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Pickleball Statistics: America’s Fastest Growing Sport in 2023
We've summarized the most fascinating statistics in the game of pickleball.
Every year USA Pickleball puts out an Annual Growth Report. In it, you’ll find some exciting numbers about where pickleball is headed. We’ve summarized the most interesting numbers here.
- The 2023 Sports & Fitness Industry Association’s (SFIA) Topline Participation Report announced that pickleball continued to be America’s fastest-growing sport for the third year in a row (out of 124 tracked).
- The 2023 APP Pickleball Participation Report released details that 36.5 million people have played pickleball at least once in the last year. That’s 14% of the adult population!
- 6 out of every 10 pickleball players is male.
- According to Places2Play, there are 10,724 locations to play pickleball. That’s 130 new pickleball locations per month.
- Ages 18-34 represents the largest age bracket of pickleball players, totaling 28.8% of all players. Pickleball is getting younger every year.
Total Number of Pickleball Players
According to the 2023 APP Tour’s Pickleball Participation Report, there are 36.5 million pickleball players in the United States.
The SFIA has completed their own analysis to determine the number of players in the US. Note, they have different thresholds for what they consider players, which is where you see the discrepancy. What’s important to note is the GROWTH!
Source: SFIA Report
Pickleball Demographics: Players by Age
The average age of pickleball players in 2021 is 38.1 years old, a decrease of 2.9 years (41) in 2020. This shows that pickleball is getting younger.
Based on the 2022 SFIA Single Sport Report on Pickleball, ages 18-24 is the most popular demopgraphic.
Core - Plays 8+ times per year
Casual - Plays 1-7 times per year
Pickleball Demographics: Players by Gender
Men make up a majority of all pickleball players at 60.1%, while women make up 39.5% of all pickleball players.
However, women players grew slightly faster than men:
Pickleball Players by Region
The South Atlantic region makes up the most pickleball players in the US at 1,087,000. These states include Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and DC.
These 4 regions account for 69% of all players.
Some fun facts:
- Highest Growth Region - West North Central (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD) at 30% year over year (245,000 → 318,000)
- Lowest % of population playing pickleball - East South Central (AL, KY, MS, TN) at 0.9% of the total population
- 61% of players live east of the Mississippi River
Total Number of Pickleball Courts (by State)
Fun Facts
- As of 2023, there are 10,724 known places to play pickleball in the US. 130 new locations are created per month!
- The number of pickleball courts hit 44,094 in 2022, a 15.6% year-over-year growth.
- Naples, Florida is the capital of Pickleball
- Pickleball is the official sport of Washington (state)
California has the highest number of places to play pickleball at 794, followed by Florida at 770, and Texas at 519.
Here are the top 10 states by the number of pickleball locations:
Total Number of Pickleball Courts (by City)
Given it’s proximity to the birthplace of pickleball, it makes sense that Seattle has the highest number of locations to play pickleball at 49 locations. Denver follows it up at 37 locations and then Portland, OR at 33 locations.
Here are the top 10 cities by the number of pickleball locations:
Pickleball Market Statistics
Business Research insights the estimated pickleball paddle market size to be $148.5 million in 2021. They expect it to grow to 253.8 million in 2028.
You can read more up about it here.
The USA had 74.5% of the global market share in 2018, followed by Canada at 5.4%. If you're in the market for a paddle, we may be able to help you out.
Professional Pickleball Events
There will be 47 major professional pickleball tournaments held in the US across 2023. This includes events from the top 3 leagues and tours:
- Major League Pickleball (MLP)
- Professional Pickleball Association (PPA)
- Association of Pickleball Players (APP)
The total prize money for these events is estimated to be anywhere from $9-$11 million.
Professional Pickleball Players
Below are the PPA Tour top 5 rankings as of June 2023.
Top 10 Ranked Players - Mens Singles
Top 10 Ranked Players - Women’s Singles
You can find the full list of rankings for the following categories on the PPA website.
- Men’s Doubles
- Mixed Doubles (Men)
- Men’s Singles
- Women’s Doubles
- Mixed Doubles (Women)
- Women’s Singles
USA Pickleball Facts and Highlights
- Number of USA Pickleball Ambassadors - 1,973
- 2022 National Championship - Event drew nearly 2,300 registered players with the professional players competing for $150,000 in prize money
- First ever Amateur National Championship held at the Pictona Pickleball Complex just outside of Daytona Beach, FL. The event hosted 1,193 players from all over the country, competing for their ticket to the 2023 National Championship at Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
- 212 certified referees
- USA Pickleball Equipment & Evaluation Committee (EEC) approved 525 new paddles and 34 new balls in 2022.
- Currently, there are around 68,697 members of the USA pickleball association, a 29.4% increase from 2021.
- The following of USAPA official social channels grew by over 50% in 2022.
You can find more on the USA Pickleball Fact Sheet - 2023.
Where to go from here?
If these statistics have got you excited to play, but you don't have a paddle, take a look at our pickleball paddle buying guide. Regardless if you are a beginner, intermediate, or advanced player, we've got some recommendations for you.
If you're still brand new to pickleball, but maybe come from a tennis background, Key Differences Between Pickleball and Tennis may be a valuable readfor you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average age of a pickleball player?
The average age of a pickleball player is 38.1 years old, as compared to 41 years old in 2020. This shows pickleball is getting popular among the younger population too.
How many pickleball players are there in the United States?
There were 8.9 million pickleball players in the United States of America at the end of 2022. This is around 4.1 million more than the number of US-based pickleball players in 2021.
When did pickleball become popular?
According to the following graph, pickleball has been gaining traction since 2014, but it boomed during the pandemic. During the two years of 2020-21, it saw an astonishing growth of 39.3%. However, in 2022, it saw an even greater growth of 85.7%.
How much do professional pickleball players earn?
The average pro pickleball player makes around $50,000 per year, though with various difference in sponsors, this number may be much more. Due to the boom in popularity, you can expect this number to drastically rise in the next few years.
