Just under a third of American adults use TikTok. Pew Research Center's 2026 survey puts it at 31% of US adults, up from 21% when Pew first asked about the app in 2021, and one in five US adults (20%) now regularly get news there.
That's the number I'd quote first, because it comes from an independent survey with a stated method. TikTok's own figures are bigger and sound better (more than 200 million Americans, over a billion users worldwide), but they're company claims measuring something different, so I've kept them in their own section further down. Everything below names the original source and the year of the data, and only independent sources are linked.
Last checked 12 November 2026.
Who uses TikTok in America
Pew's figures show TikTok is still a young person's app in the US. The age gap is wider than on most platforms, which matters if you're choosing where to spend a small marketing budget. If you're comparing it with other networks, my Instagram statistics page uses the same kind of independent survey data.
- 31% of US adults say they ever use TikTok (2026 data). Source: Pew Research Center.
- 21% of US adults used TikTok in 2021, the first year Pew has data for the app (2021 data). Source: Pew Research Center.
- 65% of US adults aged 18 to 29 use TikTok (2026 data). Source: Pew Research Center.
- 11% of US adults aged 65 and over use TikTok (2026 data). Source: Pew Research Center.
TikTok as a regular news source
This is the fastest-moving TikTok number. In 2020 just 3% of US adults regularly got news on the app. Pew's August 2026 survey puts it at 20%, and more than half of the people who use TikTok say they get news there.
- 20% of US adults regularly get news on TikTok, up from 3% in 2020 (August 2026 data). Source: Pew Research Center.
- 39% of US adults aged 18 to 29 regularly get news on TikTok (2026 data). Source: Pew Research Center.
- 53% of US TikTok users regularly get news on the platform (a share of TikTok users, not of all adults) (2026 data). Source: Pew Research Center.
- 40% of US adults regularly get news on Facebook, against 34% on YouTube, 23% on Instagram and 20% on TikTok (2026 data). Source: Pew Research Center.
- 35% of Hispanic US adults and 32% of Black US adults regularly get news on TikTok, against 14% of White adults (2026 data). Source: Pew Research Center.
Teenagers and the app
Pew surveyed US teens aged 13 to 17 in autumn 2025. Some of these figures are given by Pew as rounded 'roughly' shares, and I've kept that wording rather than turn them into exact percentages.
- 61% of US teens use TikTok daily (2025 data). Source: Pew Research Center.
- 21% of US teens say they're on TikTok almost constantly, up from 16% in 2022 (2025 data). Source: Pew Research Center.
- 75% of Democratic and Democratic-leaning US teens use TikTok, against 60% of Republican and Republican-leaning teens (2025 data). Source: Pew Research Center.
- About 8 in 10 US teen TikTok users say entertainment is a major reason they use the app (2025 data). Source: Pew Research Center.
- About 6 in 10 US teen TikTok users say they go there for product reviews (2025 data). Source: Pew Research Center.
- About 4 in 10 or more US teen users say news is a reason they use the app (Pew's wording covers TikTok and Instagram together) (2025 data). Source: Pew Research Center.
- 28% of US teen TikTok users say they spend too much time on it, while 44% of parents say the same about their teen (2025 data). Source: Pew Research Center.
- 15% of US teen TikTok users say what they see there makes them feel better, and 3% say it makes them feel worse (2025 data). Source: Pew Research Center.
Most teen users, about six in ten, told Pew it makes no difference to how they feel either way.
News habits on TikTok around the world
The Reuters Institute runs a separate survey across many countries. Its US figure (10%) is lower than Pew's 20% because it measures weekly news use in a different survey, so don't put the two side by side as if they were the same question.
- 20% of respondents across the markets surveyed used TikTok for news each week (2026 data). Source: Reuters Institute Digital News Report.
- 10% of US respondents and 7% of UK respondents used TikTok for news (2026 data). Source: Reuters Institute Digital News Report.
- 37% of respondents globally use TikTok for any purpose, up from 15% five years earlier (2026 data). Source: Reuters Institute Digital News Report.
- More than half (over 50%) of respondents in Thailand and Kenya use TikTok for news (2026 data). Source: Reuters Institute Digital News Report.
What creators need to earn rewards
These come from TikTok's US Creator Rewards Program Terms, last updated 20 July 2026. Requirements differ by country and TikTok can change them, so check the terms before you plan around them. If you want a rough idea of what a video might earn once you qualify, try my TikTok money calculator.
