Gardening Merit Badge History

Earned through 2020397,570

Best year197514,467 earned

All-time popularity#76official, as of 2020#77by 2025 (estimate)

Earned by Year

First earned in 1912. Peak year 1975 with 14,467. Hover over or tap a year for its numbers.

19110 earned

191256 earned#8 of 51

1913126 earned#15 of 56

1914227 earned#15 of 58

1915141 earned#24 of 58

1916171 earned#24 of 56

1917239 earned#26 of 58

1918200 earned#30 of 58

1919560 earned#29 of 59

1920428 earned#31 of 59

1921658 earned#36 of 61

1922780 earned#35 of 61

1923840 earned#36 of 63

1924756 earned#39 of 64

1925871 earned#38 of 64

19261,490 earned#34 of 65

19271,798 earned#36 of 68

19282,382 earned#48 of 88

19293,060 earned#37 of 89

19303,395 earned#37 of 92

19315,178 earned#33 of 96

19323,607 earned#36 of 98

19333,749 earned#36 of 101

19343,224 earned#38 of 101

19353,377 earned#44 of 101

19363,091 earned#36 of 101

19373,087 earned#39 of 102

19383,494 earned#42 of 105

19393,988 earned#41 of 106

19403,388 earned#45 of 106

19412,811 earned#48 of 106

19422,941 earned#42 of 110

19434,652 earned#33 of 112

19444,665 earned#40 of 111

19454,862 earned#38 of 111

19463,741 earned#40 of 111

19473,273 earned#43 of 111

19482,941 earned#45 of 111

19493,668 earned#41 of 111

19504,481 earned#40 of 111

19515,035 earned#38 of 111

19524,714 earned#46 of 120

19534,848 earned#43 of 105

19545,476 earned#46 of 103

19555,825 earned#43 of 100

19565,584 earned#45 of 100

19575,451 earned#46 of 100

19585,867 earned#46 of 101

19595,776 earned#46 of 101

19606,339 earned#48 of 100

19616,434 earned#50 of 101

19626,349 earned#50 of 101

19636,805 earned#49 of 102

19646,631 earned#50 of 107

19656,418 earned#51 of 109

19666,132 earned#54 of 110

19676,260 earned#55 of 112

19686,098 earned#56 of 112

19696,209 earned#56 of 113

19706,334 earned#57 of 113

19716,417 earned#56 of 113

19726,034 earned#66 of 124

19736,301 earned#65 of 122

197413,528 earned#53 of 121

197514,467 earned#48 of 128

197612,623 earned#50 of 130

197710,114 earned#52 of 130

19787,563 earned#58 of 131

19795,698 earned#57 of 132

19803,820 earned#56 of 132

19815,152 earned#61 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

19932,523 earned#87 of 123

1994No data available

1995No data available

19962,237 earned#92 of 134

1997No data available

1998No data available

1999No data available

20002,056 earned#102 of 128

20012,089 earned#100 of 129

20022,257 earned#102 of 129

20032,148 earned#106 of 130

20041,866 earned#110 of 121

20051,904 earned#110 of 121

20061,813 earned#108 of 121

20071,715 earned#107 of 121

20081,777 earned#107 of 121

20092,576 earned#107 of 122

20102,403 earned#106 of 125

20112,422 earned#105 of 129

20122,258 earned#99 of 132

20131,972 earned#89 of 129

20141,641 earned#127 of 136

20151,582 earned#128 of 138

20161,375 earned#129 of 138

20171,450 earned#129 of 139

20181,428 earned#130 of 139

20191,440 earned#129 of 139

20202,782 earned#102 of 137

2021No data available#117 of 137

2022No data available#126 of 138

2023No data available#130 of 138

2024No data available#129 of 138

2025No data available#128 of 141

Known count No data available

"—" means merit badges were earned that year but the exact number is not currently known. "#128 of 141" means the badge was number 128 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.

