Introduction
Native Americans, more formally known as American Indians and Alaska Natives, are people who are indigenous to the North American continent. They are sovereign tribal nations who have control over their land and its people, and whose authority predates the establishment of the United States.
We use the official term American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN) in this snapshot. A person who identifies as AIAN is either categorized as such by blood or by way of a federally recognized tribe or village by the United States. However, in government surveys, people can choose to identify themselves as AIAN without satisfying either of these requirements.
The US Census has two broad definitions of race. Individuals can either identify exclusively as one race (“alone”) or alongside one or more races (“in combination”). When referencing race/ethnicity statistics in this snapshot, we will specify which definition is being used.
Demographics
In 2025, there were 575 federally recognized tribes, 325 American Indian reservations and 221 Alaska Native villages. However, accurate estimates of the total number of AIAN Americans vary widely. This is in part due to their low share of the total population, which translates into lower representation in surveys.
According to the 2020 US Census, 3.7 million Americans identified as AIAN alone while 9.7 million identified as AIAN alone or in combination with another race. In 2024, 4.3 million individuals identified as AIAN alone, while 7.1 million identified as AIAN alone or in combination with another race.
There has been a dramatic increase in the AIAN population in the last two decades. Because of the ability for respondents to write-in their race and ancestry, the number of people who identify as AIAN in combination with another race increased 160% between 2010 and 2020.
As shown in the chart below, the largest self-identified tribal affiliation is Cherokee, followed by Aztec, Navajo Nation and Maya.
A tribal area is land that is governed by a Native American tribe. They exercise sovereign authority over the laws and commerce on the land, which is typically held in a trust by the United States government. Most people who identify as AIAN alone live outside of a tribal area, with only 24% living on reservations or other tribal lands. For those who identify as AIAN in combination, 95% live outside of tribal lands.
Over half (50.9%) of the American Indian alone population live in five states, with Oklahoma having the largest American Indian alone population (14.2%), followed by Arizona (12.9%), California (9.9%), New Mexico (9.1%) and Texas (4.8%).
Wealth
Due to their small share of the population, those categorized as AIAN are typically excluded from surveys that measure wealth, such as the Survey of Consumer Finances. Because of this, the data on wealth held by AIAN individuals and tribes themselves is sparse. One report using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth found that the wealth of Native American communities held at about 8.7% of the wealth of the median household ($5,700 for AIAN versus $65,500 for the median household).
Measuring the wealth of tribal nations themselves is also difficult, though some tribes have greater resources than others. For example, some tribal nations have benefited from the proliferation of casinos. About 523 tribal casinos, operated by 251 tribes, produce $39 billion in revenue annually, which constitutes 42% of all annual gaming revenue.
Tribal areas face challenges in accessing credit. While homeownership is the main method most Americans use to generate wealth, none of the three largest home lenders in the US issue federally-guaranteed mortgages for the construction of new permanent homes within tribal lands. Additionally, because of the small size of some tribal communities, certain lenders can dominate the market and establish monopoly power in lending.
Income and Poverty
In 2024, those categorized American Indian and Alaskan Natives alone had a median household income of $59,050. Persons who identified as AIAN who lived on native or tribal lands earned less than those who lived outside of native or tribal lands. The former earned about 66% of the median household income, while the latter earned a slightly higher percentage at 75%.
The chart below shows that the income level for AIAN individuals is similar to that of African Americans and among the lowest of all racial groups:
American Indian and Alaska Natives have the highest poverty rate of all racial groups in the United States. The family poverty rate for AIAN alone individuals is 17.7%. This aggregate figure masks the full extent to which AIAN families living on tribal lands are grappling with poverty. 22% of Native Americans living on reservations have incomes below the poverty line. In addition to differences between on and off-reservation poverty levels, disparities exist between Native tribal nations.
The Navajo Nation Reservation is by far the largest in the United States by land mass, while the Cherokee Nation is the largest reservation by population. The difference in poverty levels between these two nations illustrates the shortcomings of lumping all AIAN communities into one. According to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 32% of Navajo Nation families have incomes below the poverty level. For the Cherokee Nation, one of the wealthier Native nations, only 12% of families live in poverty. Other smaller nations have even higher levels of poverty. For example, 48% of families on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota live in poverty.
Work and Labor
American Indian and Alaska Natives work across a diverse range of occupations. While they are less likely to work in management/professional roles compared to the general population, they are more likely to work blue-collar jobs in industries such as natural resources, construction  logistics and service occupations. AIANs are distributed among industries similarly to the overall population, with healthcare and education (22.2%), retail trade (11.4%) and professional services (11%) industries comprising the largest employers.
The chart below shows the distribution of occupations and industries that individuals classified as AIAN alone and in combination are employed in:
One unique labor force characteristic of AIAN individuals is that they are substantially more likely to work in the public sector. Because tribal governments are sovereign entities, they can employ their own citizens to operate services. Additionally, some federal agencies have specific mandates to hire Native Americans. Because of these reasons, AIANs are more likely to work for a public sector employer than non-AIAN workers.
19% of AIANs work in federal, state, local or tribal governments compared to 15% of the overall population. AIANs who live in a tribal area are even more likely to work for the public sector, with 38% working for a governmental entity in some capacity.
Education Attainment
College enrollment among AIANs is significantly lower than in the overall population. In 2022, only 26% of the 18 to 24-year-old AIAN alone population was enrolled in college compared to 39% of the total population. Like most groups, the college enrollment rate has remained unchanged from 2012 to 2022.
Additionally, American Indians and Alaska Natives lag behind other Americans in college attainment as indicated in the chart below:
Among those 25 years and older who were categorized as AIAN alone, 16.4% held a bachelor’s degree compared to 35% of the overall population. For AIANs who live on reservations, the figure is even lower at 10.3%. While 10.3% is a low rate, it is a 125% increase since 1990, indicating substantial progress has been made for AIANs who live in tribal and native areas.
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