Getmyboat ranked states by their concentrations of registered boats using data from an RTI International recreational boating survey.


The strong bond between humans and water has been portrayed in literature, music, and paintings for centuries. Owning a boat and living close to water is the ultimate life goal of many.

The United States has unparalleled bodies of water that allow inhabitants of each of the 50 states to have, if they wish, a close connection with oceans, lakes, lagoons, waterfalls, or rivers. From Niagara Falls to the picture-perfect beaches of Hawaii, and from the majesty of the Great Lakes to the melody-inspiring banks of the Mississippi River, Americans enjoy a privileged geography when it comes to their proximity to iconic bodies of water.

Getmyboat ranked states by their concentrations of registered boats per 100 residents, using data from a 2018 RTI International survey. The survey, which was funded by the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Coast Guard, is the most recent and most comprehensive look at recreational boat ownership in the country.

On average nationwide, there are only 11 registered boats per 100 residents. But in some states, there are many more. It may come as a surprise that Florida, California, and Hawaii are nowhere near the top 10 of the ranking. States on the East Coast, and some in the South and Midwest, rank higher. But the Sunshine State is second only to Michigan in terms of how many boats its residents have registered.

Read on to find out where boating and boat ownership are most common.


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51. Hawaii

States with the Most Boat Owners
Billy McDonald // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 2.5 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 36,000 (rank: #51)

50. Nevada

States with the Most Boat Owners
  • Concentration of boats: 2.9 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 93,000 (rank: #46)

49. Texas

States with the Most Boat Owners 18
Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

Concentration of boats: 3.1 registered boats per 100 residents

  • Number of boats: 922,000 (rank: #8)

48. California

States with the Most Boat Owners 41
Wirestock Creators // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 3.3 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 1.3 million (rank: #4)

47. New Mexico

States with the Most Boat Owners 15
Brenda Landdeck // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 3.3 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 70,000 (rank: #49)

46. Arizona

States with the Most Boat Owners 24
Photoshoot1 // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 3.5 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 260,000 (rank: #35)

45. New Jersey

States with the Most Boat Owners 45
FotosForTheFuture // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 3.6 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 334,000 (rank: #31)

44. Illinois

States with the Most Boat Owners 4
blewisphotography // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 4.5 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 566,000 (rank: #15)

43. Ohio

States with the Most Boat Owners 29
buyhighsellcheap // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 4.9 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 573,000 (rank: #14)

42. Utah

States with the Most Boat Owners 14 (1)
Fotoluminate LLC // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 5.0 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 169,000 (rank: #41)

41. Kansas

States with the Most Boat Owners 38
marekuliasz // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 5.9 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 172,000 (rank: #40)


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40. Massachusetts

States with the Most Boat Owners 22
Matthew Botelho // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 6.3 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 442,000 (rank: #24)

39. Pennsylvania

States with the Most Boat Owners 39
Georgina Burrows // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 6.5 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 842,000 (rank: #9)

38. New York

States with the Most Boat Owners 42
Woodsnorthphoto // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 6.7 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 1.3 million (rank: #3)

37. Tennessee

States with the Most Boat Owners 34
Marcus E Jones // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 6.8 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 476,000 (rank: #22)

36. Virginia

States with the Most Boat Owners 36
Sean Pavone // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 6.9 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 595,000 (rank: #12)

35. Georgia

States with the Most Boat Owners 35
Marcus E Jones // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 7.2 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 783,000 (rank: #11)

34. Washington

States with the Most Boat Owners 48
SvetlanaSF // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 7.2 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 560,000 (rank: #18)

33. Kentucky

States with the Most Boat Owners 50
Angela N Perryman // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 7.2 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 327,000 (rank: #33)

32. Mississippi

States with the Most Boat Owners 28
Sabrina Janelle Gordon // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 7.4 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 217,000 (rank: #38)

31. North Carolina

States with the Most Boat Owners 30
Kyle J Little // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 7.5 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 799,000 (rank: #10)