19110none earned

191256#8 of 51

1913126#15 of 56

1914227#15 of 58

1915141#24 of 58

1916171#24 of 56

1917239#26 of 58

1918200#30 of 58

1919560#29 of 59

1920428#31 of 59

1921658#36 of 61

1922780#35 of 61

1923840#36 of 63

1924756#39 of 64

1925871#38 of 64

19261,490#34 of 65

19271,798#36 of 68

19282,382#48 of 88

19293,060#37 of 89

19303,395#37 of 92

19315,178#33 of 96

19323,607#36 of 98

19333,749#36 of 101

19343,224#38 of 101

19353,377#44 of 101

19363,091#36 of 101

19373,087#39 of 102

19383,494#42 of 105

19393,988#41 of 106

19403,388#45 of 106

19412,811#48 of 106

19422,941#42 of 110

19434,652#33 of 112

19444,665#40 of 111

19454,862#38 of 111

19463,741#40 of 111

19473,273#43 of 111

19482,941#45 of 111

19493,668#41 of 111

19504,481#40 of 111

19515,035#38 of 111

19524,714#46 of 120

19534,848#43 of 105

19545,476#46 of 103

19555,825#43 of 100

19565,584#45 of 100

19575,451#46 of 100

19585,867#46 of 101

19595,776#46 of 101

19606,339#48 of 100

19616,434#50 of 101

19626,349#50 of 101

19636,805#49 of 102

19646,631#50 of 107

19656,418#51 of 109

19666,132#54 of 110

19676,260#55 of 112

19686,098#56 of 112

19696,209#56 of 113

19706,334#57 of 113

19716,417#56 of 113

19726,034#66 of 124

19736,301#65 of 122

197413,528#53 of 121

197514,467#48 of 128

197612,623#50 of 130

197710,114#52 of 130

19787,563#58 of 131

19795,698#57 of 132

19803,820#56 of 132

19815,152#61 of 134

1982—

1983—

1984—

1985—

1986—

1987—

1988—

1989—

1990—

1991—

1992—

19932,523#87 of 123

1994—

1995—

19962,237#92 of 134

1997—

1998—

1999—

20002,056#102 of 128

20012,089#100 of 129

20022,257#102 of 129

20032,148#106 of 130

20041,866#110 of 121

20051,904#110 of 121

20061,813#108 of 121

20071,715#107 of 121

20081,777#107 of 121

20092,576#107 of 122

20102,403#106 of 125

20112,422#105 of 129

20122,258#99 of 132

20131,972#89 of 129

20141,641#127 of 136

20151,582#128 of 138

20161,375#129 of 138

20171,450#129 of 139

20181,428#130 of 139

20191,440#129 of 139

20202,782#102 of 137

2021—#117 of 137

2022—#126 of 138

2023—#130 of 138

2024—#129 of 138

2025—#128 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.

Gardening: workbook data

Printings (86)

