Art Merit Badge History

Earned through 20201,436,561

Best year200236,073 earned

All-time popularity#32official, as of 2020#31by 2025 (estimate)

Earned by Year

First earned in 1911. Peak year 2002 with 36,073. Hover over or tap a year for its numbers.

19111 earned#16 of 22

191231 earned#17 of 51

191374 earned#23 of 56

1914156 earned#22 of 58

191593 earned#31 of 58

191675 earned#34 of 56

1917122 earned#36 of 58

1918112 earned#37 of 58

1919305 earned#36 of 59

1920271 earned#37 of 59

1921366 earned#43 of 61

1922472 earned#44 of 61

1923468 earned#44 of 63

1924609 earned#42 of 64

1925683 earned#42 of 64

19261,177 earned#42 of 65

19271,555 earned#39 of 68

19281,934 earned#52 of 88

19292,550 earned#38 of 89

19302,031 earned#47 of 92

19312,421 earned#50 of 96

19322,308 earned#49 of 98

19332,483 earned#51 of 101

19342,298 earned#49 of 101

19352,183 earned#54 of 101

19361,953 earned#52 of 101

19372,321 earned#49 of 102

19382,801 earned#50 of 105

19392,940 earned#51 of 106

19403,074 earned#49 of 106

19412,802 earned#49 of 106

19422,876 earned#45 of 110

19433,168 earned#47 of 112

19444,998 earned#35 of 111

19457,198 earned#28 of 111

19467,004 earned#25 of 111

19476,847 earned#24 of 111

19486,875 earned#24 of 111

19498,003 earned#24 of 111

195010,545 earned#23 of 111

195112,082 earned#23 of 111

195213,120 earned#23 of 120

195311,620 earned#24 of 105

195414,000 earned#25 of 103

195515,211 earned#26 of 100

195614,991 earned#26 of 100

195714,315 earned#26 of 100

195814,854 earned#28 of 101

195917,043 earned#28 of 101

196019,529 earned#27 of 100

196118,062 earned#30 of 101

196217,384 earned#31 of 101

196317,287 earned#31 of 102

196418,649 earned#29 of 107

196514,371 earned#33 of 109

196611,162 earned#38 of 110

196710,721 earned#41 of 112

196810,116 earned#42 of 112

196910,732 earned#42 of 113

197010,556 earned#43 of 113

197110,658 earned#43 of 113

197210,121 earned#46 of 124

197315,797 earned#32 of 122

197421,307 earned#36 of 121

197521,950 earned#36 of 128

197618,604 earned#37 of 130

197715,263 earned#39 of 130

197813,286 earned#40 of 131

19799,065 earned#42 of 132

19805,926 earned#42 of 132

19819,028 earned#41 of 134

1982No data available

1983No data available

1984No data available

1985No data available

1986No data available

1987No data available

1988No data available

1989No data available

1990No data available

1991No data available

1992No data available

199314,363 earned#37 of 123

1994No data available

1995No data available

199622,988 earned#30 of 134

1997No data available

1998No data available

1999No data available

200028,531 earned#26 of 128

200130,603 earned#24 of 129

200236,073 earned#21 of 129

200334,883 earned#21 of 130

200435,792 earned#21 of 121

200533,031 earned#20 of 121

200632,856 earned#20 of 121

200727,112 earned#24 of 121

200827,991 earned#23 of 121

200931,034 earned#22 of 122

201028,707 earned#22 of 125

201132,146 earned#18 of 129

201229,273 earned#20 of 132

201328,031 earned#16 of 129

201425,438 earned#23 of 136

201524,374 earned#24 of 138

201622,990 earned#24 of 138

201721,567 earned#24 of 139

201821,793 earned#24 of 139

201923,074 earned#23 of 139

202013,953 earned#16 of 137

2021No data available#24 of 137

2022No data available#23 of 138

2023No data available#22 of 138

2024No data available#22 of 138

2025No data available#23 of 141

Known count No data available

"—" means merit badges were earned that year but the exact number is not currently known. "#23 of 141" means the badge was number 23 of the 141 merit badges earned that year. National counts have not been published since 2020, but the rankings have. The grand total comes from official reports and includes the years without a known count. The 2025 all-time place is an estimate, because the counts for 2021 to 2025 are worked out from each year's official ranking and the total number of merit badges earned that year.

