Understanding boating across the United States is crucial for safety, security, and law enforcement.

The National Recreational Boating Safety Survey (NRBSS) is the only method of measuring nationwide recreational boating in the United States. This study is produced by a grant from the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund administered by the U.S. Coast Guard.

The NRBSS provides valuable estimates of boating by census region and state. Data from the NRBSS support the federal-state partnership in boating safety by providing the necessary information to optimize safety and security programs. The U.S. Coast Guard sought a research partner with the capacity to improve the precision of NRBSS findings by enhancing data collection and targeting hard-to-reach populations.

NORC is leading the design and data collection for the 2026 NRBSS, including an expanded sample to improve the quality and detail of the data.

The NRBSS consists of two components:

The participation survey will measure the number and demographics of people in the United States who went recreational boating. Using our AmeriSpeak® panel, NORC will conduct interviews with 8,000 households up to three times throughout the year. The survey will provide precise and accurate estimates both nationally and for key demographic subgroups and detailed and reliable data on the segments of the recreational boating community that are more resistant to instituting safer boating practices. 

The exposure survey will analyze usage patterns across different boat types, quantify the number of paddlecraft, and generate state-specific exposure estimates. For the exposure survey, NORC will conduct interviews with over 40,000 households that own or rent boats using an addressed-based probability sample, data of registered boat owners, and nonprobability samples. The large sample size will provide reliable state-level estimates for both registered and unregistered boats, including total exposure hours and details on the types of safety equipment on board.