Pickleball statistics
Pickleball Stats & Statistics 2026
US participation figures from the SFIA, plus live court counts from the WherePickleball directory — so you can separate national player estimates from mapped courts by state and city.
Directory figures below are court locations in our OpenStreetMap-derived catalog (updated 2026-10-02), not estimates of every court in America. Industry participation numbers are cited from SFIA and labeled separately.
US Pickleball Participation (SFIA)
National player estimates from the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) 2026 Pickleball Single Sport Report — not directory court counts.
SFIA reports pickleball as the nation’s fastest-growing sport for 5 consecutive years. Female participation reached 42.9% of players in 2025 (up from 38.6% in 2020), and teens/young adults ages 13–24 posted the highest participation rates of any age segment in the same report.
Source: Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) 2026 Pickleball Single Sport Report. We do not invent YoY percentages, market size, or demographics beyond what this public release states.
WherePickleball Directory Snapshot
Aggregates from 10,516 mapped locations (10,516 court slots in source data). Labels reflect OSM/access tags in our database.
Access type (directory)
- Public9,614
- Private897
- Fee / membership5
- With lights tagged945
How to use these numbers
Treat directory totals as coverage of facilities we have mapped, useful for comparing states and cities on this site. Private clubs and untapped OSM areas mean the true US court inventory is larger.
Exploring a trip or a move? Pair this page with our best cities for pickleball 2026 rankings and the court finder.
Top States by Courts in Our Directory
Mapped pickleball court locations by state — click through to each state hub
Browse all states on the courts index.
Top Cities by Courts in Our Directory
Highest court-location counts among mapped cities (excluding mis-tagged state names)
| # | City | State | Locations | Public |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scottsdale | AZ | 122 | 118 |
| 2 | Phoenix | AZ | 75 | 73 |
| 3 | Mesa | AZ | 58 | 52 |
| 4 | Lehi | UT | 54 | 53 |
| 5 | Austin | TX | 49 | 46 |
| 6 | Charlotte | NC | 46 | 37 |
| 7 | Holladay | UT | 46 | 4 |
| 8 | Marco Island | FL | 45 | 42 |
| 9 | Bainbridge Island | WA | 43 | 26 |
| 10 | San Diego | CA | 42 | 35 |
| 11 | Paradise Valley | AZ | 42 | 42 |
| 12 | Sanibel | FL | 41 | 41 |
| 13 | Seattle | WA | 41 | 33 |
| 14 | Chicago | IL | 40 | 36 |
| 15 | Los Angeles | CA | 38 | 33 |
Deep dive: 10 best cities for pickleball (2026) · pickleball statistics explainer
Pickleball Quick Facts
Rules, history, and context — separate from participation or directory counts
Pickleball was invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington
The sport is named after the Pritchards' dog, Pickles (or possibly the pickle boat in crew)
A pickleball court is 20x44 feet — about one-quarter the size of a tennis court
The kitchen (non-volley zone) is 7 feet deep on each side of the net
The net height is 36 inches at the sidelines and 34 inches at the center
Outdoor and indoor pickleball balls use different hole counts for flight characteristics
Pickleball paddles were originally made of plywood
USA Pickleball (the national governing body) was founded in 2005
Pickleball was named the official state sport of Washington in 2022
Major League Pickleball launched team-format competition in 2022
The average recreational rally is short, but games often run 15–25 minutes
Open play and paddle-queue etiquette varies by park — always ask locals
Pickleball Statistics FAQ
Common questions about pickleball stats, demographics framing, and our court data
How many people play pickleball in the US? +
According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) 2026 Pickleball Single Sport Report, about 24.3M Americans played pickleball in 2025, up from 4.2M in 2020.
How many pickleball courts are in the WherePickleball directory? +
Our OpenStreetMap-derived directory currently lists 10,516 pickleball court locations across 46 US states and 4,119 cities. These are mapped facilities in our directory — not a claim about every court in America.
Which US state has the most pickleball courts? +
In our directory, California leads with 1,053 mapped court locations, followed by Florida and Utah. Counts change as OSM and community submissions improve coverage.
Where is pickleball most popular? +
Nationally, SFIA reports pickleball as the fastest-growing sport for 5 consecutive years, with strong adoption among younger players and women (42.9% of players in 2025). On the court map, high directory density shows up in California, Florida, Illinois, Washington, Michigan, and Utah — browse state hubs below or our best-cities rankings.
What is the pickleball market size? +
We do not invent market-size or revenue figures. For industry economics, rely on primary research publishers (such as SFIA reports). This page focuses on cited participation numbers and live court-directory counts you can verify on WherePickleball.
Where does WherePickleball court data come from? +
Court locations are primarily derived from OpenStreetMap (OSM) pickleball tags, then normalized into our state and city hubs. Community submissions help fill gaps. Always treat totals as directory coverage, not a census of every private HOA or club court.
Explore Courts Behind the Stats
Jump into state and city hubs, read our rankings, or add a missing facility so the directory stays accurate.