Public Health Merit Badge History

Earned through 20201,539,459

Best year196244,509 earned

All-time popularity#28official, as of 2020#30by 2025 (estimate)

Earned by Year

First earned in 1911. Peak year 1962 with 44,509. Hover over or tap a year for its numbers.

19119 earned#3 of 22

1912225 earned#2 of 51

1913576 earned#2 of 56

1914759 earned#2 of 58

1915836 earned#3 of 58

19161,080 earned#4 of 56

19171,831 earned#3 of 58

19182,187 earned#2 of 58

19194,899 earned#3 of 59

19204,603 earned#2 of 59

19217,465 earned#1 of 61

19229,624 earned#1 of 61

19239,603 earned#2 of 63

19248,820 earned#3 of 64

192511,491 earned#2 of 64

192616,209 earned#4 of 65

192719,092 earned#4 of 68

192818,802 earned#5 of 88

192922,542 earned#4 of 89

193023,247 earned#4 of 92

193124,281 earned#6 of 96

193225,724 earned#6 of 98

193327,909 earned#6 of 101

193425,332 earned#5 of 101

193528,181 earned#5 of 101

193623,759 earned#5 of 101

193725,099 earned#7 of 102

193830,562 earned#7 of 105

193933,807 earned#6 of 106

194033,801 earned#5 of 106

194130,547 earned#5 of 106

194228,057 earned#5 of 110

194332,796 earned#5 of 112

194437,966 earned#5 of 111

194537,675 earned#5 of 111

194630,043 earned#5 of 111

194726,838 earned#5 of 111

194825,145 earned#6 of 111

194929,189 earned#5 of 111

195033,477 earned#4 of 111

195136,151 earned#7 of 111

195234,631 earned#8 of 120

195320,597 earned#13 of 105

195425,507 earned#14 of 103

195528,563 earned#14 of 100

195631,929 earned#13 of 100

195731,236 earned#13 of 100

195831,979 earned#14 of 101

195933,730 earned#14 of 101

196039,922 earned#16 of 100

196143,544 earned#14 of 101

196244,509 earned#14 of 101

196342,809 earned#16 of 102

196434,708 earned#19 of 107

196523,255 earned#23 of 109

196617,080 earned#28 of 110

196715,449 earned#31 of 112

196813,836 earned#37 of 112

196913,162 earned#36 of 113

197012,477 earned#39 of 113

197112,152 earned#39 of 113

19729,121 earned#51 of 124

19737,182 earned#63 of 122

197414,280 earned#49 of 121

197514,430 earned#49 of 128

197612,939 earned#48 of 130

197711,242 earned#48 of 130

19789,359 earned#46 of 131

19796,517 earned#53 of 132

19803,850 earned#55 of 132

19814,541 earned#65 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

1993No data available

1994No data available

1995No data available

19961,956 earned#97 of 134

1997No data available

1998No data available

1999No data available

20001,171 earned#114 of 128

20011,221 earned#111 of 129

20021,323 earned#112 of 129

20031,231 earned#115 of 130

20041,179 earned#115 of 121

20052,028 earned#106 of 121

20061,123 earned#115 of 121

20071,487 earned#111 of 121

20081,453 earned#111 of 121

20091,928 earned#109 of 122

20101,958 earned#112 of 125

20111,989 earned#108 of 129

20121,783 earned#103 of 132

20132,006 earned#88 of 129

20141,821 earned#126 of 136

20151,780 earned#126 of 138

20161,837 earned#125 of 138

20171,798 earned#126 of 139

20182,382 earned#121 of 139

20192,507 earned#120 of 139

202011,510 earned#20 of 137

2021No data available#54 of 137

2022No data available#110 of 138

2023No data available#125 of 138

2024No data available#119 of 138

2025No data available#117 of 141

Known count No data available

"—" means merit badges were earned that year but the exact number is not currently known. "#117 of 141" means the badge was number 117 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.

