An Overview Swimming In The United States

Active Network Inc. (Active.com) is the largest American provider of data management and online registration services for fitness events including open water swimming events. Its researchers came up with a variety of statistics based on its own proprietary data and data from other sources.

Over the last 10 years, the number of participants in at least once swimming event per year in the United States has decreased from 54.8 million in 2001 to 46 million in 2011. But it was been up and down in terms of participation over the past decade:

2001: 54.8 million participants in one swimming event
2003: 47 million participants in one swimming event
2005: 58 million participants in one swimming event
2007: 52.3 million participants in one swimming event
2009: 50.2 million participants in one swimming event
2011: 46 million participants in one swimming event

The gender composition in swimming events remains more female than male in the United States:

2001: 46% male and 54% female
2003: 46.8% male and 53.2% female
2005: 49.3% male and 50.7% female
2007: 45.8% male and 54.2% female
2009: 47.4% male and 52.6% female
2011: 44.8% male and 55.2% female

In terms of percentage of age group composition, the breakdown was largely skewed towards the older generations:

18-29 years old: 10%
30-30 years old: 16%
40-49 years old: 26%
50-59 years old: 28%
60-69 years old: 14%
70-79 years old: 5%
80+ years old: 1%

The average age of the swimmers per gender is similar:

2005: 27.8 years (male) and 29.9 years (female)
2006: 31.8 years (male) and 32.1 years (female)
2007: 31.6 years (male) and 32.4 years (female)
2008: 31.3 years (male) and 32.4 years (female)
2009: 31.4 years (male) and 32.7 years (female)
2010: 30.1 years (male) and 32.9 years (female)
2011: 30.8 years (male) and 32.3 years (female)

Household income is a key indicator of swimming participation, at least in the United States. The participation rate increases by 35% with household incomes higher than US$100,000. The participation rate by income household is as follows:

Less than US$25,000 per year: 7%
US$25,000 – $50,000 per year: 14%
US$50,000 – $75,000 per year: 14%
US$75,000 – $100,000 per year: 15%
Over US$100,000 per year: 50%

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