Contents
- Recreational boating participation statistics: U.S. participation and boating households
- Recreational boating participation statistics by Census region
- Recreational boating participation statistics by age, gender, race, ethnicity, and household income
- Recreational boating participation statistics: boating days and activities
- Recreational boating participation statistics: boat operation and operator demographics
- Recreational boating participation statistics: safety course participation
- Recreational boating participation statistics: access through ownership
- Sources
Recreational boating participation statistics: U.S. participation and boating households
The U.S. Coast Guard’s 2018 National Recreational Boating Safety Survey estimated that 84.544 million U.S. residents went out on the water in a recreational boat at least once during 2018. That represented 26.5% of residents living in occupied U.S. households. The survey’s definition is specific: someone had to go out on the water; merely boarding a boat without leaving shore did not qualify. Commercial vessels used to make money—including captained charter and party boats, tour boats, ferries, and cruise ships—were excluded. Source: 2018 Participation Survey, Table 3-1 and Section 3
At the household level, an estimated 28.371 million U.S. households had at least 1 person go boating in 2018. This was 23.3% of occupied households. A “boating household” therefore means a household with at least 1 person who went boating during that year; it does not mean the household owned a boat. The distinction matters because participation and ownership are separate survey measures. Source: 2018 Participation Survey, Table 3-1
The same population count provides context for participation: 234.532 million residents, or 73.5% of the occupied-household population, did not go boating in 2018. These are historical estimates for the survey’s stated population and period, not current-year participation figures. The denominator comes from the 2018 American Community Survey one-year dataset: 319,075,830 residents and 121,520,185 occupied households. Source: 2018 Participation Survey, Table 3-1 and notes
| U.S. measure, 2018 | Estimate | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Residents who went boating | 84.544 million | 26.5% |
| Residents who did not go boating | 234.532 million | 73.5% |
| Households with at least 1 boater | 28.371 million | 23.3% |
Source: 2018 Participation Survey, Table 3-1
Recreational boating participation statistics by Census region
Participation rates differed across the 4 Census regions in 2018. The Midwest had the highest regional rate: 32.3% of its residents went boating. The West had the lowest, at 21.4%. These figures compare the share of residents in each region who participated; they do not measure boat ownership or the number of trips per person. Source: 2018 Participation Survey, Table 3-1
Regional headcounts follow a different pattern because regions have different population sizes. The South had 30.808 million boaters, compared with 21.662 million in the Midwest, 16.065 million in the West, and 16.009 million in the Northeast. The South also had the largest regional total of boating households, with 10.539 million households in which at least 1 person went boating. Source: 2018 Participation Survey, Table 3-1
| Census region | Residents who boated | Participation rate |
|---|---|---|
| Northeast | 16.009 million | 28.8% |
| Midwest | 21.662 million | 32.3% |
| South | 30.808 million | 25.4% |
| West | 16.065 million | 21.4% |
Source: 2018 Participation Survey, Table 3-1
Household participation rates also varied: 27.1% of Midwest households were boating households, the highest regional share. The corresponding shares were 21.8% in the Northeast, 23.0% in the South, and 21.5% in the West. The South’s 10.539 million boating households were the largest count, while the Midwest led on the percentage measure. Source: 2018 Participation Survey, Table 3-1
Recreational boating participation statistics by age, gender, race, ethnicity, and household income
The survey’s demographic results describe the share of each group that went boating at least once in 2018. Men had a 29.0% participation rate, compared with 24.1% for women. The survey estimated 39.287 million female boaters. By age, residents ages 18–44 had a 29.0% participation rate and accounted for 32.034 million boaters. Among residents aged 65 and over, the rate was 18.2%, with 9.845 million boaters. Residents aged 17 and under had a 26.4% rate and represented 19.309 million boaters. Source: 2018 Participation Survey, Table 3-2
Household composition showed additional variation. Among residents in households with 2 or more adults and 1 or more children, 29.9% went boating, representing 38.296 million people. For residents in single-adult households without children, the rate was 19.3%, and the estimated number of boaters was 13.472 million. These are household-composition groupings, not individual measures of parenting or household boat ownership. Source: 2018 Participation Survey, Table 3-2
For race, the participation rate was 29.2% among White residents and 17.4% among Black/African American residents. The survey estimated 12.653 million Hispanic or Latino boaters, corresponding to a participation rate of 22.7%. Race and ethnicity are presented as distinct survey categories in these figures. Source: 2018 Participation Survey, Table 3-2
| Group | Participation rate | Estimated boaters |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 29.0% | — |
| Women | 24.1% | 39.287 million |
| Ages 17 and under | 26.4% | 19.309 million |
| Ages 18–44 | 29.0% | 32.034 million |
| Ages 65 and over | 18.2% | 9.845 million |
Source: 2018 Participation Survey, Table 3-2
Participation also differed by household income. Residents of households earning $150,000 and over had a 39.6% participation rate; for residents of households earning less than $25,000, the rate was 18.4%. Income in this table refers to household income. The survey did not collect each resident’s individual income, so these rates should not be read as personal-income comparisons. Source: 2018 Participation Survey, Table 3-2 and note
