Retail prescription drug spending (US) in United States
Retail prescription drug spending (US) in the United States was $466.97 billion in 2024, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary. That is up 7.9% from 2023.
Retail prescription drug spending (US) in United States, 1960 to 2024
All 65 values
| Period | USD million |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 466,968 |
| 2023 | 432,946 |
| 2022 | 390,611 |
| 2021 | 365,871 |
| 2020 | 345,475 |
| 2019 | 333,763 |
| 2018 | 321,313 |
| 2017 | 316,219 |
| 2016 | 313,764 |
| 2015 | 312,464 |
| 2014 | 290,866 |
| 2013 | 259,484 |
| 2012 | 257,062 |
| 2011 | 256,404 |
| 2010 | 253,371 |
| 2009 | 254,254 |
| 2008 | 244,324 |
| 2007 | 239,335 |
| 2006 | 228,099 |
| 2005 | 208,595 |
| 2004 | 195,638 |
| 2003 | 179,654 |
| 2002 | 159,812 |
| 2001 | 140,583 |
| 2000 | 122,003 |
| 1999 | 105,294 |
| 1998 | 88,523 |
| 1997 | 77,636 |
| 1996 | 68,084 |
| 1995 | 59,766 |
| 1994 | 53,019 |
| 1993 | 49,551 |
| 1992 | 46,972 |
| 1991 | 44,381 |
| 1990 | 40,290 |
| 1989 | 34,757 |
| 1988 | 30,646 |
| 1987 | 26,888 |
| 1986 | 24,290 |
| 1985 | 21,795 |
| 1984 | 19,617 |
| 1983 | 17,323 |
| 1982 | 15,029 |
| 1981 | 13,398 |
| 1980 | 12,049 |
| 1979 | 10,744 |
| 1978 | 9,891 |
| 1977 | 9,196 |
| 1976 | 8,722 |
| 1975 | 8,052 |
| 1974 | 7,422 |
| 1973 | 6,817 |
| 1972 | 6,324 |
| 1971 | 5,877 |
| 1970 | 5,497 |
| 1969 | 5,149 |
| 1968 | 4,742 |
| 1967 | 4,227 |
| 1966 | 3,985 |
| 1965 | 3,715 |
| 1964 | 3,347 |
| 1963 | 3,159 |
| 1962 | 3,029 |
| 1961 | 2,718 |
| 1960 | 2,676 |
Definition
US spending on prescription drugs bought in retail outlets (community pharmacies, mail order and other retail), from all sources of funds, in USD million. Drugs given in hospitals, nursing homes and doctors' offices are counted with those services.
Part of national health expenditure (national_health_expenditure_usd), at current prices. CMS revises earlier years with each annual release.
How to cite
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary, National Health Statistics Group. CMS National Health Expenditure Accounts, type of service and source of funds: total prescription drug expenditures, millions, calendar years from 1960. https://www.cms.gov/data-research/statistics-trends-and-reports/national-health-expenditure-data/historical. Retrieved 2026-10-18.Citation styles
APA 7
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary. (2026). CMS National Health Expenditure Accounts, type of service and source of funds: total prescription drug expenditures, millions, calendar years from 1960 (Retail prescription drug spending (US), United States, 1960 to 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://www.cms.gov/data-research/statistics-trends-and-reports/national-health-expenditure-data/historical
MLA 9
CMS National Health Expenditure Accounts, type of service and source of funds: total prescription drug expenditures, millions, calendar years from 1960, Retail prescription drug spending (US), United States, 1960 to 2024. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary, 13 Jan. 2026, https://www.cms.gov/data-research/statistics-trends-and-reports/national-health-expenditure-data/historical. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/prescription-drug-spending-us/united-states. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.
Chicago (author-date)
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary. 2026. CMS National Health Expenditure Accounts, type of service and source of funds: total prescription drug expenditures, millions, calendar years from 1960. Retail prescription drug spending (US), United States, 1960 to 2024. Dataset. Accessed October 18, 2026. https://www.cms.gov/data-research/statistics-trends-and-reports/national-health-expenditure-data/historical. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/prescription-drug-spending-us/united-states.
Harvard
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary (2026) CMS National Health Expenditure Accounts, type of service and source of funds: total prescription drug expenditures, millions, calendar years from 1960, Retail prescription drug spending (US), United States, 1960 to 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.cms.gov/data-research/statistics-trends-and-reports/national-health-expenditure-data/historical, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/prescription-drug-spending-us/united-states (Accessed: 18 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{centers_retail_prescription_drug_spending_2024,
author = {{Centers for Medicare \& Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary}},
title = {{CMS National Health Expenditure Accounts, type of service and source of funds: total prescription drug expenditures, millions, calendar years from 1960: Retail prescription drug spending (US), United States, 1960 to 2024}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Data set},
url = {https://www.cms.gov/data-research/statistics-trends-and-reports/national-health-expenditure-data/historical},
urldate = {2026-10-18},
note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/prescription-drug-spending-us/united-states. Publisher attribution: Centers for Medicare \& Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary, National Health Statistics Group. CMS National Health Expenditure Accounts, type of service and source of funds: total prescription drug expenditures, millions, calendar years from 1960. https://www.cms.gov/data-research/statistics-trends-and-reports/national-health-expenditure-data/historical. Retrieved 2026-10-18.},
}
RIS
TY - DATA
AU - Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary
TI - CMS National Health Expenditure Accounts, type of service and source of funds: total prescription drug expenditures, millions, calendar years from 1960: Retail prescription drug spending (US), United States, 1960 to 2024
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/01/13
PB - Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary
DB - Invokely
UR - https://www.cms.gov/data-research/statistics-trends-and-reports/national-health-expenditure-data/historical
L2 - https://invokely.ai/en/prescription-drug-spending-us/united-states
Y2 - 2026/10/18
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/prescription-drug-spending-us/united-states.
N1 - Publisher attribution: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary, National Health Statistics Group. CMS National Health Expenditure Accounts, type of service and source of funds: total prescription drug expenditures, millions, calendar years from 1960. https://www.cms.gov/data-research/statistics-trends-and-reports/national-health-expenditure-data/historical. Retrieved 2026-10-18.
ER -
Use this data in your AI agent
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What is the latest retail prescription drug spending (US) in United States? Cite the source.
get_value {"indicator":"prescription_drug_expenditure_usd","place":"us"}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/value?indicator=prescription_drug_expenditure_usd&place=usQuestions
What is the retail prescription drug spending (US) in United States?
Retail prescription drug spending (US) in the United States was $466.97 billion in 2024, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary. That is up 7.9% from 2023.
Where does this figure come from?
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary. CMS National Health Expenditure Accounts, type of service and source of funds: total prescription drug expenditures, millions, calendar years from 1960. Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-18.
What was the highest retail prescription drug spending (US) in United States?
$466.97 billion in 2024, the highest value since 1960 in this series.