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Facts + Statistics: Sports injuries

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Sports injuries

According to the National Safety Council (NSC), in 2023 exercise equipment accounted for an estimated 482,886 injuries, the most in any sports and recreation category.

Sports Injuries By Number Of Injuries, 2023

 

    Number of injuries by age 
Sport, activity or equipment Injuries (1) Younger than 5 5 to 14 15 to 24 25 to 64 65 and older
Exercise, exercise equipment 482,886 7,750 40,592 95,671 247,518 91,354
Bicycles and accessories 405,688 13,312 92,776 54,207 195,805 49,588
Basketball 332,391 1,573 114,123 149,816 64,915 1,964
ATV's, mopeds, minibikes, etc. 269,657 3,827 44,487 76,485 131,303 13,555
Football 263,585 560 140,877 101,796 19,605 746
Skateboards, scooters, hoverboards 221,313 6,528 60,376 58,480 88,507 7,422
Soccer 212,423 2,069 101,072 75,978 32,140 1,164
Playground equipment 190,942 49,233 125,692 5,373 9,019 1,624
Swimming, pools, equipment 166,011 20,254 66,420 24,348 42,791 12,198
Baseball, softball 139,940 2,399 59,255 42,973 31,789 3,524
Trampolines 111,212 25,516 67,926 8,682 8,683 404
Lacrosse, rugby, misc. ball games 72,096 528 17,948 18,321 19,526 15,773
Skating (excl. In-line) 69,833 682 27,552 12,834 26,674 2,091
Golf 67,488 1,701 8,117 7,422 23,239 27,009
Volleyball 54,904 41 19,952 25,160 8,645 1,106
Fishing 54,230 1,212 11,019 7,091 27,420 7,488
Hockey 40,948 130 12,456 17,274 10,395 694
Martial arts 31,423 48 8,600 8,605 13,760 411
Racquet sports 22,769 88 2,900 4,318 7,515 7,949
Beach, picnic, camping equipment 22,637 2,595 3,593 1,938 10,119 4,392
Boxing 21,806 55 2,387 10,389 8,645 331
Water skiing, tubing, surfing 18,165 144 2,269 5,174 9,727 851

(1) Treated in hospital emergency departments.

Source: National Safety Council analysis of U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission NEISS data. National Safety Council. Injury Facts®.

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Bicycle crashes

According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), 1,105 pedalcyclists were killed in 2022, a 2.6 percent increase from 2021. Starting in 2022, pedalcyclists include people on motorized bicycles. In 37 percent of all fatal crashes with pedal cyclists in 2022, alcohol was involved—either via the motor vehicle driver or the cyclist. That same year, 83 percent of fatal pedalcyclist crashes happened in urban areas.

Total Motor Vehicle and Pedalcyclist Fatalities, 2013-2022 (1)

 

Year Total Pedalcyclist Pedalcyclists as a
percent of
total fatalities
2013 32,893 749 2.3%
2014 32,744 729 2.2
2015 35,484 829 2.3
2016 37,806 853 2.3
2017 37,473 806 2.2
2018 36,835 871 2.4
2019 36,355 859 2.4
2020 39,007 948 2.4
2021 43,230 976 2.3
2022 (2) 42,514 1,105 2.6

(1) Pedalcyclists are defined by the National Highway Safety Administration as bicyclists and other cyclists including riders of two-wheeled, nonmotorized vehicles, tricycles and unicycles.
(2) Starting in 2022, pedalcyclists include people on motorized bicycles.

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Pedalcyclists Killed And Fatality Rates By Age, 2022 (1)

 

Age group Killed Population Fatality rate per
100,000 population
Under 5 5 18,538,353 0.03
5 to 9 14 20,009,195 0.07
10 to 14 37 20,889,839 0.18
Children (14 and under) 56 59,437,387 0.09
15 to 20 46 26,073,798 0.18
21 to 24 33 18,267,773 0.18
25 to 29 72 22,193,164 0.32
30 to 34 67 23,308,136 0.29
35 to 39 79 22,267,949 0.35
40 to 44 95 21,427,416 0.44
45 to 49 82 19,624,098 0.42
50 to 54 95 20,807,547 0.46
55 to 59 125 20,967,014 0.60
60-64 128 21,118,423 0.61
65-69 86 18,631,422 0.46
70 to 74 61 15,157,017 0.40
75 to 79 32 10,861,000 0.29
80 and over 27 13,145,413 0.21
Seniors (65 and over) 206 57,794,852 0.36
Total (2) 1,105 333,287,557 0.33

(1) Pedalcyclists are defined by the National Highway Safety Administration as bicyclists and other cyclists including riders of two-wheeled, nonmotorized vehicles, tricycles and unicycles. Starting in 2022, pedalcyclists include people on motorized bicycles.
(2) Includes pedalcyclists of unknown age.

