Adoption Statistics
This post was updated on August 1, 2026, to give you the most current information.
An at-a-glance overview of United States adoption trends by type since 2000
32%
Decline in adoptions from foster care since peaking in 2019
15,030
Youth aged out of foster care without a permanent family in 2025
96%
Decline in intercountry adoptions since peaking in 2004
67,249
U.S. foster children were waiting to be adopted at the end of 2025
3%
Increase in private domestic adoptions since 2019
60,828
Children were in foster care for 2+ years before exiting in 2025
Annual Adoptions by Type
Sources:
Adoption from foster care: US Children's Bureau AFCARS Reports & Dashboard
Intercountry adoption: US Department of State Statistics
Private domestic adoption: National Council For Adoption's Adoption by the Numbers reports
Reporting periods: For intercountry adoptions and adoptions from foster care, the reporting period is the federal fiscal year. Different reporting periods were used in estimates for private domestic adoptions.
A note about private domestic adoption data: Data from 2014 solely included unrelated, domestic, infant adoptions (including those from the public system). Data from 2019 to 2022 solely included private, domestic, non-stepparent adoptions. Adoptions in U.S. territories and by Americans residing overseas have been excluded from private domestic adoption data.
A note about foster care data: Data are underreported in FY23 and FY24 (FY23 is missing data from WA and WY; FY24 is missing data from WA). “Children awaiting adoption” refers to children in foster care with an adoption permanency plan. Not all children with adoption permanency plans are legally free for adoption.