19111#16 of 22

191231#17 of 51

191374#23 of 56

1914156#22 of 58

191593#31 of 58

191675#34 of 56

1917122#36 of 58

1918112#37 of 58

1919305#36 of 59

1920271#37 of 59

1921366#43 of 61

1922472#44 of 61

1923468#44 of 63

1924609#42 of 64

1925683#42 of 64

19261,177#42 of 65

19271,555#39 of 68

19281,934#52 of 88

19292,550#38 of 89

19302,031#47 of 92

19312,421#50 of 96

19322,308#49 of 98

19332,483#51 of 101

19342,298#49 of 101

19352,183#54 of 101

19361,953#52 of 101

19372,321#49 of 102

19382,801#50 of 105

19392,940#51 of 106

19403,074#49 of 106

19412,802#49 of 106

19422,876#45 of 110

19433,168#47 of 112

19444,998#35 of 111

19457,198#28 of 111

19467,004#25 of 111

19476,847#24 of 111

19486,875#24 of 111

19498,003#24 of 111

195010,545#23 of 111

195112,082#23 of 111

195213,120#23 of 120

195311,620#24 of 105

195414,000#25 of 103

195515,211#26 of 100

195614,991#26 of 100

195714,315#26 of 100

195814,854#28 of 101

195917,043#28 of 101

196019,529#27 of 100

196118,062#30 of 101

196217,384#31 of 101

196317,287#31 of 102

196418,649#29 of 107

196514,371#33 of 109

196611,162#38 of 110

196710,721#41 of 112

196810,116#42 of 112

196910,732#42 of 113

197010,556#43 of 113

197110,658#43 of 113

197210,121#46 of 124

197315,797#32 of 122

197421,307#36 of 121

197521,950#36 of 128

197618,604#37 of 130

197715,263#39 of 130

197813,286#40 of 131

19799,065#42 of 132

19805,926#42 of 132

19819,028#41 of 134

1982—

1983—

1984—

1985—

1986—

1987—

1988—

1989—

1990—

1991—

1992—

199314,363#37 of 123

1994—

1995—

199622,988#30 of 134

1997—

1998—

1999—

200028,531#26 of 128

200130,603#24 of 129

200236,073#21 of 129

200334,883#21 of 130

200435,792#21 of 121

200533,031#20 of 121

200632,856#20 of 121

200727,112#24 of 121

200827,991#23 of 121

200931,034#22 of 122

201028,707#22 of 125

201132,146#18 of 129

201229,273#20 of 132

201328,031#16 of 129

201425,438#23 of 136

201524,374#24 of 138

201622,990#24 of 138

201721,567#24 of 139

201821,793#24 of 139

201923,074#23 of 139

202013,953#16 of 137

2021—#24 of 137

2022—#23 of 138

2023—#22 of 138

2024—#22 of 138

2025—#23 of 141

Grand total through 2020:

This page keeps growing. More of this badge's history, including its patches and pamphlets, is being checked and will be added once it is confirmed.

Art: workbook data

Printings (97)

