The U.S. had 2,065 measles cases this year as of Tuesday, the most since 1992, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But that’s way down from a peak of 27,808 in 1990 following the introduction of new guidelines urging people to get two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, said the CDC.
Cases dropped to 2,126 in 1992 and did not go over 1,000 again until 2019, when there were 1,274 cases.
Among the 2,065 cases, three patients died and 235 people were hospitalized — 105 patients under age 5, 53 between 5 and 19 years old, and 77 who were 20 years or older, the CDC said.
Overall in 2025, there were 537 measles cases under 5 years old, 865 between 5 and 19 years old, 650 ages 20 and up, and 13 cases where patients’ ages were unknown.
Geographically, there were 24 cases among international travelers in the U.S., 15 cases in New York City and 2,026 across 43 states.
There were no confirmed cases in the District of Columbia or in Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Carolina or West Virginia, according to the CDC.
The three states with the most cases were Texas with 803, Arizona with 196 and South Carolina with 181.
The CDC continues to urge Americans to get two doses of the MMR vaccine, with one dose being 93% effective at stopping measles and two doses being 97% effective.
Among the 2,065 confirmed cases nationwide in 2025, 93% involved people who were unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccine status, while 3% had taken one dose of the MMR vaccine and the remaining 4% had gotten two doses.
