Nevada Ranks Last in Youth Sports Participation

Tom Darby

Carson City, Nev. — Nevada continues to rank at or near the bottom nationwide for youth sports participation, according to data from the National Survey of Children’s Health analyzed by Johns Hopkins University.

Data from 2023–2024 indicates that Nevada ranked last, with 46 percent of children ages 6 to 17 participating in a sports team or club. Nationwide, nearly 57 percent of children took part during the same period.

Most states, including Nevada, have seen a rebound since the COVID-19 pandemic, but Nevada remains an outlier despite a slight increase. However, high school participation has remained flat.

Data from the National Federation of State High School Associations showed Nevada had nearly 44,800 student-athletes in 2024–2025, down slightly from roughly 45,200 in 2015–2016, as enrollment grew by more than 16,000 students.

Rising costs remain a barrier. Project Play, an Aspen Institute initiative, found families spent an average of $1,000 on a child’s primary sport in 2024, a 46 percent increase since 2019.

Participation gaps by income from 2022 to 2023 reveal that students from higher-income households are nearly three times more likely to play sports than those from low-income families.

Nevada does not waive sports fees for low-income students, unlike some states. California bans such fees altogether.

Experts also cite Nevada’s reliance on shift work in the hospitality industry, frequent population turnover, and extreme heat as obstacles. Synthetic turf fields, which are increasingly common, can be up to 50 degrees hotter than grass.

A bill requiring school recesses failed in the 2024 Legislature. The same year, only 9.1 percent of Nevada teens were physically active for at least an hour daily, compared to 14.9 percent nationwide.

Nevada also continues to rank last nationally for youth mental health, according to Mental Health America’s 2024 and 2025 surveys.