CDC's ADDM network reports autism prevalence at 1 in 31 eight-year-olds
Why it matters
The prevalence number is the factual backdrop to the entire debate. Whether one reads the rise as better detection or a real increase, 1 in 31 is the figure the reform movement and its critics are arguing about, so the Foundation reports it precisely.
The CDC's 2025 Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network report, based on 2022 surveillance data, identified autism spectrum disorder in 1 in 31 (3.2%) eight-year-old children across 16 U.S. communities, up from 1 in 36 in the prior report.
Prevalence varied widely by site, from about 1 in 103 in Laredo, Texas to roughly 1 in 19 in parts of California. The CDC attributes much of that spread to differences in identification practices, diagnostic access, and services rather than to differences in underlying risk.
The reform movement cites the long-run climb as reason to examine environmental and vaccine-schedule factors; mainstream researchers emphasize expanded screening and broader diagnostic criteria. Both readings of the number appear here, with the ADDM data behind them.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cited the figure in calling for an intensified federal effort to identify environmental causes, rejecting the mainstream emphasis on improved screening. The rise from roughly 1 in 150 two decades ago is the central fact of the debate, whichever explanation one favors.
Source
CDC, ADDM NetworkRelated coverage
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