How many died in 9/11?
Answer
Nearly 3,000
Explanation
Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, with the official death toll standing at 2,977 victims, plus the 19 hijackers. The dead came from more than 90 countries and ranged in age from 2-year-old Christine Lee Hanson, who was aboard United Airlines Flight 175 with her parents, to 85-year-old Robert Norton, a passenger on American Airlines Flight 11.
The attacks at the World Trade Center killed 2,753 people, including 2,606 in or near the towers and 147 aboard the two airplanes. Most of the victims worked on the upper floors of the North Tower and the South Tower, including the trading firm Cantor Fitzgerald, which lost 658 employees, more than any other organization. The financial firm Marsh and McLennan lost 295 people. The food service workers, kitchen staff, and restaurant employees of Windows on the World on the 106th and 107th floors of the North Tower were almost all killed.
New York firefighters lost 343 members responding to the disaster, including the entire roster of Engine Company 33 and Ladder Company 9. The Port Authority Police Department lost 37 officers, and the New York Police Department lost 23. The death toll among first responders is the highest single-day loss of American emergency workers in history.
At the Pentagon, 184 people were killed, 125 in the building and 59 plus the 5 hijackers aboard American Airlines Flight 77. Among the dead at the Pentagon were 26 Army officers and many civilian Defense Department employees. Aboard United Airlines Flight 93, 40 passengers and crew died after passengers stormed the cockpit and forced the plane down in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Investigators believe their actions saved hundreds of lives at the intended target, likely the Capitol or White House.
The injured included more than 6,000 people. Many first responders developed serious illnesses from exposure to dust and toxic substances at Ground Zero. The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, signed in 2010, has covered medical care and compensation for thousands of survivors and rescue workers. The attacks remained the deadliest day on American soil since the Civil War, surpassing the 2,403 killed at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Why this matters for your test
USCIS uses this question to confirm applicants understand the human scale of the September 11 attacks. The casualty figure helps explain why the United States responded with major wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and with sweeping changes to domestic security policy.
Source: USCIS 128 Civics Questions (2025)
