The United States confirmed 3,294 measles cases in 2026 as of September 10, already surpassing the full-year 2025 total of 2,289 and marking the highest annual case count since measles was declared eliminated in 2000. South Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Utah lead all states, together accounting for more than half of this year’s cases.
Measles Cases by State 2026 – Introduction
Measles cases by state in 2026 paint a picture of a disease that has returned to levels unseen in more than three decades, driven by a small cluster of states experiencing sustained community outbreaks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed 3,294 measles cases across 47 jurisdictions as of September 10, 2026, a total that had already exceeded the full 2025 count months before the calendar year ended. Unlike a nationally uniform trend, this resurgence is heavily concentrated: just three states, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Utah, account for the majority of cases nationwide, while roughly half the country has reported only a handful of infections or none at all.
The state-by-state pattern matters because measles spreads almost entirely within pockets of unvaccinated or under-vaccinated communities rather than uniformly across the population. National kindergarten MMR vaccination coverage has fallen to 92.4%, below the 95% threshold needed to sustain community immunity, and that decline has not occurred evenly. Understanding exactly which states are driving the 2026 surge, how case totals compare to prior years, and what vaccination gaps underlie the outbreaks offers the clearest picture of where measles risk is currently concentrated across the country.
All figures in this report come directly from CDC surveillance data, which the agency updates weekly and reflects only laboratory-confirmed cases reported by state, local, tribal, and territorial health departments. That reporting lag means state-level totals published by news outlets and independent trackers can occasionally differ slightly from numbers a given state health department posts on its own website in real time, but the CDC’s nationally standardized count remains the authoritative benchmark for comparing case activity across state lines.
Interesting Facts – Measles Cases by State
| Fact | Figure |
|---|---|
| Total US Measles Cases (2026, as of Sept 10) | 3,294 |
| Total US Measles Cases (Full Year 2025) | 2,289 |
| Jurisdictions Reporting Cases in 2026 | 47 |
| New Outbreaks Confirmed in 2026 | 38 |
| Share of 2026 Cases Tied to an Outbreak | 95% |
| Share of 2026 Cases Unvaccinated or Unknown Status | 95% |
| Hospitalization Rate, 2026 Cases | 8% |
| MMR Coverage Among Kindergartners (2025-26) | 92.4% |
Source: CDC Measles Cases and Outbreaks (updated September 11, 2026), USAFacts
These interesting facts about measles cases by state confirm that 2026 has become the worst year for measles transmission in the United States since the disease’s elimination a quarter-century ago. With 3,294 confirmed cases already recorded by early September, well before the year’s end, the current total sits 44% above the full-year 2025 figure of 2,289 cases, itself already the highest annual count in over three decades at the time.
The concentration of cases within 38 outbreaks, accounting for 95% of all 2026 infections, reflects how measles continues to spread almost exclusively through close-contact transmission chains inside specific communities rather than as scattered, unrelated cases. That 95% of patients were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status reinforces just how directly this year’s surge traces back to gaps in MMR coverage.
The 8% hospitalization rate recorded so far in 2026, while an improvement on 2025’s 11% rate, still represents a meaningful share of patients requiring inpatient care for a disease that spreads through the air and can cause severe complications including pneumonia, encephalitis, and, in rare cases, death. With 47 jurisdictions having reported at least one case this year, measles activity has become geographically widespread even though the total case burden remains heavily weighted toward a small number of states.
Top 10 States by Measles Cases in 2026
| Rank | State | Cases (Jan 1 – Sept 10, 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Carolina | 670 |
| 2 | Pennsylvania | 637 |
| 3 | Utah | 526 |
| 4 | Texas | 192 |
| 5 | Virginia | 178 |
| 6 | Wisconsin | 157 |
| 7 | Florida | 146 |
| 8 | Arizona | 110 |
| 9 | Ohio | 94 |
| 10 | Oregon | 56 |
Source: CDC Measles Cases and Outbreaks, via USAFacts
South Carolina leads every state with 670 confirmed cases, the product of an outbreak centered in the Upstate region, particularly Spartanburg County, that has grown steadily since it began. Pennsylvania follows closely at 637 cases, a dramatic escalation for a state that reported far fewer infections in prior years, while Utah’s 526 cases stem from an outbreak that began in the summer of 2025 and has continued expanding well into 2026.
