Climbing Merit Badge History
Earned through 2020521,055
Best year200326,881 earned
All-time popularity#70official, as of 2020#67by 2025 (estimate)
Earned by Year
First earned in 1996. Peak year 2003 with 26,881. Hover over or tap a year for its numbers.
Known count No data available
"—" means merit badges were earned that year but the exact number is not currently known. "#32 of 141" means the badge was number 32 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.
19967#131 of 134
1997—
1998—
1999—
200023,021#30 of 128
200124,148#29 of 129
200226,663#28 of 129
200326,881#28 of 130
200425,062#29 of 121
200522,316#30 of 121
200622,628#29 of 121
200722,495#28 of 121
200822,928#28 of 121
200925,192#26 of 122
201023,698#27 of 125
201124,617#22 of 129
201224,609#23 of 132
201322,861#21 of 129
201423,200#28 of 136
201521,574#31 of 138
201621,171#27 of 138
201718,356#30 of 139
201818,911#28 of 139
201917,305#29 of 139
20207,228#43 of 137
2021—#28 of 137
2022—#27 of 138
2023—#28 of 138
2024—#28 of 138
2025—#32 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.