Have	Year	Month	Cover	Back	Run	©	BSA #	UPC	SKU	SA #	HC	Notes
c	1919		1B-1				3240					1A hb 18th edition reference
c	1919		1B-2	blank			3240					1A hb 20th edition reference
	1920	not made
	1921	not made
	1922	not made
	1923	not made
	1924	not made
x	1925		3A	back-3			3240
	1926	not made
x	1927		3A	back-3			3240
c	1927		3A	back-3			3240					with pasted 1929 requirements
	1928	not made
	1929	not made
x	1930	April	3B	back-3			3240
x	1930	September	3B	back-3			3240
x	1931	May	3B	back-3			3240
	1932	not made
	1933	not made
	1934	April	3B	back-3	1M		3240
x	1935	September	3B	back-3	1M		3240
	1936	not made
c	1937	January	3B	back-3	1M		3240
c	1938	November	3B	back-3	1M		3240
	1939	April	3B	back-3	2M		3240
x	1939	April	3B	back-3	2M		3240				HCB	with pasted 1940 requirements
	1940	not made
x	1941	August	4	back-4	1M		3240
x	1942	December	4	back-4	2M		3240
	1943	not made
x	1944	May	5A	back-5a	5M	1944	3240
x	1945	September	5B-1	blank	1M	1944	3240
x	1946	March	5B-1	blank	3M	1944	3240
	1947	not made
x	1948	August	5B-2	blank	2M	1944	3240
	1949	not made
x	1950	January	5B-2	blank	2M	1944	3240
x	1951	February	5B-2	blank	2M	1944	3240
x	1951	October	5B-2	back-6a	2M	1944	3240
	1952	October	5B-2		2M	1944	3240
x	1952	October	6	back-6b-1	2M	1944	3240
	1953	May	6		2M	1944	3240
x	1954	March	6	back-6b-2	3M	1944	3240
x	1955	January	6	back-6b-2	3M	1944	3240				HCJV1
x	1955	July	6	back-6b-2	4M	1944	3240
x	1956	June	6	back-6b-2	5M	1944	3240				HCJV1
x	1957	June	6	back-6b-2	5M	1944	3240
x	1958	December	6	back-6c-2	4M	1944	3240
x	1959	September	6	back-6c-2	4M	1944	3240
x	1960	May	6	back-6d	4M	1944	3240
x	1961	February	6	back-6d	5M	1944	3240				HCJV2
x	1962	May	6	back-6f	4.5M	1944	3240				HCJ
x	1963	May	6	back-6g	5M	1944	3240				HCJV2
x	1964	February	6	back-6g	5M		3240
x	1965	March	6	back-6h	6M		3240				HCK
x	1966	January	6	back-6i	6M		3240				HCL
x	1967	January	7A	back-7	6M		3240				HCL
x	1968	February	7A	back-7	6M		3240
x	1969	January	7A	back-7	6.5M		3240				HCL
x	1970	March	7A	back-7	7M		3240
x	1971	May	7B	back-7	8M	1971	3240				HCM
x	1972	April	7B	back-7	7M	1971	3240				HCSV1
x	1973	May	8A	back-8a-2	6M	1971	3240				HCSV2, HCT
x	1973	December	8A	back-8a-2	15M	1971	3240				HCT
	1974	not made
x	1975	January	8A	back-8b	10M	1971	3240				HCT
x	1976	May	8B	back-8c	10M	1976	3240
	1977	not made
x	1978	May	8B	back-8d	5.5M	1976	3240
	1979	not made
x	1980	February	9A-1	back-9a	4M	1976	3240
x	1981	February	9A-1	back-9a	4M	1976	3240
x	1982	February	9A-1	back-9a	4.5M	1976	3240
x	1983	January	9A-2	back-9a	4.2M	1976	3240
x	1984	February	9A-1	back-9a	4.5M	1976	3240
x	1985	May	9A-1	back-9b-2	3.5M	1976	3240
x	1986	May	9A-1	back-9b-2	3.5M	1976	3240
x	1987	March	9A-1	back-9b-2	3.5M	1976	3240
	1988	February	9A-1	back-9b-2	3.5M	1976	3240
x	1989	April	9A-1	back-9b-2	4M	1976	3240
x	1990	February	9A	back-9b-2	5.5M	1976	3240
	1991	not made
x	1992	February	9A	back-9c-2	5.5M		33240	730176332406
x	1993	May	9A	back-9c-2	3.5M		33240	730176332406
x	1994	May	9A	back-9d	3.5M		33240	730176332406
x	1995	April	9A	back-9d	4M		33240	730176332406
x	1996	February	9A	back-9d	4M		33240	730176332406
x	1997	September	9A	back-9d			33240	730176332406
x	1998		9A	back-9f			33240	730176332406
	1999	not made
x	2000		9A	back-9f			33240	730176332406
x	2001		9A	back-9f			33240	730176332406
	2002	not made
	2003	not made
x	2004		9B-1	back-9g		2002	33240A	730176332406
	2005	not made
x	2006		9B-1	back-9g		2002	33240A	730176332406
x	2007		9B-2	back-9h-2		2002	33240A	730176332406
x	2008		10A	back-1008a1			35902	730176359021
x	2009		10B	back-1009b1			35902	730176359021
x	2010		10C-1	back-1010b1			35902	730176359021
x	2011		10C-1	back-1010b1			35902	730176359021
	2012	not made
x	2013		10C-2	back-1010b1			616953	730176341088
	2014	not made
x	2015		10C-3	back-1013b1			616953	730176341088
x	2016		10D-1	back-1016b1			616953	730176341088
	2017	not made
	2018	not made
	2019	not made
x	2020		10D-2	back-1019b1			654566	730176351186
x	2021		10D-2	back-1019b1			654566	730176351186
x	2022		10D-2	back-1019b1			654566	730176351186
x	2023		10D-2	back-1019b1			654566	730176351186
x	2024		11A	back-1125		2024	35902	730176351186	654566	300086620
	2025	not made

