Bullying Statistics

Here are federal statistics about bullying in the United States. Data sources include the Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2019 (National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Justice) and the 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

How Common Is Bullying

• About 20% of students ages 12-18 experienced bullying nationwide.
• Students ages 12–18 who reported being bullied said they thought those who bullied them:
  • Had the ability to influence other students’ perception of them (56%).
  • Had more social influence (50%).
  • Were physically stronger or larger (40%).
  • Had more money (31%).

Bullying in Schools

• Nationwide, 19% of students in grades 9–12 report being bullied on school property in the 12 months prior to the survey.
• The following percentages of students ages 12-18 had experienced bullying in various places at school:
  • Hallway or stairwell (43.4%)
  • Classroom (42.1%)
  • Cafeteria (26.8%)
  • Outside on school grounds (21.9%)
  • Online or text (15.3%)
  • Bathroom or locker room (12.1%)
  • Somewhere else in the school building (2.1%)
• Approximately 46% of students ages 12-18 who were bullied during the school year notified an adult at school about the bullying.

Cyberbullying

• Among students ages 12-18 who reported being bullied at school during the school year, 15 % were bullied online or by text.
• An estimated 14.9% of high school students were electronically bullied in the 12 months prior to the survey.

Types of Bullying

• Students ages 12-18  experienced  various types of bullying, including:

• • Being the subject of rumors or lies (13.4%)
  • Being made fun of, called names, or insulted (13.0%)
  • Pushed, shoved, tripped, or spit on (5.3%)
  • Leaving out/exclusion (5.2%)
  • Threatened with harm (3.9%)
  • Others tried to make them do things they did not want to do (1.9%)
  • Property was destroyed on purpose (1.4%)

When people hurt you over and over, think of them like sand paper. They may scratch and hurt you a bit, but in the end, you end up polished and they end up useless.” – Chris Colfer