The best source of information on the population status of American Pipit is the continental Christmas Bird Count (CBC). It is suitable for this species, samples most of the wintering range, and the population trends have high precision. CBC data indicate a long-term trend of moderate decline since the early 1970s, although the cumulative change of -25.1% is just past the threshold of little change. The greatest decreases occurred in the 1970s and 1980s, with the index fluctuating somewhat since the 1990s. Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) coverage of the species in Canada is limited to small portions of the alpine range of the species in western and eastern Canada. These trends have low coverage and low precision, but all indicate large long-term decreases, suggesting a possible decline in the alpine populations, offset by greater stability of the much larger tundra population.

The goal for American Pipit is to increase the population to the level it was at in the early 1970s, based on the Christmas Bird Count. Trend data show that American Pipit is currently below its goal range and continuing to decline. Despite this, analysis of recent trends and potential growth rates suggests that American Pipit could reach its population goal by 2050, but only if timely conservation action is taken.