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Fatalities, Pedalcyclist Fatalities, And Fatality Rates By State, 2022 (1)

 

    Pedalcyclists 
 State  Resident population
(000)		 Total traffic
fatalities 		  Fatalities  Percent of total
traffic fatalities		 Fatalities  
100,000 population
Alabama 5,074 988 14 1.4% 0.28
Alaska 734 82 2 2.40 0.27
Arizona 7,359 1,302 50 3.80 0.68
Arkansas 3,046 643 6 0.90 0.20
California 39,029 4,428 177 4.00 0.45
Colorado 5,840 764 15 2.00 0.26
Connecticut 3,626 359 3 0.80 0.08
Delaware 1,018 162 6 3.70 0.59
District of Columbia 672 32 3 9.40 0.45
Florida 22,245 3,530 222 6.30 1.00
Georgia 10,913 1,797 29 1.60 0.27
Hawaii 1,440 116 7 6.00 0.49
Idaho 1,939 215 4 1.90 0.21
Illinois 12,582 1,268 35 2.80 0.28
Indiana 6,833 949 16 1.70 0.23
Iowa 3,201 338 4 1.20 0.12
Kansas 2,937 410 7 1.70 0.24
Kentucky 4,512 744 14 1.90 0.31
Louisiana 4,590 906 45 5.00 0.98
Maine 1,385 182 2 1.10 0.14
Maryland 6,165 564 10 1.80 0.16
Massachusetts 6,982 434 9 2.10 0.13
Michigan 10,034 1,124 36 3.20 0.36
Minnesota 5,717 444 6 1.40 0.10
Mississippi 2,940 703 17 2.40 0.58
Missouri 6,178 1,057 11 1.00 0.18
Montana 1,123 213 2 0.90 0.18
Nebraska 1,968 244 0 (2) (3)
Nevada 3,178 416 15 3.60 0.47
New Hampshire 1,395 146 3 2.10 0.22
New Jersey 9,262 685 18 2.60 0.19
New Mexico 2,113 466 4 0.90 0.19
New York 19,677 1,175 50 4.30 0.25
New Carolina 10,699 1,630 22 1.30 0.21
New Dakota 779 98 1 1.00 0.13
Ohio 11,756 1,275 8 0.60 0.07
Oklahoma 4,020 710 15 2.10 0.37
Oregon 4,240 601 13 2.20 0.31
Pennsylvania 12,972 1,179 15 1.30 0.12
Rhode Island 1,094 52 0 (2) (3)
South Carolina 5,283 1,094 25 2.30 0.47
South Dakota 910 137 3 2.20 0.33
Tennessee 7,051 1,314 15 1.10 0.21
Texas 30,030 4,408 91 2.10 0.30
Utah 3,381 319 15 4.70 0.44
Vermont 647 76 1 1.30 0.15
Virginia 8,684 1,008 11 1.10 0.13
Washington 7,786 733 11 1.50 0.14
West Virginia 1,775 264 2 0.80 0.11
Wisconsin 5,893 596 14 2.30 0.24
Wyoming 581 134 1 0.70 0.17
U.S. Total 333,288 42,514 1,105 2.60% 0.33

(1) Bicyclists are defined by the National Highway Safety Administration as pedalcyclists, which are bicyclists and other cyclists including riders of two-wheeled, nonmotorized vehicles, tricycles and unicycles. Starting in 2022, pedalcyclists include people on motorized bicycles.
(2) Less than 0.01 percent.
(3) Less than 0.01 per 100,000 population.

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Total Traffic Fatalities And Pedalcyclist Traffic Fatalities And Fatality Rates By City, 2022 (1)

 

