A Focus on America’s tattoo obsession

2 min readOct 7, 2016

The American Medical Association recently published what’s considered to be the best scientific survey of tattoo removal, detailing which tattoos are hardest to remove (blue ink) and what factors reduce the odds of erasing the damn thing (smoking). The report is a sure sign that tattoos — once the province of rock stars and sailors — have become mainstream.

Here’s a numerical guide to America’s tattoo obsession:

$2.3 billion — Annual revenue of the tattoo industry
Percentage of US adults with at least one tattoo:
ages 18–25: 36%
ages 26–40: 40%

45Million Americans have at least one tattoo
21,000 — Tattoo parlors in America
23% — Americans who have a tattoo
32% — Americans claim to be addicted to ink
11% — have had a tattoo removed
43% — consider personal meaning to be the most important factor
29% — say their tattoos make them feel rebellious
31% - say tattoos make them feel more sexy
21% - of Canadian who have a tattoo
36% - of 13-to-25-year-olds who have a tattoo
40% - of 30-to-39-year-olds who have a tattoo
11% - Percent of 50-to-64-year-olds who have a tattoo

$80 to $100 - Average per hour cost of a tattoo
$150/hour - Average per hour cost of a big piece tattoo
$150-$350 - Per hour cost of a tattoo in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Over the past five years, the Tattoo Artists industry has fared well, driven by many consumers receiving tattoos as they have become less of a taboo.

Please check inkstinct.co for more informations.