Despite affordability concerns, sports and fitness participation in the U.S. has reached a new record high, according to SFIA’s mid-year participation report. The gains were led by team sports, particularly basketball, flag football, baseball and soccer. Pickleball showed only modest growth but padel saw a spike in participation.
For the 12 months ending June 2026, total activity participation reached 81.3 percent, up from 80.5 percent in the 2026 Topline Participation Report released in March. For this metric, SFIA asks its panel whether they took part in at least one of 126 sports and fitness activities SFIA tracks, even once, over the past 12 months.
The improvement in the activity rate marked the highest rate SFIA has ever recorded.
Those inactive, or reporting no participation in any of the 126 tracked activities, likewise shrunk to 18.7 percent in the latest six months from 19.5 percent in 2025 and 24.4 percent in 2020.
Still, participation frequency remains a challenge. CORE participation has remained largely flat since 2020, reaching 51.3 percent for the 12 months ending June, below the 2021 peak of 51.7 percent. CORE participants are those who engage with at least one tracked activity at a “meaningful, sustained frequency “although it varies by activity from 50-plus sessions a year for many fitness activities to 13-plus or 26-plus times a year for team sports, depending on format.
SFIA’s new activity frequency metric also showed only 32.7 percent of Americans ages 6 and older are meeting the federal benchmark of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week, essentially flat with 32.2 percent in 2025. The share recording no activity frequency is also holding steady, moving from 22.5 percent in 2025 to 22.4 percent in the first half of 2026. Alex Kerman, senior director, head of research for SFIA, wrote in the executive summary of the study, “That leaves significant opportunity for the industry to help more Americans move toward recommended levels of physical activity.”
Team Sports Pace Participation Gains
Across the 126 activities SFIA tracks, the growth in the team sports category is spreading across several activities. Basketball participation is up 9.5 percent, flag football is up 9.3 percent, and baseball is up 6.7 percent. SFIA said the increases particularly stood out since all three activities already had large participation bases.
Soccer also appeared to earn a boost from the attention around the World Cup, with participation rising 6.2 percent in outdoor soccer and 5.3 percent in indoor soccer. SFIA noted that the increases build on gains already seen heading into the summer’s World Cup. SFIA noted in the study, “This data set only captures a few weeks of tournament play, so it’s an early read, not a final one. We’ll be watching soccer participation closely for the rest of the year as the full World Cup effect on soccer participation plays out.”
Asking team sports participants why they play, the top answer was because they’re “fun,” cited by 53.4 percent; ahead of staying active (47.3 percent) and playing with friends (35.4 percent). Being part of a team (31.4 percent) and becoming more physically active (28.3 percent) round out the top five. Mental health (24.6 percent) and reducing stress (24.5 percent) each register with about a quarter of participants.
Individuals participating in team sports climbed for three straight years, from 27.8 percent in 2024 to 30.8 percent at the halfway mark of 2026. It was the the fastest-growing category in 2025 and holds that position into the first half of 2026. Fitness remains the largest category, holding steady at 70.0 percent, with outdoor close behind at 59.2 percent. Racquet and winter sports are also trending up, at 21.1 percent and 10.3 percent. Individual sports is the one category moving the other direction, easing to 41.3 percent from 42.8 percent in 2024, while water sports held essentially flat at 17.0 percent. SFIA noted, “Americans are redirecting activity toward organized, social formats like team and racquet sports.”
In fitness, Pilates training (+10.9 percent) and treadmill (+8.5 percent) continue their strong growth reported in the recent annual Topline report, while yoga growth has cooled (+1.2 percent). Trail running (+9.9 percent) is booming as walking for fitness (+1.8 percent) and running/jogging (+1.0 percent) hold steady.
In racquet sports, padel has taken over pickleball’s spot as as the fastest-growing activity, with a year-over-year gain of 14.5 percent. SFIA said, “It remains a small base today, but the growth curve is exactly why we added it, and we’ll keep tracking it closely as it scales. Meanwhile, pickleball growth is showing its first sign of moderation, up 1.3 percent in the first half of the year.
Participation Rates for Select Sports & Fitness Activities
Affordability Weighs on Sports Participation
The report finds that affordability is already influencing participation decisions. More than one-quarter of participants (26.9 percent) say out-of-pocket costs have affected how they participate. Among those already affected by costs, roughly one-quarter (24.9 percent) say they are very unlikely to continue their current activities if costs continue to rise.
Three in ten participants (30.2 percent) reported higher participation costs compared with last year, with inflation, higher facility or membership fees, sports equipment, and tariffs among the most commonly cited drivers of those increases. Notably, one in four participants (25 percent) experiencing higher costs pointed to tariffs on sports equipment as a reason for those increases.
Data and graphics courtesy SFIA