      Pedalcyclists Fatality rate per 100,000 population 
City (2) Resident
population		 Total traffic
fatalities		 Fatalities As a percent
of total
traffic fatalities		 Total Pedalcyclist Pedalcyclist
rank (3)
New York, NY 8,335,897 238 20 8.4% 2.86 0.24 28
Los Angeles, CA 3,822,238 354 20 5.6 9.26 0.52 13
Chicago, IL 2,665,039 192 10 5.2 7.20 0.38 22
Houston, TX 2,302,878 323 11 3.4 14.03 0.48 16
Phoenix, AZ 1,644,409 311 19 6.1 18.91 1.16 3
Philadelphia, PA 1,567,258 142 3 2.1 9.06 0.19 29
San Antonio, TX 1,472,909 203 8 3.9 13.78 0.54 12
San Diego, CA 1,381,162 118 2 1.7 8.54 0.14 33
Dallas, TX 1,299,544 228 5 2.2 17.54 0.38 21
Austin, TX 974,447 119 1 0.8 12.21 0.10 35
Jacksonville, FL 971,319 149 5 3.4 15.34 0.51 15
San Jose, CA 971,233 63 4 6.3 6.49 0.41 18
Fort Worth, TX 956,709 121 5 4.1 12.65 0.52 14
Columbus, OH 907,971 93 1 1.1 10.24 0.11 34
Charlotte, NC 897,720 102 0 (4) 11.36 (5) 36
Indianapolis, IN 880,621 134 3 2.2 15.22 0.34 23
San Francisco, CA 808,437 42 0 (4) 5.20 (5) 36
Seattle, WA 749,256 39 3 7.7 5.21 0.40 19
Denver, CO 713,252 74 4 5.4 10.38 0.56 11
Oklahoma City, OK 694,800 88 5 5.7 12.67 0.72 8
Nashville, TN 683,622 112 2 1.8 16.38 0.29 27
El Paso, TX 677,456 71 2 2.8 10.48 0.30 26
Washington, DC 671,803 32 3 9.4 4.76 0.45 17
Las Vegas, NV 656,274 51 2 3.9 7.77 0.30 25
Boston, MA 650,706 24 1 4.2 3.69 0.15 32
Portland, OR 635,067 62 4 6.5 9.76 0.63 9
Louisville, KY 624,444 119 6 5.0 19.06 0.96 6
Memphis, TN 621,056 228 2 0.9 36.71 0.32 24
Detroit, MI 620,376 121 7 5.8 19.50 1.13 4
Baltimore, MD 569,931 46 1 2.2 8.07 0.18 31
Milwaukee, WI 563,305 85 5 5.9 15.09 0.89 7
Albuquerque, NM 561,008 101 1 1.0 18.00 0.18 30
Tucson, AZ 546,574 142 9 6.3 25.98 1.65 1
Fresno, CA 545,567 65 6 9.2 11.91 1.10 5
Sacramento, CA 528,001 77 7 9.1 14.58 1.33 2
Mesa, AZ 512,498 66 3 4.5 12.88 0.59 10
Kansas City, MO 509,297 86 2 2.3 16.89 0.39 20

(1) Ranked by city population. Pedalcyclists are defined by the National Highway Safety Administration as bicyclists and other cyclists including riders of two-wheeled, nonmotorized vehicles, tricycles and unicycles. Starting in 2022, pedalcyclists include people on motorized bicycles.
(2) Population of 500,000 or more.
(3) Cities with the same pedalcyclist fatality rate per million population receive the same rank.
(4) Less than 0.01 percent.
(5) Less than 0.01 per 100,000 population.

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Watercraft accidents

In 2023, the number of recreational watercraft accidents and fatalities decreased from 2022. Florida, California, and Texas remain the top three states for recreational watercraft accidents and deaths, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Recreational Watercraft Accidents, 2019-2023 (1)

 

  Accidents Fatalities    
Year Total Involving
alcohol
use (2)		 Total Involving
alcohol
use (2)		 Injuries Property
damage
($ millions)
2019 4,168 330 613 128 2,559 $55
2020 5,265 353 767 130 3,191 63
2021 4,439 330 658 110 2,641 68
2022 4,040 270 636 108 2,222 63
2023 3,844 262 564 97 2,126 63

(1) Includes accidents involving $2,000 or more in property damage. Includes U.S. territories and offshore accidents.
(2) The use of alcohol by a boat's occupants was a direct or indirect cause of the accident.

Source: U.S. Department Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard.

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OHV accidents

Children under the age of 16 accounted for 27 percent of all people injured in accidents involving off-highway vehicles (OHVs) in 2022, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Off-Highway Vehicles (OHV) - Related Deaths and Injuries, 2018-2022 (1)

 

  Estimated number of deaths Estimated number of injuries (2)
    Younger than 16   Younger than 16
Year Total Number Percent
of total		 Total Number Percent
of total
2018 714 71 10% 95,000 24,900 26%
2019 744 94 13 96,000 25,800 27
2020 990 123 12 112,300 30,500 27
2021 NA NA NA 106,600 30,500 29
2022 NA NA NA 94,700 25,600 27

(1) Off-Highway Vehicles (OHV) including All-Terrain Vehicles (ATV); Recreational Off-Highway Vehicles (ROV); and Utility-Terrain Vehicles (UTV)
(2) Emergency room-treated.

NA=Data not available.

Source: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

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