Report / industry research
State of Play 2025
An annual synthesis tracks changes in organized youth-sports participation in the United States.
Publication details
Author and publication date
- Published
Research context
Population and methodology
- Population United States children and adolescents represented in national parent and household surveys; ages 6-17; United States.
- Methodology Synthesis of the U.S. Census Bureau-administered National Survey of Children's Health parent reports and a Sports & Fitness Industry Association household survey.
- Fieldwork 2022-2024 comparison years: 2023 National Survey of Children's Health results and 2024 SFIA participation data
How to use this source
Evidence strength
Limitations The trend measures organized sport and lessons, not all free or informal offline play, and access remains unequal by household resources.
Trace the claim
Extracted evidence
Organized-sport participation among U.S. youth ages 6-17 increased from 53.8% in 2022 to 55.4% in 2023, followed by a separate 6% one-year participation uptick in 2024; this is a directional inference that one form of offline play rebounded.
Locator Introduction, Government Data and Industry Data paragraphs.
Scope United States children and adolescents represented in national parent and household surveys; 6-17; United States; 2022-2024 comparison years: 2023 National Survey of Children's Health results and 2024 SFIA participation data.
Limitations The trend measures organized sport and lessons, not all free or informal offline play, and access remains unequal by household resources.
Connected conclusions
Themes
Related insights
Read the original