2022 Motorized Boating in the United States: A Demographic and Economic Analysis

Motorized boating is a popular American outdoor pastime, an economic force, and funds conservation efforts across the Nation. To capture metrics on the time spent outdoors along with the economic impacts of recreational boating, the 2022 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation included motorized boating survey questions for the first time in the Survey’s 67-year history. In 2021, 47.3 million Americans 6 years old and older used a motorboat recreationally. This represents 16 percent of the U.S. population in that age group. Boating clearly is a popular outdoor pursuit.