Recreational boating participation statistics: boating days and activities
Among people who boated at least once in 2018, the mean number of boating days was 17.5 and the median was 8.0. Across all U.S. household residents, including non-boaters, the mean was 4.6 days and the median was 0.0 days. The all-residents measure includes people who did not go out on the water, while the boater measure includes only those who participated at least once. Source: 2018 Participation Survey, Table 3-6 and notes
By region, Midwestern boaters averaged 21.0 days on the water, the highest regional mean reported. The other regional means among boaters were 17.9 days in the South, 16.2 in the Northeast, and 13.2 in the West. Each is a mean for residents of that region who went boating at least once in 2018. Source: 2018 Participation Survey, Table 3-6
The activity results count people who reported each activity at least once while boating during 2018. Cruising was reported by 43.4% of boaters, or 36.692 million people. Paddling—including canoes, kayaks, paddleboards, and inflatables—was reported by 39.2%, or 33.141 million. Fishing or crabbing from a boat was reported by 29.9%, or 25.278 million; this measure includes children and adults. Sightseeing or observing nature was reported by 30.4%, or 25.701 million, and socializing with friends by 31.5%, or 26.631 million. Source: 2018 Participation Survey, Table 3-7 and accompanying text
| Activity reported at least once | Share of boaters | Estimated people |
|---|---|---|
| Cruising | 43.4% | 36.692 million |
| Paddling | 39.2% | 33.141 million |
| Socializing with friends | 31.5% | 26.631 million |
| Sightseeing or observing nature | 30.4% | 25.701 million |
| Fishing or crabbing | 29.9% | 25.278 million |
| Sunbathing | 14.8% | 12.512 million |
| Jet skiing | 8.7% | 7.355 million |
| Water skiing or wakeboarding | 7.0% | 5.918 million |
| Sailing | 4.4% | 3.719 million |
| Rowing | 4.4% | 3.721 million |
| Scuba diving or snorkeling off a boat | 4.0% | 3.381 million |
| Whitewater rafting | 1.8% | 1.523 million |
| Racing | 0.3% | 254,000 |
Source: 2018 Participation Survey, Table 3-7 and footnotes
These percentages can total over 100% because a person could report more than 1 activity. They describe whether an activity occurred at least once, not the share of boating days devoted to it or how frequently it was done. Source: 2018 Participation Survey, Table 3-7 footnote
Recreational boating participation statistics: boat operation and operator demographics
Going boating and operating a boat are different measures. In 2018, an estimated 55.3% of boaters—46.72 million people—operated at least 1 boat they rode on. That leaves the participation measure broader than the operator count: a person could go out on the water without operating the vessel. Source: 2018 Participation Survey, Section 3.7 narrative before Table 3-11
Among male boaters, 63.2% operated a boat they went out on; among female boaters, 46.2% did so. The reported age comparisons also show different operator shares within the boating population: 33.6% of boaters aged 17 and under operated a boat, an estimated 6.48 million people, while 64.3% of boaters aged 45–64 operated one, an estimated 15.01 million. These percentages use boaters in each group as their base, rather than all residents of that age or gender. Source: 2018 Participation Survey, Section 3.7 narrative and Table 3-11
Separately, people aged 65 or older made up an estimated 12% of boat operators, representing 5.59 million operators. This is a share of operators, not a participation rate among older residents. Source: 2018 Participation Survey, Section 3.7 narrative before Table 3-11
Recreational boating participation statistics: safety course participation
Among people who went boating in 2018, 74.5% had not taken a boating safety course, representing 63.023 million people. In that same group, 5.8% reported taking a boating safety course within the previous 2 years. These are separate reported course-status measures; the recent-course figure has an explicit 2-year reference period. Source: 2018 Participation Survey, Table 3-13
Regional figures for taking a course in the previous 2 years were 8.7% of boaters in the South and 2.7% in the Midwest. The survey also reports course history for operators specifically: among people who operated a recreational boat in 2018, 65.6% had not taken a boating safety course. The operator percentage uses a narrower population than the overall boater measure. Source: 2018 Participation Survey, Tables 3-13 and 3-16
Recreational boating participation statistics: access through ownership
Ownership provides one view of access, distinct from the participation-survey count of households with a boater. The Coast Guard’s 2018 Exposure Survey estimated that about 11.9% of U.S. households—approximately 14.5 million—owned or co-owned at least 1 recreational boat. Boat-owning households averaged 1.8 boats. The regional averages were 2.0 boats per boat-owning household in the Northeast and 1.6 in the South. Source: 2018 Exposure Survey, Sections 3.1 and 3.4
By region, the Midwest had the highest reported share of boat-owning households, at 14.9%; the West had the lowest, at 8.9%. Ownership also varied by boat type: almost 6 million U.S. households owned at least 1 open powerboat, approximately 4.24 million owned 1 or more kayaks, and about 2.14 million owned canoes. These type counts concern households and can overlap when a household owned multiple kinds of boats. Source: 2018 Exposure Survey, Section 3.1
For kayaks, 5.2% of Northeast households owned one, the highest regional share reported for that type. The ownership estimates describe 2018 and do not establish that every boating household owned a vessel or that every boat-owning household had someone who went boating that year. Source: 2018 Exposure Survey, Section 3.1
The Coast Guard’s NRBSS page announces a 2026 survey launch and an invitation to over 50,000 households; it does not provide 2026 participation estimates. Accordingly, the participation, activity, operator, course, and ownership figures above remain 2018 estimates. Source: National Recreational Boating Safety Survey page