Earned and rank by year

Year	Earned	Rank	Of
1911	0
1912	56	8	51
1913	126	15	56
1914	227	15	58
1915	141	24	58
1916	171	24	56
1917	239	26	58
1918	200	30	58
1919	560	29	59
1920	428	31	59
1921	658	36	61
1922	780	35	61
1923	840	36	63
1924	756	39	64
1925	871	38	64
1926	1,490	34	65
1927	1,798	36	68
1928	2,382	48	88
1929	3,060	37	89
1930	3,395	37	92
1931	5,178	33	96
1932	3,607	36	98
1933	3,749	36	101
1934	3,224	38	101
1935	3,377	44	101
1936	3,091	36	101
1937	3,087	39	102
1938	3,494	42	105
1939	3,988	41	106
1940	3,388	45	106
1941	2,811	48	106
1942	2,941	42	110
1943	4,652	33	112
1944	4,665	40	111
1945	4,862	38	111
1946	3,741	40	111
1947	3,273	43	111
1948	2,941	45	111
1949	3,668	41	111
1950	4,481	40	111
1951	5,035	38	111
1952	4,714	46	120
1953	4,848	43	105
1954	5,476	46	103
1955	5,825	43	100
1956	5,584	45	100
1957	5,451	46	100
1958	5,867	46	101
1959	5,776	46	101
1960	6,339	48	100
1961	6,434	50	101
1962	6,349	50	101
1963	6,805	49	102
1964	6,631	50	107
1965	6,418	51	109
1966	6,132	54	110
1967	6,260	55	112
1968	6,098	56	112
1969	6,209	56	113
1970	6,334	57	113
1971	6,417	56	113
1972	6,034	66	124
1973	6,301	65	122
1974	13,528	53	121
1975	14,467	48	128
1976	12,623	50	130
1977	10,114	52	130
1978	7,563	58	131
1979	5,698	57	132
1980	3,820	56	132
1981	5,152	61	134
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993	2,523	87	123
1994
1995
1996	2,237	92	134
1997
1998
1999
2000	2,056	102	128
2001	2,089	100	129
2002	2,257	102	129
2003	2,148	106	130
2004	1,866	110	121
2005	1,904	110	121
2006	1,813	108	121
2007	1,715	107	121
2008	1,777	107	121
2009	2,576	107	122
2010	2,403	106	125
2011	2,422	105	129
2012	2,258	99	132
2013	1,972	89	129
2014	1,641	127	136
2015	1,582	128	138
2016	1,375	129	138
2017	1,450	129	139
2018	1,428	130	139
2019	1,440	129	139
2020	2,782	102	137
2021		117	137
2022		126	138
2023		130	138
2024		129	138
2025		128	141