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According to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 27.6% of Americans had at least 1 visit to an urgent care center in 2024. By comparison, only 19% of Americans reported visiting a retail health clinic in 2024, suggesting urgent care is the clear setting of choice for on-demand care. Looking at the populations by age, adults ages 18–64 represented the largest portion of the total urgent care visits (28.9%). Children ages 0–17 years represented 28.5% of urgent care visits, and adults 65 years and older represented 21.9% of visits. Among adults, urgent care visits were highest among those living in large fringe metropolitan areas with a population of 1 million or more, according to CDC. Previous data from 2019 shows 29.2% of U.S. adults had 1 or more urgent care or retail health clinic visits in the previous 12 months, although that analysis did not separate the urgent care visits from the retail clinic visits.
By generation: Exclusive analysis of 2025 Experity EMR visit data conducted by Urgent Care Consultants shows urgent care utilization skews heavily toward younger adults. Gen Z and Millennials combined (born 1981–2012) account for more than 51% of all urgent care visits despite representing only 43% of the U.S. population. Read more in this recent JUCM analysis: Which Generation Uses Urgent Care The Most?