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Mounjaro statistics 2025

Mounjaro use grew by more than 250% each month in its first year of release
Sarah Bradley writer headshot
By | Jun. 25, 2025 Medically reviewed by Karen Berger, Pharm.D.

Key takeaways

  • Mounjaro (tirzepatide) is a GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonist that lowers blood sugar levels and may help people lose weight.

  • Alongside other similar drugs like Ozempic, Mounjaro has quickly grown in popularity and use; more people started new prescriptions for tirzepatide in 2023 than for semaglutide.

  • Many people taking Mounjaro to lower their A1C levels experience a 1–2 percentage point drop after taking it for 40–52 weeks.

In this article:

You’ve probably heard about Ozempic (semaglutide), the “miracle” drug that helps people with Type 2 diabetes control their blood sugar and lose significant amounts of weight. But you may not have heard of Mounjaro, another Type 2 diabetes medication, but with a different active ingredient (tirzepatide).

Due to Ozempic’s newsworthy shortages and a growing demand for more GLP-1 drugs, people started talking about Mounjaro in 2022, when it was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. By the end of 2023, about 12% of people taking glucose-lowering medications were using Mounjaro. (Annals of Internal Medicine, 2025)  

It makes sense—Ozempic and Mounjaro are GLP-1 receptor agonists, meaning they both mimic a hormone that helps control insulin production and suppress appetite. However, Ozempic targets only GLP-1 receptors, while Mounjaro uses a dual-action mechanism to target not only GLP-1 receptors but also glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptors. And for some people, Mounjaro may even be slightly more effective for losing weight than Ozempic, according to Danielle Kelvas, MD, a primary care physician with The HCG Institute in Tennessee, and CEO and Founder of DKMD Consulting. 

Here’s what to know about Mounjaro’s use in the U.S., including its increasing popularity and its role in treating chronic conditions like Type 2 diabetes and obesity.

How many people have Type 2 diabetes?

  • In the U.S., around 10% of the population, or 38 million people, have Type 2 diabetes. It affects adults and kids: Every year, more than 5,000 children under the age of 18 are newly diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2024)
  • Type 2 diabetes in the U.S. is highest among people ages 65 and older. (American Diabetes Association, 2023)
  • Worldwide, around 14% of the population has diabetes—double the percentage from 1990. (World Health Organization (WHO), 2025).
  • Ninety-five percent of people with diabetes have Type 2 diabetes. (WHO, 2025)

How many people are overweight?

  • In the U.S., more than 30% of adults and 16% of children are considered overweight. (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), 2021) The World Health Organization defines overweight in adults as a body mass index (BMI) between 25 and less than 30. (WHO, 2025)
  • Studies suggest that around 43% of adults worldwide are overweight. (WHO, 2025)
  • Kids have also been affected by rising rates of overweight and obesity. The WHO estimates that 35 million children under 5 years old are overweight, and 390 million children between the ages of 5 and 19 are overweight, including 160 million with obesity. (WHO, 2025)

How many people have obesity?

  • Around 42% of American adults and 19% of American children under 19 years old have obesity, or a BMI of 30 or higher. (NIDDK, 2021)
  • Worldwide, about 890 million adults and 160 million children have obesity. (WHO, 2025)
  • For both men and women, obesity is most common among adults ages 40–59. (CDC, 2024)
  • The percentage of people with severe obesity, defined as a BMI of 40 or higher, is slowly growing: It was 9.7% between 2021 and 2023, up from 7.7% between 2013 and 2014. (CDC, 2024)

How many people use Mounjaro for Type 2 diabetes?

  • Broadly, about 12% of American adults say they have taken GLP-1 drugs like Mounjaro after being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. (KFF, 2024)
  • At the end of 2023, tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Mounjaro (as well as Zepbound), accounted for more than 12% of all medications prescribed to people with Type 2 diabetes. (American Journal of Managed Care, 2025) 
  • According to a recent study, there was a significant increase in the use of GLP-1s as well as another class of Type 2 diabetes drugs known as SGLT2 inhibitors. Tirzepatide accounted for 12% of all glucose-lowering drugs by December 2023. (Annals of Internal Medicine, 2025)
  • Per that same study, the number of people using traditional glucose-lowering medications like metformin has dropped, and Mounjaro has seen a more consistent increase than many other diabetes drugs. (Annals of Internal Medicine, 2025)

How many people use Mounjaro for weight loss?

