Sodium intake remains above recommended levels for most people in the available U.S. data. In NHANES August 2021–August 2023, mean intake was 3,103 mg per day among U.S. people aged 1 year or older, and an estimated 89% exceeded their age-specific recommended maximum. Globally, estimated adult intake was higher still at 4,278 mg per day in 2021.
Contents
- U.S. benchmarks and recommended limits
- Intake by age, sex, and calorie density
- Food categories contributing the most sodium
- How contributors vary by age and sex
- Patterns by race and ethnicity
- Patterns by weight and hypertension status
- Global sodium intake and reduction targets
U.S. benchmarks and recommended limits
The latest CDC analysis of NHANES data provides a broad benchmark for sodium intake in the United States. The mean was 3,103 mg per day among people aged 1 year or older during August 2021–August 2023. The same analysis estimated that 89% of children and adults exceeded the recommended maximum for their age.
Recommended maximums vary as children grow. The U.S. Dietary Guidelines threshold cited in the CDC analysis was 1,200 mg per day for children aged 1–3 years, 1,500 mg for children aged 4–8 years, and 1,800 mg for children aged 9–13 years. For people aged 14 years and older, the recommended maximum was 2,300 mg per day. These thresholds cover the 2020–2025 guideline period; they are not measurements of what people actually consumed.
The Food and Drug Administration reports an average U.S. intake of approximately 3,400 mg per day, about 50% above the 2,300-mg limit for people aged 14 years and older. FDA also estimates that more than 70% of sodium consumed in the United States comes from processed, packaged, and prepared foods rather than salt added at home. This helps explain why reducing table salt alone does not describe the full dietary picture. (FDA, “Sodium Reduction in the Food Supply”)
The CDC estimates come from the first 24-hour dietary recall in the nationally representative, noninstitutionalized U.S. civilian NHANES sample. Dietary recall has limitations, and the CDC notes that some subgroup estimates also have limitations. (CDC, “Top Food Contributors of Sodium Intake in US Children and Adults Aged 1 Year or Older”)
Intake by age, sex, and calorie density
Mean sodium intake rose from early childhood into young adulthood, then declined among older adults. The August 2021–August 2023 NHANES estimates were:
| U.S. group | Mean sodium intake per day |
|---|---|
| Children aged 1–4 years | 2,071 mg |
| Children aged 5–11 years | 2,637 mg |
| Adolescents aged 12–17 years | 3,110 mg |
| Adults aged 18–39 years | 3,417 mg |
| Adults aged 40–59 years | 3,285 mg |
| Adults aged 60 years and older | 2,874 mg |
Across people aged 1 year or older, mean intake was 2,698 mg per day among females and 3,521 mg among males. These are population averages, not individual targets or clinical recommendations.
Sodium density puts intake in the context of energy intake, measured as milligrams per 1,000 kilocalories. The mean density was 1,402 mg per 1,000 kcal for children aged 1–4 years and 1,451 mg for children aged 5–11 years. Among adults aged 18–39 years, it was 1,676 mg per 1,000 kcal. Intake and density answer different questions: total milligrams describe daily exposure, while density describes sodium relative to food energy.
Food categories contributing the most sodium
The CDC’s food-category analysis reports each category’s share of total dietary sodium among U.S. people aged 1 year or older. Deli meat sandwiches were the largest listed contributor at 5.0%. Pizza, savory snacks, and soups each contributed 4.4%. Savory snacks included chips, crackers, and popcorn.
Other leading categories included poultry excluding nuggets and tenders at 3.8%, pasta mixed dishes excluding macaroni and cheese at 3.8%, breads, rolls, and buns at 3.1%, and cheese, including cottage cheese and ricotta, at 2.7%.
These percentages are shares of total dietary sodium, not the sodium content of one serving. They also exclude salt added at the table. A category can therefore matter because many people eat it, because it is eaten in substantial portions, or because it is sodium-dense; the percentages alone do not identify one individual food as responsible for every person’s intake. (CDC, Figure 1 and Figure 2 tables)
How contributors vary by age and sex
The leading categories are not identical across demographic groups. Savory snacks contributed 7.7% of sodium intake among children aged 1–4 years and 8.3% among children aged 5–11 years. Pizza contributed 6.6% among children aged 5–11 years.
