (MVM) (Men 51-70) | 34.5% |
Key takeaways
- An estimated one-third of US adults currently take a multivitamin or multivitamin-mineral supplement, based on NIH Office of Dietary Supplements data.
- In 2011-2014 NHANES data, 31.2% of US adults aged 19 and older reported taking a multivitamin-mineral supplement in the past 30 days.
- In 2017-2018 NHANES data, multivitamin-mineral use rose from 24.0% among adults aged 20-39 to 39.4% among those aged 60 and older.
- Women reported higher multivitamin-mineral use than men across all age groups: 26.1% vs. 19.5% among adults aged 19-30, and 36.2% vs. 34.5% among those aged 51-70.
Multivitamin-mineral supplements are the most commonly used dietary supplement among US adults, a distinction that has held across NHANES survey cycles. The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements estimates that approximately one-third of all US adults currently use a multivitamin or multivitamin-mineral product.
NHANES data provide more precise figures across two cycles. In 2011-2014 NHANES, 31.2% of US adults aged 19 and older reported taking a multivitamin-mineral supplement in the past 30 days. In 2017-2018 NHANES, the age-group breakdown shows use rising from 24.0% among adults aged 20-39 to 29.8% among those aged 40-59 and 39.4% among those aged 60 and older.
Sex differences are also documented. In 2011-2014 NHANES, 26.1% of women aged 19-30 versus 19.5% of men reported multivitamin-mineral use. Among adults aged 51-70, the difference narrows: 36.2% of women versus 34.5% of men. Among those aged 71 and older, both sexes showed high use, with 44.0% of women and 40.9% of men.
Multivitamin-mineral products accounted for 14% of all supplement purchases and 38% of all vitamin and mineral supplement sales in 2019, with total sales of $8.0 billion, according to figures cited by NIH ODS. This market context reflects how broadly embedded multivitamin use is in US consumer behavior.
Multivitamin use was the most common supplement type across all three adult age groups in the 2017-2018 NHANES data brief, ranking above vitamin D and omega-3 products in every group. In the 20-39 age group, for example, 24.0% used multivitamins compared with 6.7% for vitamin D and 5.4% for omega-3 products.
We report these population-level figures to document how common multivitamin use is across the US adult population. These data describe supplement use patterns only and do not address the question of whether multivitamin use produces health benefits.
Methodology & sources
The one-third estimate and sex-by-age group figures (19.5%, 26.1%, 34.5%, 36.2%, 40.9%, 44.0%) are from 2011-2014 NHANES data cited by the NIH ODS Multivitamin/Mineral Supplements Health Professional Fact Sheet (ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/MVMS-HealthProfessional). The 31.2% figure is also from 2011-2014 NHANES. The age-group figures for 2017-2018 (24.0%, 29.8%, 39.4%) are from NCHS Data Brief No. 399. Both NHANES cycles used stratified multistage probability cluster sampling with product container verification. Data years differ between figures and are noted inline.
Sources
- Multivitamin/Mineral Supplements: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements., NIH Office of Dietary Supplements
- Dietary Supplement Use Among Adults: United States, 2017-2018. NCHS Data Brief No. 399., CDC National Center for Health Statistics
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a multivitamin and a multivitamin-mineral supplement?
A multivitamin contains multiple vitamins; a multivitamin-mineral product contains both vitamins and minerals such as calcium, magnesium, or zinc. NHANES surveys have used varying terminology across cycles. The figures cited here from NCHS Data Brief No. 399 and NIH ODS use 'multivitamin-mineral' to describe products containing three or more vitamins with or without minerals.
Are children included in these figures?
No. The NHANES age-group figures cited here (24.0%, 29.8%, 39.4%) and the 31.2% overall figure cover adults aged 19 and older. The NIH ODS fact sheet separately notes that about one-quarter of children and adolescents use multivitamin or multivitamin-mineral products.
Cite this page
Found this useful? Copy the citation below.
Supplements Unpacked. "Multivitamin Supplement Use in the US: Prevalence Data." https://supplementsunpacked.com/statistics/multivitamin-use (accessed 2026).