  • The active ingredient in Mounjaro, tirzepatide, has been formulated and FDA approved for weight loss as a brand-name medication called Zepbound. 
  • About 40% of American adults who have used a GLP-1 drug report taking it for weight loss, not Type 2 diabetes. (KFF, 2024) 
  • According to the Annals of Internal Medicine study, the vast majority (almost 90%) of people taking weight loss drugs in 2023 were taking GLP-1 drugs. This is up from 50% in 2021. Tirzepatide saw the biggest increase, with more than 30% of people starting with tirzepatide versus semaglutide. (Annals of Internal Medicine, 2025)
  • Mounjaro was approved by the FDA in 2022 for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. Its weight loss equivalent, Zepbound, was approved in 2023 for weight loss, and in 2024 for obstructive sleep apnea. 
  • A 2024 study estimates that Mounjaro’s use grew by more than 250% each month in its first year of release (2022), despite only being available for seven out of 12 months that year. (Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, 2024) 
  • Compared to Ozempic, Mounjaro tends to have a lower incidence of gastrointestinal side effects like nausea and vomiting, according to Dr. Kelvas. 

How effective is Mounjaro for Type 2 diabetes?

  • According to Dana Manning, Pharm.D., RD, LDN, associate professor of pharmacy practice at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania, Mounjaro is very effective at controlling blood sugar levels for Type 2 diabetes. On average, she says, it can reduce a person’s hemoglobin A1C levels by approximately 1–2 percentage points.  
  • In a 2022 study of tirzepatide’s effects on blood sugar levels, between 81% and 97% of participants reached an A1C level of less than 7% after using the drug for 40–52 weeks. (Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 2022)

How much weight do people lose on Mounjaro?

  • The average weight loss on Mounjaro is usually between 15 and 25 pounds, although it varies based on your starting weight and dosage.   
  • If you’re on a higher dosage of tirzepatide, you’re more likely to see a higher amount of weight loss. In one 2021 study, for example, people taking a 15 milligram weekly dose lost an average of 8 pounds more than people taking a 5 milligram weekly dose. (The New England Journal of Medicine, 2021)
  • In that same study, tirzepatide’s effects on A1C and weight loss were compared to semaglutide. Although both were effective, tirzepatide caused a generally higher amount of weight loss. (The New England Journal of Medicine, 2021)
  • “Many studies report weight loss on tirzepatide as the percentage of participants who lose 5%, 10%, or 15% of their body weight,” adds Dr. Manning. For example, a 2022 study found that 85 to 91% of people taking any dose of tirzepatide lost at least 5% of their body weight, while 50 to 57% lost at least 20% of their body weight (on 10- or 15-milligram doses). (The New England Journal of Medicine, 2022)

How much do Americans spend on Mounjaro?

  • The amount of money the U.S. spends on GLP-1 drugs like Mounjaro has increased exponentially—by more than 500% between 2018 and 2023, according to one study. (JAMA Network Open, 2025)
  • Combined, semaglutide and tirzepatide made up 70% of all GLP-1 spending in 2023, which equaled more than $71 billion. (JAMA Network Open, 2025)
  • Medicare Part D plans typically cover tirzepatide when it’s prescribed for Type 2 diabetes. In 2022, Medicare spent over $125 million on tirzepatide. (KFF, 2024)

How many Americans use insurance for Mounjaro?

  • There’s no clear data on how many Americans are using their commercial health insurance to pay for some or all of their prescriptions for Mounjaro. But some research suggests that around 81% of people using GLP-1 drugs like tirzepatide are receiving at least partial coverage from their insurance provider. (KFF, 2024) 
  • Despite this, more than half of Americans with a GLP-1 drug prescription say it’s “somewhat difficult” or “very difficult” for them to afford the cost of their medication. (KFF, 2024)

How many Americans pay for Mounjaro out of pocket?

  • According to the research, around 19% of people prescribed GLP-1 drugs are paying out-of-pocket for their medication. (KFF, 2024)
  • Out-of-pocket costs for Mounjaro fluctuate and vary by pharmacy and location, but paying for Mounjaro without insurance could cost you around $1,493 per month.
  • With a SingleCare coupon for Mounjaro, you could pay as low as $872 per month instead of $1,493—a savings of over $600 per month.

RELATED: How to save on Mounjaro

Mounjaro side effects statistics

  • Most of the GLP-1 drugs can cause gastrointestinal side effects like nausea, vomiting, constipation, and diarrhea.
  • Of Mounjaro’s side effects, about 12% of people experience nausea or diarrhea, and 5%–6% experience vomiting or constipation, although the frequency of side effects may vary by dose.
  • Long-term side effects of Mounjaro are yet to be determined, but it comes with a boxed warning (also called a black box warning) for thyroid cancer since GLP-1 agonists have caused thyroid tumors in lab mice. 

Mounjaro is a relatively new drug, and it’s not a silver bullet for Type 2 diabetes or weight loss. It is intended to be used with diet and exercise and under a healthcare provider’s careful guidance. Speak to your healthcare provider if you have questions about Mounjaro for Type 2 diabetes or off-label uses.