The Sports & Fitness Association (SFIA) in its 2026 Topline Participation Report identifies that U.S. consumer participation in sports reached a new high in 2025; however, the overall participation growth of 1.2 percent year-over-year was a slight moderation from the 1.7 percent average annual growth rate since 2020.
The SFIA reports that, for the first time since the association began tracking sports participation data, 250 million Americans participated at least once in sports, fitness, or leisure activities in 2025. CORE participation, or those individuals who participate in the majority of play for each sport or activity, reached 158.8 million, an increase of 1.3 percent year-over-year.
“Reaching 250 million active Americans is a historic milestone for our industry,” said Todd Smith, president and CEO of SFIA. “Total and CORE participation continue to rise, which tells us Americans are not just trying activities, they are staying engaged. That kind of sustained participation strengthens communities, drives industry growth and reinforces the essential role sports and fitness play in American life.”
The SFIA 2026 Topline Participation Report tracks activity rates for Americans ages 6 and older across 126 sports, fitness, and leisure activities, includes a 10-year trend analysis by category, examines inactivity, and provides insights into how frequently Americans are meeting federal guidelines for recommended weekly activity.
Among seven categories, the report finds that team sports recorded the strongest year-over-year growth, surpassing 90 million total participants for the first time, while pickleball continues its five-year streak as the fastest-growing sport. The SFIA added two sports to its 2025 report — disc golf and padel — bringing the total number of sports tracked to 126.
New to the 2025 annual report, the SFIA introduced a measure of how often U.S. consumers elevate their heart rate each week, providing additional activity context beyond its topline participation totals. Under the new metric, the SFIA found that 32 percent of U.S. consumers are meeting the federal recommendation of 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity physical activity. The other 68 percent, or two-thirds of participants, were found not to have met the guideline.
Overall Inactivity Reaches Historic Low
The SFIA report finds that the share of U.S. consumers who are totally inactive fell below 20 percent for the first time since the association began tracking activity rates, marking seven consecutive years of decline. However, when looking more closely at inactivity by gender and age, important challenges are identified. While inactivity declined for men and women in 2025, women remain more likely than men to be inactive, with the gender gap widening slightly to 6.3 percentage points, up from 5.9 points the previous year.
By age, inactivity declined across every group except one: teens ages 13-17, where inactivity increased 4.4 percent year-over-year.
“Even with strong participation numbers, our work is far from finished,” Smith said. “The majority of Americans still aren’t meeting federal guidelines for weekly physical activity, teen inactivity levels are rising, and the gap between men’s and women’s inactivity rates has widened.”
Image courtesy Anytime Fitness
