Hiking Merit Badge History

Earned through 20201,370,957

Best year197442,405 earned

All-time popularity#34official, as of 2020#34by 2025 (estimate)

Earned by Year

First earned in 1921. Peak year 1974 with 42,405. Hover over or tap a year for its numbers.

1921522 earned#37 of 61

1922741 earned#37 of 61

1923792 earned#37 of 63

1924778 earned#38 of 64

1925967 earned#37 of 64

19261,456 earned#35 of 65

19272,801 earned#32 of 68

19281,649 earned#59 of 88

19291,901 earned#45 of 89

19301,739 earned#54 of 92

19311,942 earned#56 of 96

19321,893 earned#55 of 98

19332,210 earned#53 of 101

19341,665 earned#58 of 101

19352,802 earned#49 of 101

19361,466 earned#58 of 101

19372,566 earned#46 of 102

19381,722 earned#58 of 105

19391,846 earned#57 of 106

19402,133 earned#55 of 106

19412,079 earned#56 of 106

19421,882 earned#55 of 110

19432,468 earned#52 of 112

19444,172 earned#46 of 111

19454,518 earned#41 of 111

19464,161 earned#36 of 111

19474,313 earned#32 of 111

19484,395 earned#31 of 111

19495,148 earned#32 of 111

19506,901 earned#29 of 111

19518,648 earned#28 of 111

19529,650 earned#28 of 120

195312,297 earned#22 of 105

195416,723 earned#20 of 103

195518,385 earned#20 of 100

195621,581 earned#20 of 100

195722,735 earned#20 of 100

195825,524 earned#18 of 101

195926,128 earned#21 of 101

196031,214 earned#19 of 100

196135,786 earned#18 of 101

196235,382 earned#17 of 101

196338,537 earned#17 of 102

196436,763 earned#17 of 107

196534,535 earned#18 of 109

196635,407 earned#18 of 110

196736,422 earned#17 of 112

196836,815 earned#17 of 112

196936,549 earned#18 of 113

197037,226 earned#16 of 113

197135,090 earned#16 of 113

197234,197 earned#18 of 124

197337,415 earned#15 of 122

197442,405 earned#19 of 121

197537,849 earned#23 of 128

197634,618 earned#22 of 130

197729,784 earned#23 of 130

197826,909 earned#23 of 131

197922,933 earned#23 of 132

198015,674 earned#23 of 132

198121,649 earned#24 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

199310,309 earned#50 of 123

1994No data available

1995No data available

19968,306 earned#53 of 134

1997No data available

1998No data available

1999No data available

200011,833 earned#52 of 128

200110,126 earned#53 of 129

200210,247 earned#54 of 129

20039,197 earned#55 of 130

20049,164 earned#56 of 121

20058,275 earned#56 of 121

20067,901 earned#56 of 121

20077,781 earned#55 of 121

20087,470 earned#57 of 121

20098,074 earned#58 of 122

20107,658 earned#62 of 125

20117,946 earned#61 of 129

20128,132 earned#58 of 132

20137,856 earned#49 of 129

20147,344 earned#68 of 136

20156,967 earned#71 of 138

20167,485 earned#68 of 138

20177,084 earned#68 of 139

20186,362 earned#76 of 139

20196,865 earned#69 of 139

20205,977 earned#55 of 137

2021No data available#60 of 137

2022No data available#69 of 138

2023No data available#69 of 138

2024No data available#72 of 138

2025No data available#78 of 141

Known count No data available

"—" means merit badges were earned that year but the exact number is not currently known. "#78 of 141" means the badge was number 78 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.

