Quick answer: No one publishes a real ranking of pickleball popularity by state. The national number is solid: SFIA counted 24.3 million Americans who played in 2025. Tennis is still bigger at 27.3 million. The best state-level stand-in is courts per person. By our directory’s count, Vermont leads New England with about 60 courts per 100,000 residents.
The 30-second version
- 24.3 million players in 2025, up from 4.2 million in 2020 (SFIA).
- 7.5 million are “core” players who play 8 or more times a year.
- Tennis still leads with 27.3 million players (USTA, same “played at least once” definition).
- Growth is slowing. Pickleball was up just 1.3% in the first half of 2026.
- State rankings you see online are estimates. No primary source counts players by state.
I’m Jason Regan. I run this site’s New England court directory, so I get asked where pickleball is “biggest” all the time. Here’s what the primary data actually says, where the popular state lists come from, and how our six states compare.
How many people play pickleball?
The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) is the standard source. Its June 2026 Pickleball Report found 24.3 million Americans played in 2025, up from 4.2 million in 2020. SFIA puts the three-year growth at 171.8% and calls pickleball the nation’s fastest-growing sport for five straight years.
- Core players: 7.5 million played 8 or more times in 2025, up from 1.4 million in 2020.
- Casual players: that leaves about 16.8 million who played fewer than 8 times (our subtraction).
- The slowdown: SFIA’s August 2026 mid-year data showed growth of 1.3% in the first half of 2026, its “first sign of moderation.”
You may have seen 36.5 million or even 48.3 million. Those came from the Association of Pickleball Professionals (APP) in 2023. The first came from a YouGov online poll of about 2,500 adults, and both counted any adult who had played even once in the past year. SFIA’s survey found 8.9 million players for 2022. Different methods give very different numbers, so we use SFIA.
Is pickleball more popular than tennis?
Not yet. The USTA’s 2026 participation report counts 27.3 million Americans who played tennis at least once in 2025. That’s about 3 million more than pickleball, and both numbers use the same definition (ages 6+, played at least once).
Don’t compare “core” numbers, though. Tennis counts core players at 10 or more plays a year (14.5 million). Pickleball uses 8 or more. The cutoffs don’t match. For how the two games actually differ on court, see pickleball vs. tennis.
Who plays pickleball?
- Younger than you think. SFIA says teens and young adults aged 13 to 24 have the highest participation rates of any age group.
- More women. Women are now 42.9% of players, up from 38.6% in 2020.
- Average age around 35. That’s SFIA’s figure, from its 2022 data.
The retiree stereotype is out of date. The college game is growing fast too. See our college pickleball hub.
What do we know about pickleball popularity by state?
No one knows for sure. SFIA reports by Census region, not by state. The best-known “top states” lists online are labeled as estimates and don’t cite a primary survey. What we can measure:
- Courts: USA Pickleball says its directory partner Pickleheads lists 18,258 locations and 82,613 courts nationwide (January 2026).
- Members: USA Pickleball reached 104,828 members in 2025.
- Growth by app users: DUPR user data has been used to rank the fastest-growing states. We covered that in the fastest-growing pickleball states.
How popular is pickleball in New England?
Courts per person is the best proxy we have. We divided the courts in our New England court directory by each state’s 2020 Census population:
| State | Courts listed | Per 100,000 people |
|---|---|---|
| Vermont | 387 | 60.1 |
| Maine | 652 | 47.8 |
| New Hampshire | 505 | 36.6 |
| Massachusetts | 1,945 | 27.7 |
| Connecticut | 979 | 27.1 |
| Rhode Island | 279 | 25.4 |
Rural states have the most courts per person. Vermont has more than twice Rhode Island’s rate. For a rough national comparison, Pickleheads’ 82,613 courts work out to about 25 per 100,000 Americans. Directories count courts differently, so treat that as a ballpark. Courts aren’t players either. A shared tennis court with pickleball lines counts the same as a busy indoor club.
For tennis, the USTA counts 1.4 million players in its New England section. No one publishes a matching pickleball number for the region.
Frequently asked questions
How many people play pickleball in 2026?
The latest full-year count is SFIA’s: 24.3 million Americans played in 2025, and 7.5 million of them played 8 or more times. SFIA’s mid-2026 data showed growth slowing to 1.3% in the first half of the year.
Is pickleball more popular than tennis?
Not by participation. The USTA counted 27.3 million tennis players in 2025, compared with 24.3 million for pickleball under the same played-at-least-once definition.
What state is pickleball most popular in?
No primary source ranks states by players. Online state lists are estimates. Courts per person is a measurable proxy, and in New England, Vermont leads at about 60 courts per 100,000 residents in our directory.
What is the average age of a pickleball player?
SFIA put the average age at 35 using 2022 data. Its 2026 report says players aged 13 to 24 now have the highest participation rates, and women make up 42.9% of players.
Why do pickleball participation numbers disagree?
They measure different things. SFIA uses a large panel survey of Americans aged 6 and up. The 36.5 million and 48.3 million figures came from APP online polling of adults only, released in 2023; the first sampled about 2,500 people.
Sources: SFIA, 2026 Pickleball Report release (June 4, 2026), U.S. pickleball participation, mid-year 2026 data (Aug. 20, 2026) and 2023 court-demand release; USTA, 2026 U.S. Tennis Participation Report and New England section report; USA Pickleball, Annual Growth Report; APP, January 2023 and March 2023 releases; U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 apportionment data. Court counts from our directory as of October 2, 2026.