How many taste buds does a human have?

Science medium Data from 2023

Guess before you scroll — the answer is below

Answer in taste buds. Shorthand like 9m or 1.2bn works.

The answer

10,000 taste buds

Roughly 10K.

Humans have around 10,000 taste buds, replaced roughly every two weeks — a rate that slows with age, which is part of why food tastes blander to older people. A catfish has over 100,000, spread across its whole body.

Where this number comes from

Source National Institutes of Health
Figure refers to 2023
Last checked
Unit taste buds

Numbers move. If this one has drifted from its source, let us know.

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