Among adults aged 40–59 years, deli meat sandwiches contributed 5.8% of sodium intake. Looking across sex groups, soups contributed 4.9% among females aged 1 year or older, while pizza contributed 4.8% among males aged 1 year or older.
| Group | Category | Share of sodium intake |
|---|---|---|
| Children aged 1–4 | Savory snacks | 7.7% |
| Children aged 5–11 | Savory snacks | 8.3% |
| Children aged 5–11 | Pizza | 6.6% |
| Adults aged 40–59 | Deli meat sandwiches | 5.8% |
| Females aged 1+ | Soups | 4.9% |
| Males aged 1+ | Pizza | 4.8% |
The figures show why sodium advice can be more useful when connected to eating patterns and life stage. The most prominent category for a child is not necessarily the most prominent category for a middle-aged adult, even within the same national food environment.
Patterns by race and ethnicity
The NHANES analysis also identified differences in the categories contributing sodium across racial and ethnic groups. Among non-Hispanic Asian participants, soups contributed 8.7% of sodium intake and rice contributed 7.6%.
Among non-Hispanic Black participants, poultry excluding nuggets and tenders contributed 7.3%, while pizza contributed 5.7%. Among non-Hispanic White participants, deli meat sandwiches contributed 5.7%.
Several categories were reported for Hispanic participants. Burritos and tacos contributed 4.5% of sodium intake, quesadillas, tamales, fajitas, and enchiladas contributed 3.7%, and rice contributed 2.6%.
These are group-level shares from the stated NHANES period. They should not be read as descriptions of every person in a racial or ethnic group, and they do not establish why the category patterns differ. The CDC notes limitations related to dietary recall and subgroup estimates. (CDC, Figure 1 and Figure 2 tables)
Patterns by weight and hypertension status
Mean daily sodium intake was 3,065 mg among U.S. participants without overweight or obesity and 3,158 mg among those with overweight or obesity during August 2021–August 2023. Mean sodium density was 1,531 mg per 1,000 kcal in the group without overweight or obesity and 1,620 mg per 1,000 kcal in the group with overweight or obesity.
For hypertension status, mean daily intake was 3,224 mg among U.S. adults without hypertension and 3,184 mg among those with hypertension. Mean sodium density was 1,618 mg per 1,000 kcal among adults without hypertension and 1,611 mg among adults with hypertension.
The food-category patterns also differed. Among adults with hypertension, deli meat sandwiches contributed 5.7% of sodium intake, compared with 4.6% among adults without hypertension. Soups contributed 4.5% versus 4.3%, breads, rolls, and buns contributed 3.3% versus 2.9%, and meat mixed dishes contributed 3.0% versus 2.3%, respectively.
These comparisons are descriptive population statistics. They do not show that sodium intake caused a person’s weight or hypertension status, nor do they show that a clinical recommendation should be based on one group average.
Global sodium intake and reduction targets
The World Health Organization estimated global mean adult sodium intake at 4,278 mg per day in 2021, equivalent to 11 g of salt per day. WHO recommends that adults consume less than 2,000 mg of sodium per day, equivalent to less than 5 g of salt. In the WHO conversion table, 1 g of salt corresponds to 400 mg of sodium, and 5 g of salt corresponds to 2,000 mg of sodium. (WHO, “Sodium reduction”)
WHO recommends lowering the adult sodium dose for children aged 2–15 years according to their energy requirements. The adult and child definitions in WHO recommendations are not identical to the U.S. age groups above, so the figures should not be combined as though they came from one survey or one measurement method.
The global health burden is substantial in the supplied WHO estimates: 1.7 million deaths were associated each year with excessive sodium consumption in 2023. WHO also estimates at least US$12 in return for every US$1 invested in scaling up sodium-reduction interventions. That is an economic estimate, not a household-level saving or a guarantee for an individual intervention.
WHO’s global action plan set a target of a 30% relative reduction in mean population salt intake by 2025. The timeline was later extended to 2030. Because the target concerns population mean salt intake, it is distinct from a personal daily sodium limit and from the U.S. NHANES intake estimates.