1921522#37 of 61

1922741#37 of 61

1923792#37 of 63

1924778#38 of 64

1925967#37 of 64

19261,456#35 of 65

19272,801#32 of 68

19281,649#59 of 88

19291,901#45 of 89

19301,739#54 of 92

19311,942#56 of 96

19321,893#55 of 98

19332,210#53 of 101

19341,665#58 of 101

19352,802#49 of 101

19361,466#58 of 101

19372,566#46 of 102

19381,722#58 of 105

19391,846#57 of 106

19402,133#55 of 106

19412,079#56 of 106

19421,882#55 of 110

19432,468#52 of 112

19444,172#46 of 111

19454,518#41 of 111

19464,161#36 of 111

19474,313#32 of 111

19484,395#31 of 111

19495,148#32 of 111

19506,901#29 of 111

19518,648#28 of 111

19529,650#28 of 120

195312,297#22 of 105

195416,723#20 of 103

195518,385#20 of 100

195621,581#20 of 100

195722,735#20 of 100

195825,524#18 of 101

195926,128#21 of 101

196031,214#19 of 100

196135,786#18 of 101

196235,382#17 of 101

196338,537#17 of 102

196436,763#17 of 107

196534,535#18 of 109

196635,407#18 of 110

196736,422#17 of 112

196836,815#17 of 112

196936,549#18 of 113

197037,226#16 of 113

197135,090#16 of 113

197234,197#18 of 124

197337,415#15 of 122

197442,405#19 of 121

197537,849#23 of 128

197634,618#22 of 130

197729,784#23 of 130

197826,909#23 of 131

197922,933#23 of 132

198015,674#23 of 132

198121,649#24 of 134

1982—

1983—

1984—

1985—

1986—

1987—

1988—

1989—

1990—

1991—

1992—

199310,309#50 of 123

1994—

1995—

19968,306#53 of 134

1997—

1998—

1999—

200011,833#52 of 128

200110,126#53 of 129

200210,247#54 of 129

20039,197#55 of 130

20049,164#56 of 121

20058,275#56 of 121

20067,901#56 of 121

20077,781#55 of 121

20087,470#57 of 121

20098,074#58 of 122

20107,658#62 of 125

20117,946#61 of 129

20128,132#58 of 132

20137,856#49 of 129

20147,344#68 of 136

20156,967#71 of 138

20167,485#68 of 138

20177,084#68 of 139

20186,362#76 of 139

20196,865#69 of 139

20205,977#55 of 137

2021—#60 of 137

2022—#69 of 138

2023—#69 of 138

2024—#72 of 138

2025—#78 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.

Hiking: workbook data

Printings (104)

Have	Year	Month	Cover	Back	Run	©	BSA #	UPC	SKU	SA #	HC	Notes
c	1920		2
	1921	not made
c	1922		2									15c Wireless
	1923	not made
x	1924		2									20c Radio
x	1925		3A
x	1926		3A
x	1927		3A
	1928	not made
	1929	not made
x	1930	January	3B
	1930	February	3B
c	1930	June	3B
x	1931	February	3B
x	1931	June	3B
	1932	not made
	1933	not made
c	1934	March	3B		1M
x	1935	March	3B		1M
x	1936	March	3B		1M
	1936	April	3B
c	1937	May	3B
x	1938	April	3B		1M
x	1939	February	3B		1M
c	1940	January	3B		1M
	1940	January	4		1M
c	1940	December	3B		1M
x	1940	December	4		1M
x	1941	July	4		2M
x	1942	August	4		2M
	1943	not made
x	1944	May	5A		2M
x	1944	December	5B		3M	1944
x	1945	June	5B		4M	1944
x	1946	April	5B		4M	1944
	1947	October	5B		3M	1944
	1948	October	5B			1944
x	1949	January	5B		3M	1944
x	1949	October	5B		3M	1944
x	1950	June	5B		4M	1944
x	1951	April	5B		4M	1944
x	1952	January	5B		5M	1944					HCI
x	1952	October	6A		5M	1944					HCI
x	1953	August	6A		6M	1944
x	1954	May	6A		8M	1944
x	1954	December	6A		12M	1944					HCJV1
	1955	not made
x	1956	February	6A		12M	1944
x	1956	December	6A		12M	1944
x	1957	September	6A		15M	1944
x	1958	December	6A		15M	1944					HCJV1
	1959	not made
x	1960	January	6A		15M	1944
x	1960	November	6A		15M
	1961	not made
x	1962	June	6B		35M	1962					HCJV2
x	1963	June	6B		20M	1962					HCK
x	1964	May	6B		20M	1962					HCP
x	1965	April	6B		22M	1962					HCK
x	1966	March	6B		20M	1962					HCL
x	1967	March	7A		22M	1962
x	1968	March	7A		25M	1962					HCL
x	1969	January	7A		30M	1962					HCL
x	1970	April	7B		25M	1962
x	1971	March	7B		25M	1962
x	1972	April	7C		25M	1962
	1973	January	8		25M	1962
x	1973	July	8A		25M	1962					HCT
	1974	April	8A		25M	1962
x	1975	January	8A		24M	1962
x	1975	November	8B		11M	1962
	1976	not made
x	1977	May	8B		13M	1962
x	1978	May	8B		13M	1962
	1979	not made
x	1980	February	9A		11M	1962
x	1981	March	9A		11M	1962
x	1982	January	9A		11M	1962
x	1983	February	9A		12M	1962
x	1984	February	9A		10M	1962
x	1985	February	9A		10M	1962
x	1986	March	9A		10M	1962
x	1986	November	9A		10M	1962
x	1987	September	9A		10M
x	1988	July	9A		10M
x	1989	June	9A		15M
	1990	not made
x	1991	February	9B		15M	1991
x	1992	November	9B		10M	1991
	1993	not made
x	1994	March	9B		8.5M	1991
x	1995	February	9B		8.5M	1991
x	1996	January	9B		9M	1991
x	1996	September	9B			1991						front says © 1991 revised 1996 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2-back states september 1, 1996
x	1997	September	9C			1991						front says © 1991 revised 1997 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1-back states september 1, 1996
	1998	not made
x	1999		9C			1991						front says © 1991 revised 1997 1999 printing of the 1997 revision-back states january 1, 1999
x	1999		9C	back-9f		1991						front says © 1991 revised 1997 1999 second printing of the 1997 revision-back states january 1, 1999
x	2000		9D									front says © 1999 1999 edition-back state january 1, 2000
x	2000		9D									front says © 1999 2000 printing of the 1999 edition
	2001	not made
x	2002		9E
	2003	not made
x	2004		9E
	2005	not made
x	2006		9E
x	2007		9F			2007
x	2008		10A
x	2009		10B
x	2010		10C
x	2011		10C
x	2012		10C
x	2013		10C
x	2013		10C									spanish version
x	2014		10C
	2015	not made
x	2016		10C
x	2017		10C
	2018	not made
x	2019		10D
x	2020		10D
	2021	not made
x	2022		10D
	2023	not made
x	2024		10D			2024	35907	7301766610421	661042
x	2024		11A	back-1125		2024	35907	7301766623971	662397	300076753
	2025	not made

