Tat stats and facts

• More than a third (36 percent) of Americans ages 18 to 35 have at least one tattoo.

• 24 percent of those ages 18 to 50 surveyed had at least one tattoo, with 16 percent of those tattooed getting their first by age 18.

• In 2003, 16 percent of the general U.S. population had at least one tattoo. In 1936, Life magazine estimated that 6 percent did.

• 31 percent of those with tattoos said they were gay, lesbian or bisexual.

• Democrats (18 percent) were more likely to be tattooed than Republicans (14 percent).

• Nearly equal percentages of males (16) and females (15) have tattoos.

• At 20 percent, the West Coast has the most tattoos per capita of U.S regions.

Sources: Pew Research Center (2007), the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (2004), Harris Poll (2003).

• Minnesota is home to about 250 tattoo studios and three times that many tattoo artists.

• Minnesota has no state ordinances regulating the tattoo trade, but several cities and counties do, including Minneapolis, St. Paul and Hennepin County. The latest attempt to regulate at the state level is a bill introduced this year by state Sen. Yvonne Prettner Solon, DFL-Duluth.

• Having a tattoo removed by laser, the least painful method, can cost several times what the tattoo did (from $100 to several thousand dollars).