Together, these top three states alone account for roughly 1,833 cases, more than half of the national total, even as Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin each report well over 100 cases of their own. Measles Death Statistics in US tracking the more severe outcomes tied to this outbreak show how the same handful of states driving case counts have also seen the most serious complications, including the hospitalizations and fatalities under investigation this year.
Outside the top ten, the remaining 37 affected jurisdictions have each reported fewer than 56 cases, with roughly two dozen states limited to single digits or no cases at all for the year. That steep drop-off between the leading states and the rest of the country illustrates how localized measles transmission tends to be: once the virus reaches a community with low vaccination coverage, cases can climb into the hundreds within months, while states maintaining strong immunization rates largely avoid sustained spread even when isolated cases are introduced through travel.
National Measles Case Totals: 2026 vs. Prior Years
| Year | Total Confirmed Cases | Jurisdictions Affected | Outbreaks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (through Sept 10) | 3,294 | 47 | 38 |
| 2025 (full year) | 2,289 | 45 | 48 |
| 2024 | 285 | 32 | 16 |
| 2023 | 59 | 20 | 4 |
| 2022 | 121 | 6 | N/A |
| 2000 (elimination year) | 85 | N/A | N/A |
Source: CDC Measles Cases and Outbreaks
The trajectory from 2022 through 2026 shows an unmistakable, accelerating climb in national measles activity. Cases jumped from just 59 in 2023 to 285 in 2024, then surged nearly eightfold to 2,289 in 2025, before 2026 surpassed that entire annual total within the first nine months of the year alone. Measured against the 85 cases recorded in 2000, the year the US declared measles eliminated, the 2026 total through early September already represents nearly 39 times that benchmark figure.
Case growth has also outpaced the prior year on a week-by-week basis throughout 2026. USAFacts calculated that measles cases in the first 37 weeks of 2026 ran 128% higher than the same period in 2025, confirming that this year’s surge reflects sustained acceleration rather than a single large outbreak skewing an otherwise typical year. Notably, while 48 outbreaks were recorded across all of 2025, 2026 had already confirmed 38 new outbreaks by September, a pace that puts the year on track to approach or exceed the prior year’s outbreak count as well.
The jump from single-digit or double-digit annual case counts in 2022 and 2023 to thousands of cases in 2025 and 2026 represents one of the steepest short-term reversals in any vaccine-preventable disease trend the CDC currently tracks. Public health researchers point to this compressed timeline, just three years separating a 59-case year from one approaching 3,300 cases, as evidence that declining vaccination coverage can translate into large-scale outbreaks far more quickly than many had assumed possible in a country that had maintained elimination status for over two decades.
Measles Hospitalizations and Deaths in 2026
| Metric | 2026 (Year to Date) | 2025 (Full Year) |
|---|---|---|
| Hospitalization Rate | 8% | 11% |
| Confirmed Deaths | 0 confirmed as of Sept 10 | 3 |
| Deaths Under Investigation | 2, both in Pennsylvania | N/A |
| Share of Patients Age 19 or Younger | 63% | N/A |
Source: CDC Measles Cases and Outbreaks, USAFacts
Severe outcomes from measles have remained a serious concern even as the 2026 hospitalization rate of 8% runs somewhat lower than the 11% rate recorded across all of 2025. That improvement has not eliminated risk: the CDC is actively investigating two deaths reported in Pennsylvania to determine whether measles caused or contributed to them, which would mark the state’s first measles-associated fatalities in 35 years if confirmed. No deaths had been formally attributed to measles nationally as of the September 10 data cutoff, though the National Center for Health Statistics continues working with state epidemiologists to develop a standardized case definition for measles deaths to ensure consistent reporting across jurisdictions going forward.