Earned and rank by year

Year	Earned	Rank	Of
1921	522	37	61
1922	741	37	61
1923	792	37	63
1924	778	38	64
1925	967	37	64
1926	1,456	35	65
1927	2,801	32	68
1928	1,649	59	88
1929	1,901	45	89
1930	1,739	54	92
1931	1,942	56	96
1932	1,893	55	98
1933	2,210	53	101
1934	1,665	58	101
1935	2,802	49	101
1936	1,466	58	101
1937	2,566	46	102
1938	1,722	58	105
1939	1,846	57	106
1940	2,133	55	106
1941	2,079	56	106
1942	1,882	55	110
1943	2,468	52	112
1944	4,172	46	111
1945	4,518	41	111
1946	4,161	36	111
1947	4,313	32	111
1948	4,395	31	111
1949	5,148	32	111
1950	6,901	29	111
1951	8,648	28	111
1952	9,650	28	120
1953	12,297	22	105
1954	16,723	20	103
1955	18,385	20	100
1956	21,581	20	100
1957	22,735	20	100
1958	25,524	18	101
1959	26,128	21	101
1960	31,214	19	100
1961	35,786	18	101
1962	35,382	17	101
1963	38,537	17	102
1964	36,763	17	107
1965	34,535	18	109
1966	35,407	18	110
1967	36,422	17	112
1968	36,815	17	112
1969	36,549	18	113
1970	37,226	16	113
1971	35,090	16	113
1972	34,197	18	124
1973	37,415	15	122
1974	42,405	19	121
1975	37,849	23	128
1976	34,618	22	130
1977	29,784	23	130
1978	26,909	23	131
1979	22,933	23	132
1980	15,674	23	132
1981	21,649	24	134
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993	10,309	50	123
1994
1995
1996	8,306	53	134
1997
1998
1999
2000	11,833	52	128
2001	10,126	53	129
2002	10,247	54	129
2003	9,197	55	130
2004	9,164	56	121
2005	8,275	56	121
2006	7,901	56	121
2007	7,781	55	121
2008	7,470	57	121
2009	8,074	58	122
2010	7,658	62	125
2011	7,946	61	129
2012	8,132	58	132
2013	7,856	49	129
2014	7,344	68	136
2015	6,967	71	138
2016	7,485	68	138
2017	7,084	68	139
2018	6,362	76	139
2019	6,865	69	139
2020	5,977	55	137
2021		60	137
2022		69	138
2023		69	138
2024		72	138
2025		78	141