Shark Attacks in United States

The Global Shark Attack File records 2,582 shark attacks in United States between 1640 and 2026. Of those, 200 were fatal (7.7%). The species most often involved is the white shark.

Total recorded

2,582

Fatal

200

Fatality rate

7.7%

Global avg 21.1%

Years covered

1640–2026

Recorded incidents by year

Peak 73 (2015)Avg 13.6

164019322026

188 years of data, 1640–2026

Shark attacks in United States per year, 1640–2026
Year	Attacks
1640	1
1642	1
1751	1
1771	1
1779	1
1780	1
1803	1
1805	1
1810	1
1816	1
1817	1
1828	1
1829	1
1830	1
1831	1
1837	3
1840	1
1842	2
1845	2
1847	4
1848	2
1849	2
1850	1
1851	2
1852	2
1853	5
1855	1
1857	1
1858	3
1859	1
1860	1
1862	1
1863	2
1864	2
1865	2
1866	1
1870	1
1871	2
1872	1
1873	1
1874	2
1876	2
1878	3
1879	2
1880	2
1881	4
1882	1
1883	5
1884	2
1885	3
1886	5
1887	1
1888	1
1889	4
1890	2
1891	2
1892	1
1894	8
1895	3
1896	4
1897	4
1898	6
1899	4
1900	6
1901	1
1902	3
1903	2
1904	4
1905	6
1906	7
1907	5
1908	4
1909	6
1910	3
1911	8
1912	2
1913	6
1914	5
1915	2
1916	12
1917	5
1918	1
1919	4
1920	2
1922	6
1923	3
1924	4
1925	5
1926	5
1927	1
1928	7
1929	5
1930	4
1931	11
1932	5
1933	7
1934	2
1935	5
1936	7
1937	3
1938	4
1939	4
1940	3
1941	6
1942	1
1943	7
1944	3
1945	2
1947	3
1948	5
1949	2
1950	9
1951	2
1952	11
1953	11
1954	10
1955	13
1956	9
1957	10
1958	15
1959	27
1960	25
1961	17
1962	21
1963	11
1964	14
1965	14
1966	16
1967	9
1968	15
1969	15
1970	9
1971	6
1972	9
1973	4
1974	13
1975	20
1976	18
1977	8
1978	10
1979	9
1980	10
1981	27
1982	23
1983	22
1984	21
1985	21
1986	15
1987	15
1988	26
1989	25
1990	20
1991	23
1992	24
1993	22
1994	25
1995	49
1996	27
1997	28
1998	26
1999	36
2000	52
2001	58
2002	49
2003	57
2004	35
2005	52
2006	54
2007	66
2008	60
2009	41
2010	40
2011	48
2012	64
2013	60
2014	65
2015	73
2016	65
2017	67
2018	43
2019	59
2020	49
2021	55
2022	52
2023	46
2024	16
2025	23
2026	4

Species most often involved in United States

Species	Recorded incidents
White shark	142
Tiger shark	108
Shark involvement not confirmed	57
Bull shark	56
4' shark	41

Counts based on the species field in the Global Shark Attack File. Species identification in incident reports is not always reliable.

Activities most associated with incidents

Surfing672
Swimming386
Fishing145
Wading124
Standing72

Recent recorded incidents in United States

Explore further

Global shark attack statistics →
Compare United States to other countries →
Interactive world map →
United States is in North America

Frequently Asked Questions

How many shark attacks have been recorded in United States?

The Global Shark Attack File records 2,582 shark attacks in United States, of which 200 were fatal.

What is the shark attack fatality rate in United States?

7.7% of recorded shark attacks in United States are fatal, compared with a global average of 21.1%.

Which shark species are most often involved in attacks in United States?

Based on incident records, the species most frequently identified in United States attacks are White shark, Tiger shark, Shark involvement not confirmed.

What activities are most associated with shark attacks in United States?

Surfing accounts for the largest share of recorded incidents in United States, with 672 cases logged.

Where does this shark attack data come from?

All figures are derived from the Global Shark Attack File (GSAF), a non-profit database of shark-human incident records. Shark Data Lab cleans, geocodes, and aggregates the GSAF dataset for analysis.