Age remains a critical risk factor in how severely the disease presents. 63% of 2026 patients were 19 years old or younger, consistent with measles’ tendency to spread most readily among children and young adults in under-vaccinated households and school settings. Historical context underscores the stakes: before the measles vaccine became available in 1963, the disease hospitalized an estimated 48,000 people and killed 400 to 500 Americans annually, figures that illustrate just how effectively decades of vaccination had suppressed the disease’s severity before this year’s resurgence began eroding that protection.
The CDC’s ongoing work with the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists to standardize how measles deaths are classified reflects a broader challenge in tracking the disease’s true severity across jurisdictions with varying reporting practices. Historically, states have not always used identical criteria for attributing a death to measles versus a secondary complication, and a consistent national standard would allow for more reliable year-over-year comparisons as case counts continue climbing.
Outbreak Data and Jurisdictions Affected in 2026
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Jurisdictions With Any 2026 Cases | 47 of 50 states plus DC |
| States With 2026 Cases Exceeding 2025 Total | 23 states plus DC |
| Cases Tied to Outbreaks Starting in 2026 | 1,748 |
| Cases Tied to Outbreaks Starting in 2025 (Carried Into 2026) | 1,375 |
| Cases Among International Visitors (2026) | 16 |
Source: CDC Measles Cases and Outbreaks
Measles activity in 2026 has reached 47 of 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, a strikingly broad geographic footprint for a disease that just a few years ago produced cases in only a handful of jurisdictions annually. Of those affected states, 23 plus the District of Columbia have already recorded more cases in 2026 than they did in all of 2025, according to CDC data reported by Newsweek, underscoring that this year’s growth is not confined to the handful of states topping the case-count rankings.
Vaccine Exemption Statistics in US tracking the rising share of kindergartners opting out of required immunizations provide important context for understanding why outbreaks have proliferated so widely this year. Of the 3,294 total cases, 1,748 trace back to outbreaks that began in 2026 itself, while 1,375 stem from outbreaks that originated in 2025 and simply continued spreading into the new year, showing how a single unresolved community outbreak can generate new cases across multiple calendar years once it takes hold in an under-vaccinated population.
Vaccination Coverage and Why Cases Are Rising in 2026
| Metric | 2025-26 School Year | 2019-20 School Year (Pre-Pandemic) |
|---|---|---|
| MMR Coverage, US Kindergartners | 92.4% | 95.2% |
| Kindergartners at Risk (Below Herd Immunity) | ~280,000 | Baseline |
| MMR Vaccine Effectiveness (2 doses) | 97% | 97% |
| Herd Immunity Threshold for Measles | ~95% | ~95% |
Source: CDC SchoolVaxView, CDC Measles Cases and Outbreaks
The core driver behind the 2026 surge traces directly back to declining childhood vaccination coverage. National MMR coverage among US kindergartners fell to 92.4% during the 2025-26 school year, down from 95.2% in 2019-20, leaving an estimated 280,000 kindergartners without adequate protection against a virus the CDC considers one of the most contagious pathogens known. Herd Immunity Statistics in US explaining the roughly 95% vaccination threshold required to prevent sustained measles transmission make clear why even a few percentage points of decline nationally can translate into large, self-sustaining local outbreaks once the virus reaches a susceptible community.
Because vaccination coverage varies considerably by community rather than spreading evenly across a state, pockets of low coverage can exist even within states that maintain a high statewide average, a pattern epidemiologists say explains why outbreaks have concentrated so heavily in specific counties within South Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Utah rather than spreading uniformly. Breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated people remain uncommon and consistent with historical patterns, accounting for roughly 10% of all measles infections, a rate the CDC says reflects the two-dose MMR vaccine’s well-established 97% effectiveness rather than any weakening of vaccine protection itself.