Have	Year	Month	Cover	Back	Run	©	BSA #	UPC	SKU	SA #	HC	Notes
c	1920		1C				3320					HB 20th Edition reference
x	1920		2				3320					20c Wireless
	1921	not made
	1922	not made
	1923	not made
	1924	not made
c	1925		2				3320					20c Radio
x	1925		3A	back-3			3320
	1926	not made
x	1927		3A	back-3			3320
	1928	not made
c	1929	November	3B	back-3			3320
x	1930	November	3B	back-3		1930	3320
x	1931	August	3B	back-3			3320
c	1932	May	3B	back-3			3320
x	1933	May	3B	back-3	1M		3320
	1934	not made
c	1935	January	3B	back-3	1M		3320
x	1936	April	3B	back-3	1M		3320
x	1937	April	3B	back-3	1M		3320
x	1938	May	3D	back-3	1M		3320
c	1939	April	3D	back-3	1M		3320
x	1940	October	3B	back-3	1M		3320
x	1940	October	3D	back-3	1M		3320
	1941	December	4	back-4	1M		3320
x	1942	November	4	back-4	1M		3320
	1943	not made
x	1944	May	5A	back-5a	3M	1944	3320
x	1945	January	5B	blank	2M	1944	3320
x	1945	September	5B	blank	3M	1944	3320
x	1946	March	5B	blank	3M	1944	3320
x	1947	August	5B	blank	3M	1944	3320
	1948	not made
x	1949	January	5B	blank	3M	1944	3320
x	1950	April	5B	blank	3M	1944	3320
x	1951	February	5B	blank	3M	1944	3320
x	1951	August	5B	back-6a	4M	1944	3320
c	1952	August	5B		4M	1944	3320
x	1953	July	6	back-6b-1-art	5M	1944	3320				HCI
x	1954	June	6	back-6b-2-art	5M	1944	3320
x	1955	March	6	back-6b-2-art	7M	1944	3320				HCJ
x	1956	January	6	back-6b-2-art	7M	1944	3320				HCJ
x	1956	December	6	back-6b-2-art	8M	1944	3320
x	1957	November	6	back-6b-2-art	8M	1944	3320
x	1958	December	6	back-6c-2	8M	1944	3320				HCJV2
	1959	not made
x	1960	January	6	back-6c-2	8M	1944	3320
x	1960	August	6	back-6d	9M	1944	3320
x	1961	November	6	back-6e	9M	1944	3320
x	1962	October	6	back-6f	9M	1944	3320
x	1963	November	6	back-6g	9M	1944	3320
x	1964	August	6	back-6h	10M	1944	3320
x	1965	June	6	back-6h	10M	1944	3320				HCK, HCL
x	1966	July	6	back-6I	10M		3320
	1967	not made
x	1968	February	7	back-7	7M		3320
x	1968	September	7	back-7	10M	1968	3320				HCL
x	1969	November	7	back-7	13M	1968	3320				HCM, HCP2
	1970	not made
x	1971	May	7	back-7	10M	1968	3320				HCM
x	1972	October	8	back-8a	9M	1968	3320
x	1973	August	8	back-8a	12M	1968	3320
x	1974	March	8	back-8a	14M	1968	3320
x	1975	September	8	back-8c-1	10M	1968	3320
	1976	not made
x	1977	April	8	back-8c-2	7.5M	1968	3320
	1978	not made
x	1979	January	8	back-8d	5M	1968	3320
x	1980	January	9A	back-9a	5M	1968	3320
x	1981	February	9A	back-9a	5M	1968	3320
x	1982	February	9A	back-9a	5M	1968	3320
x	1983	January	9A	back-9a	5M	1968	3320
x	1983	November	9A	back-9a	5.5M	1968	3320
x	1984	September	9A	back-9b-1	6M	1968	3320
	1985	not made
x	1986	January	9A	back-9b-2	5.5M	1968	3320
x	1986	November	9A	back-9b-2	5.5M	1968	3320
x	1987	July	9A	back-9b-2	6M	1968	3320
x	1988	April	9A	back-9b-2	6.5M	1968	3320
x	1988	December	9A	back-9b-2	6.5M	1968	3320
	1989	not made
x	1990	March	9A	back-9b-2	6.5M		3320
x	1991	March	9A	back-9c-1	7M		3320
x	1992	January	9A	back-9c-2	8M		33320	730176333205
x	1993	February	9A	back-9c-2	8M		33320	730176333205
x	1994	March	9A	back-9d	7.5M		33320	730176333205
x	1995	January	9A	back-9d	8M		33320	730176333205
x	1996	January	9A	back-9d	8.5M		33320	730176333205
x	1997	September	9A	back-9d			33320	730176333205
x	1998		9A	back-9e			33320	730176333205
x	1999		9A	back-9f			33320	730176333205
x	2000		9A	back-9f			33320	730176333205
x	2001		9B	back-9f		2001	33320A	730176333298
x	2002		9B	back-9g		2001	33320A	730176333205
x	2003		9B	back-9g		2001	33320A	730176333205
x	2004		9B	back-9g		2001	33320A	730176333205
x	2005		9B	back-9g		2001	33320A	730176333205
x	2006		9C-1	back-9g			33320B	730176324623
x	2007		9C-2	back-9h-2			33320B	730176324623
x	2008		10A	back-1008b1			35858	730176358581
	2009	not made
x	2010		10C-1	back-1010b1			35858	730176358581
	2011	not made
x	2012		10C-1	back-1010b1			35858	730176358581
x	2013		10C-2	back-1013b1			616348	730176357096				01268-AL
x	2014		10C-2	back-1013b1			616348	730176357096				01268-AL
	2015	not made
x	2016		10D	back-1016b1			616348	730176357096				01042-AL
x	2016		10D	back-1016b1			616348	730176357096				00358-AL
x	2017		10D	back-1016b1			616348	730176357096				00358-AL
	2018	not made
x	2019		10D	back-1019b1			616348	730176357096				358
x	2019		10D	back-1019b1			655138	730176351346				358
x	2020		10D	back-1019b1			655138	730176351346				358
	2021	not made
x	2022		10D	back-1019b1			655138	730176351346				358
x	2023		10D	back-1019b1			655138	730176351346				358
	2024	not made
x	2025		11A	back-1125			35858	730176351346	655138	300084988		no copyright date