30. Indiana

States with the Most Boat Owners 19
Lewis Photo Studio // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 7.7 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 523,000 (rank: #19)

29. Florida

States with the Most Boat Owners 27
Andriy Blokhin // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 7.7 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 1.7 million (rank: #2)


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28. Maryland

States with the Most Boat Owners 10
Christian Hinkle // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 8.0 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 491,000 (rank: #21)

27. Oklahoma

States with the Most Boat Owners 37
Alonzo J. Adams // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 8.2 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 330,000 (rank: #32)

26. Alabama

States with the Most Boat Owners 5
Darryl Vest // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 8.3 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 419,000 (rank: #26)

25. Colorado

States with the Most Boat Owners 11
Kristilee Jones // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 8.7 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 507,000 (rank: #20)

24. Missouri

States with the Most Boat Owners 44
Water Street // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 9.1 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 561,000 (rank: #17)

23. Wyoming

States with the Most Boat Owners 1
JFunk // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 9.3 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 54,000 (rank: #50)

22. Connecticut

States with the Most Boat Owners 47
James Andrews1 // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 9.3 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 339,000 (rank: #30)

21. Louisiana

States with the Most Boat Owners 43
l i g h t p o e t // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 9.7 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 446,000 (rank: #23)

20. South Dakota

States with the Most Boat Owners 13
GLF Media // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 9.8 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 89,000 (rank: #47)

19. Rhode Island

States with the Most Boat Owners 3
Mary Terriberry // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 10.6 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 116,000 (rank: #45)

18. Iowa

States with the Most Boat Owners 21
Jacob Boomsma // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 10.6 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 340,000 (rank: #29)

17. North Dakota

States with the Most Boat Owners 16
FOTOGRIN // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 10.8 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 84,000 (rank: #48)

16. Arkansas

States with the Most Boat Owners 8
i_photos // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 11.2 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 342,000 (rank: #28)


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15. Idaho

States with the Most Boat Owners 49
Kirk Fisher // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 12.8 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 249,000 (rank: #36)

14. Delaware

States with the Most Boat Owners 2
Khairil Azhar Junos // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 13.4 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 136,000 (rank: #42)

13. Oregon

States with the Most Boat Owners 31
Ian Dewar Photography // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 13.6 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 577,000 (rank: #13)

12. West Virginia

States with the Most Boat Owners 25
Malachi Jacobs // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 14.9 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 264,000 (rank: #34)

11. Michigan

States with the Most Boat Owners 51
SNEHIT PHOTO // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 17.2 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 1.7 million (rank: #1)

10. Alaska

States with the Most Boat Owners 33
Claudine Van Massenhove // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 17.9 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 131,000 (rank: #43)

9. Minnesota

States with the Most Boat Owners 9
gmstockstudio // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 17.9 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 1.0 million (rank: #7)

8. Montana

States with the Most Boat Owners 17
Butler Stock Photography // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 18.2 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 204,000 (rank: #39)

7. Vermont

States with the Most Boat Owners 6
Erika J Mitchell // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 18.2 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 118,000 (rank: #44)

6. Wisconsin

States with the Most Boat Owners 32
John Touscany // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 18.5 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 1.1 million (rank: #6)

5. South Carolina

States with the Most Boat Owners 26
Connor D. Ryan // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 20.7 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 1.1 million (rank: #5)

4. Nebraska

States with the Most Boat Owners 12
Adam Melnyk // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 28.8 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 566,000 (rank: #15)

3. New Hampshire

States with the Most Boat Owners 46
Wangkun Jia // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 29.0 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 405,000 (rank: #27)

2. Maine

States with the Most Boat Owners 20
haveseen // Shutterstock
  • Concentration of boats: 31.5 registered boats per 100 residents
  • Number of boats: 436,000 (rank: #25)

1. Washington D.C.

States with the Most Boat Owners 23
RaksyBH // Shutterstock
  • - Concentration of boats: 36.2 registered boats per 100 residents
  • - Number of boats: 243,000 (rank: #37)



Data reporting by Paxtyn Merten. Photo selection by Clarese Moller.