Health screening statistics show that participation differs substantially by screening type, age, education, usual care, and household conditions. In 2023, 80.0% of U.S. women aged 50–74 were up to date with breast screening, compared with 75.4% of women aged 21–65 who were up to date with cervical screening and 67.4% of adults aged 45–75 who were up to date with colorectal screening. These estimates come from the CDC report Use of Cancer Screening Tests, United States, 2023.
Contents
- National coverage and benchmarks
- Breast cancer screening
- Cervical cancer screening
- Colorectal cancer screening
- Usual care and wellness visits
- Transportation, food security, and cost
National coverage and benchmarks
The 2023 national estimates provide a broad comparison of screening coverage among the populations measured:
- Breast screening was up to date for 80.0% of U.S. women aged 50–74.
- Cervical screening was up to date for 75.4% of U.S. women aged 21–65.
- Colorectal screening was up to date for 67.4% of U.S. adults aged 45–75.
The same CDC report lists Healthy People 2030 targets as reported in 2023. The breast screening target was 80.3%, the cervical screening target was 79.2%, and the colorectal screening target was 68.3%. The targets are future benchmarks reported in the 2023 publication, not additional 2023 coverage estimates.
| Screening measure | 2023 coverage | Healthy People 2030 target reported in 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Breast, women aged 50–74 | 80.0% | 80.3% |
| Cervical, women aged 21–65 | 75.4% | 79.2% |
| Colorectal, adults aged 45–75 | 67.4% | 68.3% |
The report also gives age-standardized estimates. Mammography use among women aged 50–74 was 79.8%, age-standardized cervical screening use among women aged 21–65 was 75.8%, and age-standardized colorectal screening use among adults aged 45–75 was 63.5%. These are reported measures and should not be treated as interchangeable with the up-to-date percentages above.
Breast cancer screening
Breast screening varied by age within the measured populations. Among U.S. women aged 40–49, 62.1% had received a mammogram within the previous two years in 2023. Among women aged 50–74, age-standardized mammography use was 79.8%. Within that older age range, 79.0% of women aged 50–64 were up to date, compared with 81.6% of women aged 65–74.
The 2023 U.S. National Health Interview Survey results in the CDC report show differences by race and education. Breast screening was up to date for 80.3% of Asian women aged 50–74 and 85.6% of Black or African American women in the same age range. By education, 70.4% of women aged 50–74 with less than a high-school education were up to date, compared with 83.5% of women with a college degree.
The breast figures use different age ranges and definitions: the 40–49 statistic measures a mammogram within two years, while the 50–74 figures describe screening that was up to date. Keeping those scopes separate matters when comparing results.
Cervical cancer screening
Cervical screening also differed by age. In 2023, screening was up to date for 63.7% of U.S. women aged 21–29, 82.7% of women aged 30–39, 76.5% of women aged 40–49, and 77.6% of women aged 50–65. The age-standardized estimate for women aged 21–65 was 75.8%.
Among women aged 21–65 in the 2023 U.S. NHIS, cervical screening was up to date for 67.8% of Asian women, 72.7% of Black or African American women, and 67.1% of Hispanic women. Education was also associated with a different reported rate: 83.5% of women aged 21–65 with a college degree were up to date.
These figures describe screening status in 2023 for specified age groups. They do not establish why a particular group had a higher or lower rate, and they should not be used to infer individual screening recommendations.
Colorectal cancer screening
Colorectal screening rose across the reported age bands. In 2023, 37.1% of U.S. adults aged 45–49 were up to date, compared with 67.8% of adults aged 50–64 and 82.7% of adults aged 65–75. The age-standardized estimate for adults aged 45–75 was 63.5%.
Women had a reported up-to-date rate of 68.6%, compared with 66.0% for men aged 45–75. By race and ethnicity, the rates were 58.4% for Asian adults, 67.5% for Black or African American adults, and 53.8% for Hispanic adults. Among adults with a college degree, 74.0% were up to date.
The report also separates colorectal screening by test type. Colonoscopy within the previous 10 years was reported by 53.4% of adults aged 45–75. FIT or fecal occult blood testing within the recommended interval was reported by 9.3% of adults in that age range. These test-specific percentages are components of screening use and should not be added together without a compatible methodology.
Usual care and wellness visits
Having an established connection to care was associated with higher reported screening participation in several 2023 comparisons. Among women aged 50–74 without a usual source of care, 58.1% were up to date with breast screening. Among women aged 21–65 without a usual source of care, 62.7% were up to date with cervical screening.
The contrast was also visible for recent wellness visits. Only 19.5% of women aged 50–74 without a wellness check within three years were up to date with breast screening. For cervical screening, 77.9% of women aged 21–65 with a wellness check within three years were up to date, compared with 39.6% without one.
| Access measure | With the reported care connection | Without the reported care connection |
|---|---|---|
| Breast screening, women 50–74: usual source of care | — | 58.1% |
| Breast screening, women 50–74: wellness check within 3 years | — | 19.5% |
| Cervical screening, women 21–65: wellness check within 3 years | 77.9% | 39.6% |
| Colorectal screening, adults 45–75: usual source of care | 71.5% | 41.1% |
| Colorectal screening, adults 45–75: wellness check within 3 years | 70.6% | 18.0% |
For mammography among women aged 40–49, 41.1% of those without a usual source of care had received a mammogram within the previous two years. For colorectal screening, 71.5% of adults aged 45–75 with a usual source of care were up to date, compared with 41.1% without a usual source of care. Adults with a wellness check within three years had a 70.6% colorectal rate, compared with 18.0% among those without one.
The available comparisons show an association between reported access measures and screening status. They do not, by themselves, measure causation or account for every difference between groups.
Transportation, food security, and cost
Transportation problems were associated with lower reported screening rates in 2023. Among breast-screening-eligible women, 67.0% of those reporting unreliable transportation were up to date, compared with 81.0% reporting no transportation problem. For cervical screening, the corresponding figures were 68.7% and 76.2%. For colorectal screening, 59.5% of adults reporting unreliable transportation were up to date, compared with 68.1% reporting no transportation problem.
Food security showed a similar pattern in the reported comparisons. Breast screening was up to date for 81.2% of eligible women with high food security and 63.1% with very low food security. Cervical screening was up to date for 77.0% of women with high food security and 67.3% with very low food security. For colorectal screening, the rates were 68.8% among adults with high food security and 57.4% among adults with very low food security.
The ability to pay household bills was another reported difference. Among breast-screening-eligible women unable to pay a mortgage, rent, or utility bills, 66.6% were up to date. The corresponding cervical screening rate was 71.3%, and the colorectal rate among eligible adults was 56.3%.
Cost-related delays in medical care were also recorded. Among adults aged 45–75 who delayed or did not get medical care because of cost, 53.0% were up to date with colorectal screening. Among women aged 50–74 in the same cost-barrier comparison, 65.5% were up to date with breast screening. For women aged 21–65, 68.5% were up to date with cervical screening.
Together, these 2023 measures describe differences in screening participation alongside transportation, food security, household-payment difficulty, and cost-related care delays. They are population estimates for the stated U.S. age groups and conditions, not predictions of an individual’s screening status.