Earned and rank by year

Year	Earned	Rank	Of
1911	1	16	22
1912	31	17	51
1913	74	23	56
1914	156	22	58
1915	93	31	58
1916	75	34	56
1917	122	36	58
1918	112	37	58
1919	305	36	59
1920	271	37	59
1921	366	43	61
1922	472	44	61
1923	468	44	63
1924	609	42	64
1925	683	42	64
1926	1,177	42	65
1927	1,555	39	68
1928	1,934	52	88
1929	2,550	38	89
1930	2,031	47	92
1931	2,421	50	96
1932	2,308	49	98
1933	2,483	51	101
1934	2,298	49	101
1935	2,183	54	101
1936	1,953	52	101
1937	2,321	49	102
1938	2,801	50	105
1939	2,940	51	106
1940	3,074	49	106
1941	2,802	49	106
1942	2,876	45	110
1943	3,168	47	112
1944	4,998	35	111
1945	7,198	28	111
1946	7,004	25	111
1947	6,847	24	111
1948	6,875	24	111
1949	8,003	24	111
1950	10,545	23	111
1951	12,082	23	111
1952	13,120	23	120
1953	11,620	24	105
1954	14,000	25	103
1955	15,211	26	100
1956	14,991	26	100
1957	14,315	26	100
1958	14,854	28	101
1959	17,043	28	101
1960	19,529	27	100
1961	18,062	30	101
1962	17,384	31	101
1963	17,287	31	102
1964	18,649	29	107
1965	14,371	33	109
1966	11,162	38	110
1967	10,721	41	112
1968	10,116	42	112
1969	10,732	42	113
1970	10,556	43	113
1971	10,658	43	113
1972	10,121	46	124
1973	15,797	32	122
1974	21,307	36	121
1975	21,950	36	128
1976	18,604	37	130
1977	15,263	39	130
1978	13,286	40	131
1979	9,065	42	132
1980	5,926	42	132
1981	9,028	41	134
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993	14,363	37	123
1994
1995
1996	22,988	30	134
1997
1998
1999
2000	28,531	26	128
2001	30,603	24	129
2002	36,073	21	129
2003	34,883	21	130
2004	35,792	21	121
2005	33,031	20	121
2006	32,856	20	121
2007	27,112	24	121
2008	27,991	23	121
2009	31,034	22	122
2010	28,707	22	125
2011	32,146	18	129
2012	29,273	20	132
2013	28,031	16	129
2014	25,438	23	136
2015	24,374	24	138
2016	22,990	24	138
2017	21,567	24	139
2018	21,793	24	139
2019	23,074	23	139
2020	13,953	16	137
2021		24	137
2022		23	138
2023		22	138
2024		22	138
2025		23	141