The number of nuclear warheads in the U.S. inventory as of 2023 will be 3,748, down 88% from its peak.

The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has updated its nuclear weapons (nuclear warhead) stockpile information, disclosing the stockpile and the number of dismantled nuclear warheads through September 2023. According to the data, the number of nuclear warheads stockpiled by the United States is 3,748 as of September 2023, down 88% from the peak.

Transparency in the US Nuclear Weapons Stockpile | Department of Energy

Below is a graph showing the evolution of nuclear warhead stockpiles from 1945 to September 2023. The stockpile, which exceeded 5,000 in the 1950s, increased to 25,540 at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. In 1967, it recorded a record high of 31,255 warheads. Since then, except for around 1974, it has basically been on a downward trend, and in 1989, when the Berlin Wall collapsed and the Cold War ended, it was 22,217 warheads. In September 2023, the latest state released, it has decreased to 3,748 warheads.

The number of demolitions that have been made public between 1994 and 2023 is 12,088. Since 1999, triple-digit numbers have been demolitioned annually. In addition, there are about 2,000 more waiting to be demolitioned.

The 'nuclear warhead stockpile' shown in this data includes both active and inactive warheads.

'Active' refers to those in an immediately operational configuration, including strategic weapons, non-strategic weapons, warheads ready for deployment, and spares, with tritium bottles and limited-life components installed. 'Inactive' refers to those in storage, with tritium bottles and other components removed.

The United States' non-strategic nuclear weapons have been reduced by more than 90% since September 30, 1991.