- 10,000 authentic followers is the minimum to join the US Creator Rewards Program (2026 terms). Source: TikTok Creator Rewards Program Terms (company document).
- 100,000 authentic video views in the 30 days before applying or being invited are also required (2026 terms). Source: TikTok Creator Rewards Program Terms (company document).
- 18 is the minimum age (or the age of majority where the creator lives) (2026 terms). Source: TikTok Creator Rewards Program Terms (company document).
- 1 minute is the minimum length for a video to be eligible for rewards (2026 terms). Source: TikTok Creator Rewards Program Terms (company document).
- $50.00 is the payout threshold, with payments made on the 15th of each month (TikTok can change it) (2026 terms). Source: TikTok Creator Rewards Program Terms (company document).
Platform size and Shop growth, by TikTok's own count
These are company figures. They're useful for showing what TikTok says about itself, but they aren't independent measurements, and the Shop numbers are footnoted by TikTok as internal data that may differ by region.
- 200 million+ Americans can keep using the app under the new US joint venture, according to TikTok (January 2026). Source: TikTok Newsroom (company announcement).
- 7.5 million US businesses use TikTok, according to the company (January 2026). Source: TikTok Newsroom (company announcement).
- Over 1 billion users is the reach TikTok for Business tells advertisers they can get in front of (undated page, read in 2026) (no measurement date given, read 12 November 2026). Source: TikTok for Business (company page).
- 80% annual sales growth on TikTok Shop in 2025 versus 2024 (2025 company data). Source: TikTok Shop seller site (company data).
- 120% growth in active e-commerce creators on TikTok Shop in 2025 versus 2024 (2025 company data). Source: TikTok Shop seller site (company data).
Key TikTok numbers in one table
| Measure | Figure | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| US adults who ever use TikTok | 31% | 2026 | Pew Research Center |
| US adults aged 18-29 who use TikTok | 65% | 2026 | Pew Research Center |
| US adults aged 65+ who use TikTok | 11% | 2026 | Pew Research Center |
| US adults who regularly get news on TikTok | 20% | 2026 | Pew Research Center |
| US adults aged 18-29 who regularly get news on TikTok | 39% | 2026 | Pew Research Center |
| US TikTok users who regularly get news there | 53% | 2026 | Pew Research Center |
| US teens who use TikTok daily | 61% | 2025 | Pew Research Center |
| US teens on TikTok almost constantly | 21% | 2025 | Pew Research Center |
| Respondents who use TikTok for news, global | 20% | 2026 | Reuters Institute |
| Respondents who use TikTok for news, US | 10% | 2026 | Reuters Institute |
| Respondents who use TikTok for news, UK | 7% | 2026 | Reuters Institute |
Questions people ask about TikTok
How many US adults use TikTok?
Pew Research Center found 31% of US adults said they ever use TikTok in its 2026 survey, compared with 21% in 2021.
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How many Americans get news from TikTok?
Pew found 20% of US adults regularly get news on TikTok in August 2026, including 39% of adults aged 18 to 29 and 53% of TikTok users.
How much do US teens use TikTok?
Pew found 61% of US teens use TikTok daily and 21% say they're on it almost constantly (2025 data).
What do you need to join the TikTok Creator Rewards Program in the US?
TikTok's US terms ask for at least 10,000 authentic followers, at least 100,000 authentic video views in the last 30 days and an age of 18 or over. Rewarded videos must run at least one minute.
How many people use TikTok for news worldwide?
The Reuters Institute's 2026 report found 20% of respondents across its markets use TikTok for news, against 10% in the US and 7% in the UK.
Is TikTok's 200 million figure the same as Pew's 31%?
No. More than 200 million is TikTok's own count of Americans who can keep using the app, while 31% is Pew's survey share of US adults, so they measure different things.
How to cite this page
You're welcome to quote any figure here in an article, report or presentation. Please link to this page and name the original source beside the number, so your readers can check it.
Page URL: https://www.lilachbullock.com/tiktok-statistics/
Suggested citation: Lilach Bullock, 'TikTok statistics', lilachbullock.com/tiktok-statistics/, 2026. Cite the original source named beside each figure.
How this page was checked
An original source here means the organisation that ran the survey or wrote the terms: Pew Research Center, the Reuters Institute at the University of Oxford, and TikTok itself for its own rules and company figures. Each figure was matched against the text of the source page. Independent research is linked; company-published figures from TikTok are named but not linked.
