(NewsNation) — Nearly a third of all Americans have a tattoo, reflecting an overall shift in views surrounding body ink, according to survey results from Pew Research Center.
Overall, 32% of adults have a tattoo, including 22% who have more than one, the survey of 8,480 people older than 18 found.
Adults younger than 50 are especially likely to have a tattoo: 41% of those younger than 30 have at least one, as do 46% of those ages 30 to 49. A quarter of adults ages 50-64 have at least one, as do 13% of those 65 or older.
In a 2010 Pew Research Center study, 23% of adults said they had a tattoo. However, Pew said the two survey results can’t be directly compared because of changes in how the surveys were conducted.
More than two-thirds of Americans with tattoos are getting them to remember or honor someone or something: 69% of respondents said it’s either a major or minor reason they got any of their tattoos.
While the likelihood of having a tattoo varied among several demographic factors, there are no major differences by political party or geography.
A third of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents have a tattoo, as do 32% of Republicans and Republican leaners, the Pew study found. Roughly a third of adults across urban, suburban and rural areas report having a tattoo.
General attitudes about tattoos have shifted, and now, eight in 10 Americans believe society has become more accepting of people with tattoos over the past 20 years, according to the Pew study. Two-thirds of Americans without tattoos say seeing a tattoo on someone leaves them with neither a negative nor positive impression of that person.