How Much Sodium Per Day? Sodium in Plain Numbers
Sodium is one of the few things in health where the target is a single published number, the measurement is already printed on the package, and checking it costs nothing. This guide is that number, where the gap actually is, and how to read the label that tells you.
The guideline number
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030 — the current edition — puts it in one sentence: "The general population, ages 14 and above, should consume less than 2,300 mg per day of sodium"[1]. For children under 14, the recommended limits are lower[2].
The FDA translates 2,300 mg into something you can picture: it is "equal to about 1 teaspoon of table salt"[2].
Two other bodies publish a second, lower figure alongside it. The American Heart Association "recommends no more than 2,300 milligrams (mg) a day and an optimal goal of no more than 1,500 mg a day for most adults"[3]. The 2025 AHA/ACC high blood pressure guideline uses the same pair, recommending "limiting sodium intake to less than 2,300 mg per day, moving toward an ideal limit of 1,500 mg per day"[4].
So: 2,300 mg is the ceiling[1]. 1,500 mg is the stretch goal[3]. One teaspoon, and about two thirds of a teaspoon.
What Americans actually eat
The CDC's figure: "Americans consume more than 3,300 milligrams (mg) of sodium per day, on average"[5]. The FDA's consumer page states it slightly differently — "Americans eat on average about 3,400 mg of sodium per day"[2] — and we're citing both rather than picking the tidier one, because they are two current federal pages with two current federal numbers.
Either way the arithmetic is the same shape:
| Figure | Sodium per day | Source |
|---|---|---|
| What Americans average | More than 3,300 mg | CDC[5] |
| Federal limit, ages 14+ | Less than 2,300 mg | Dietary Guidelines[1] |
| AHA optimal goal, most adults | No more than 1,500 mg | AHA[3] |
The gap between the average[5] and the limit[1] is roughly 1,000 mg a day — a bit under half a teaspoon of salt.
Where it comes from — not the shaker
This is the part that changes what you'd actually do about it. Per the FDA: "most dietary sodium (over 70%) comes from eating packaged and prepared foods — not from table salt added to food when cooking or eating"[2]. The AHA puts the same figure the same way: "more than 70% of the sodium Americans eat comes from packaged, prepared and restaurant foods — not the saltshaker"[3].
Which means the shaker on the table is the smaller share of the problem, and the label on the box is the bigger one.
Reading the label: the part that costs nothing
The Nutrition Facts panel is already printed on everything you buy, and the FDA publishes exactly how to read the sodium line[6]:
- The Daily Value for sodium is 2,300 mg — that is what "100% DV" on the sodium line means[6]. The label's percentage is a share of the same number the guideline uses.
- 5% DV or less per serving "is considered low."[6]
- 20% DV or more per serving "is considered high."[6]
- Check the serving size first. The FDA's own worked example: a product at 37% DV for sodium is a high-sodium product, and "if you consumed 2 servings, that would provide 74% of the DV for sodium — nearly three-quarters of an entire day's worth"[6].
That is the entire method. Two numbers to look at, one threshold to remember, no purchase required, no subscription, and no product that has to be bought to make it work.
The supply side is moving too
Because most sodium arrives already inside the food, some of this is being handled upstream. In October 2021 the FDA issued final voluntary guidance whose targets "are designed to support decreasing average daily sodium intake by about 12% — from approximately 3,400 milligrams (mg) to 3,000 mg per day," over two and a half years[7].
A second round is proposed but not yet adopted. On 15 August 2024 the FDA issued draft Phase II guidance with three-year targets for 163 food categories "that, if achieved, would reduce sodium intake to about 2,750 milligrams/day" — and as of this writing the FDA "is soliciting input on the draft targets before finalizing the guidance"[8]. Worth knowing as a direction of travel, not as a rule in force.
Why this sits in a blood pressure guide
The CDC's statement is the plain one: "Eating too much sodium can increase your blood pressure and your risk for heart disease and stroke"[5]. That is a population-level statement, and we're going to leave it there — how much any individual's readings respond to eating less sodium varies, and it is a question for you and a licensed clinician rather than a number we can put on a page.
If you're tracking the readings themselves, what your blood pressure numbers mean covers the categories, and the elevated and stage-1 window covers what published guidelines say happens in the earliest ones.
The bottom line
Less than 2,300 mg a day for anyone 14 and older[1]; 1,500 mg is the AHA's optimal goal for most adults[3]; the American average is more than 3,300 mg[5]; and over 70% of it is already in the food before it reaches your kitchen[2]. The label tells you where each item lands, in a percentage of the same 2,300 mg. It's a rare case of a health number that's public, printed, and free to check.
References
- Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030, U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture, page 6 — cdn.realfood.gov. Current edition confirmed via ODPHP, "Current Dietary Guidelines" — odphp.health.gov
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration, "Sodium in Your Diet" — fda.gov
- American Heart Association, "How much sodium should I eat per day?" — heart.org
- American Heart Association Newsroom, "New high blood pressure guideline emphasizes prevention, early treatment to reduce CVD risk," 14 August 2025, summarising the 2025 AHA/ACC high blood pressure guideline — newsroom.heart.org; guideline of record — ahajournals.org
- CDC, "About Sodium and Health," updated 29 June 2026 — cdc.gov
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration, "How to Understand and Use the Nutrition Facts Label" — fda.gov
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration, "FDA Issues Sodium Reduction Final Guidance," 13 October 2021 — fda.gov
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration, "Sodium Reduction in the Food Supply" (draft Phase II targets issued 15 August 2024; not finalised) — fda.gov
Evenly is a membership, not insurance — it won’t replace a health plan, and it isn’t meant to. Evenly Health is a planned service. This article is health education, not medical advice — decisions about diagnosis and treatment belong with a licensed clinician. When we launch, care will be provided by independent, licensed clinicians.