Poll: 21 percent in U.S. have tattoos

• Tweet

NEW YORK, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- A new poll finds tattoos are becoming increasingly popular in the United States with 21 percent of residents reporting they have at least one.

In 2008, 14 percent of adults said they had a tattoo while 16 percent reported one in 2003, the Harris Poll said.

Age was a major factor in tattoos. Only 11 percent of those ages 50 to 64 and 5 percent of those 65 or older have tattoos, while adults in their 30s were the most likely to have one with 38 percent reporting tattoos.

For the first time, women were more likely to have tattoos at 23 percent compared to 19 percent for men. More than one-quarter, 26 percent, of westerners have tattoos, which drops to 21 percent in the East and Midwest and 18 percent in the South.

A whopping 86 percent of those sporting tattoos say they have never regretted the decision. Thirty percent say having a tattoo makes them feel sexy.

Those without tattoos do not share those feelings. Among the un-tattooed, 45 percent say a person with a tattoo is less sexy.

Harris surveyed 2,016 adults Jan. 16-23.