Measles Elimination Status Review in 2026
| Metric | Detail |
|---|---|
| US Measles Elimination Status Granted | 2000 |
| PAHO Review of US Elimination Status | Scheduled for November 2026 |
| Criteria for Losing Elimination Status | Continuous domestic transmission for 12+ months |
| Total 2026 Cases vs. 2000 Baseline | ~38.8 times higher |
Source: Pan American Health Organization, CDC
The scale of the 2026 outbreak has prompted an unusual and consequential review: the Pan American Health Organization, the regional arm of the World Health Organization, is scheduled to meet in November 2026 to determine whether the United States has lost its measles elimination status, a designation the country has held since 2000. Losing that status would require documented evidence of continuous domestic transmission of a single measles strain persisting for 12 consecutive months or more, a threshold public health officials are watching closely given how long some of this year’s largest outbreaks, particularly in Utah, have now been active.
Epidemiologists tracking the outbreak have emphasized that stopping individual chains of transmission quickly, through rapid case identification and contact isolation, remains essential in the short term, but that reversing the broader national trend depends on rebuilding vaccination coverage back above the 95% herd immunity threshold. With 3,294 cases already confirmed and months still remaining in the year, 2026 is positioned to end as the most consequential year for measles transmission in the United States since the disease was first declared eliminated, a milestone few public health officials anticipated returning to on such a large and geographically broad scale.
Measles Cases by State 2026 FAQ
Which state has the most measles cases in 2026?
South Carolina leads all states with 670 confirmed cases as of September 10, 2026, followed closely by Pennsylvania at 637 and Utah at 526.
How many total measles cases has the US confirmed in 2026?
The US had confirmed 3,294 measles cases across 47 jurisdictions as of September 10, 2026, already exceeding the full 2025 total.
How does 2026 compare to 2025 for measles cases?
2026’s case count through early September, 3,294, already surpassed the entire 2025 total of 2,289 cases, and weekly case growth through week 37 ran 128% higher than the same period in 2025.
How many states have reported measles cases in 2026?
Measles cases have been reported in 47 of 50 states plus the District of Columbia during 2026.
What percentage of 2026 measles patients were unvaccinated?
95% of confirmed 2026 patients were either unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccination status.
Has the US lost its measles elimination status?
Not yet. The Pan American Health Organization is scheduled to review the US measles elimination status in November 2026, based on whether continuous transmission has persisted for 12 or more months.
How many measles outbreaks have occurred in 2026?
38 new outbreaks have been confirmed in 2026, and 95% of all cases are tied to an outbreak.
What is the current MMR vaccination rate among US kindergartners?
MMR coverage among US kindergartners stood at 92.4% for the 2025-26 school year, below the 95% threshold needed for herd immunity.
Have there been any confirmed measles deaths in 2026?
No deaths had been formally confirmed as measles-caused as of September 10, 2026, though the CDC is investigating two deaths in Pennsylvania to determine if measles was a cause or contributing factor.
What is the hospitalization rate for measles cases in 2026?
The 2026 hospitalization rate stands at 8%, somewhat lower than the 11% rate recorded across all of 2025.
How many measles cases were tied to outbreaks that started in 2025?
1,375 cases in 2026 trace back to outbreaks that originated in 2025 and continued spreading into the new year, alongside 1,748 cases from entirely new 2026 outbreaks.
What age group is most affected by measles in 2026?
63% of confirmed 2026 patients are 19 years old or younger, reflecting how the disease spreads most readily among children and young adults in under-vaccinated households and schools.
Disclaimer: This research report is compiled from publicly available sources. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, no representation or warranty, express or implied, is given as to the completeness or reliability of the information. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions, losses, or damages of any kind arising from the use of this report.