19119#3 of 22

1912225#2 of 51

1913576#2 of 56

1914759#2 of 58

1915836#3 of 58

19161,080#4 of 56

19171,831#3 of 58

19182,187#2 of 58

19194,899#3 of 59

19204,603#2 of 59

19217,465#1 of 61

19229,624#1 of 61

19239,603#2 of 63

19248,820#3 of 64

192511,491#2 of 64

192616,209#4 of 65

192719,092#4 of 68

192818,802#5 of 88

192922,542#4 of 89

193023,247#4 of 92

193124,281#6 of 96

193225,724#6 of 98

193327,909#6 of 101

193425,332#5 of 101

193528,181#5 of 101

193623,759#5 of 101

193725,099#7 of 102

193830,562#7 of 105

193933,807#6 of 106

194033,801#5 of 106

194130,547#5 of 106

194228,057#5 of 110

194332,796#5 of 112

194437,966#5 of 111

194537,675#5 of 111

194630,043#5 of 111

194726,838#5 of 111

194825,145#6 of 111

194929,189#5 of 111

195033,477#4 of 111

195136,151#7 of 111

195234,631#8 of 120

195320,597#13 of 105

195425,507#14 of 103

195528,563#14 of 100

195631,929#13 of 100

195731,236#13 of 100

195831,979#14 of 101

195933,730#14 of 101

196039,922#16 of 100

196143,544#14 of 101

196244,509#14 of 101

196342,809#16 of 102

196434,708#19 of 107

196523,255#23 of 109

196617,080#28 of 110

196715,449#31 of 112

196813,836#37 of 112

196913,162#36 of 113

197012,477#39 of 113

197112,152#39 of 113

19729,121#51 of 124

19737,182#63 of 122

197414,280#49 of 121

197514,430#49 of 128

197612,939#48 of 130

197711,242#48 of 130

19789,359#46 of 131

19796,517#53 of 132

19803,850#55 of 132

19814,541#65 of 134

1982—

1983—

1984—

1985—

1986—

1987—

1988—

1989—

1990—

1991—

1992—

1993—

1994—

1995—

19961,956#97 of 134

1997—

1998—

1999—

20001,171#114 of 128

20011,221#111 of 129

20021,323#112 of 129

20031,231#115 of 130

20041,179#115 of 121

20052,028#106 of 121

20061,123#115 of 121

20071,487#111 of 121

20081,453#111 of 121

20091,928#109 of 122

20101,958#112 of 125

20111,989#108 of 129

20121,783#103 of 132

20132,006#88 of 129

20141,821#126 of 136

20151,780#126 of 138

20161,837#125 of 138

20171,798#126 of 139

20182,382#121 of 139

20192,507#120 of 139

202011,510#20 of 137

2021—#54 of 137

2022—#110 of 138

2023—#125 of 138

2024—#119 of 138

2025—#117 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.

Public Health: workbook data

Printings (102)

Have	Year	Month	Cover	Back	Run	©	HC	Notes
	1919		1A					1A hb 18th edition reference
c	1919		1B-1					Address of President Woodrow Wilson to the National Council on page ii, followed by and introduction on pages iii and iv. Pages v, vi, vii, viii and ix present information for Applications, Local Authorities, The Examination, Court of Honor Procedure, Presentation of Awards, and Special Scout Awards. Page x list the merit badge requirements
x	1919		1B-1			1919		1A hb 20th edition reference
	1920	not made
	1921	not made
	1922		2					15c Wireless
c	1923		2					15c Radio
c	1924		2
c	1925		2					20c Radio
x	1925		3A
x	1925		3A					with pasted 1927 requirements
c	1926		3A
	1927		3A
x	1928		3B
x	1929		3B
x	1929	October	3B			1929
x	1929	December	3B
	1930	March	3B
x	1930	April	3B
x	1930	May	3B
	1930	November	3B
x	1931	March	3B
x	1931	October	3B
x	1932	December	3B		5M
	1933	not made
x	1934	April	3B		3M
x	1935	March	3B		3M
x	1936	February	3C		4M
x	1937	March	3B		4M
c	1937	March	3C		4M
x	1938	February	3D		4M
x	1938	October	3D		4M
x	1939	August	3D		5M
x	1940	October	4		5M
x	1941	July	4		5M
x	1942	April	4		6M
x	1943	March	4		6M		HCA
x	1944	April	5A		9M
x	1945	February	5B		9.5M	1942
x	1945	June	5B		10M
x	1946	June	5B		10M
	1947	not made
	1948	not made
x	1949	June	5B		14M	1949
x	1950	January	5B		10M	1949
x	1951	January	5B		10M	1949
x	1951	July	5B		15M	1949
c	1952	January	6			1949
	1952	November	6		5M	1949
x	1953	March	6		10M	1949
x	1954	March	6		5M
x	1954	August	6		8M
x	1955	March	6		20M		HCJV1
x	1956	March	6		6M
x	1956	June	6		6M
x	1956	October	6		20M	1956
x	1957	June	6		20M	1956
x	1958	June	6		20M	1956	HCJV1
x	1959	May	6		21M	1956
x	1960	February	6		22M	1956	HCJV2
x	1961	January	6		23M	1956	HCJV2
x	1962	January	6		23M	1956
x	1962	November	6		25M	1956	HCJV2
x	1963	October	6		26M	1956	HCP
x	1964	December	6		27M	1956	HCK, HCP
	1965	not made
x	1966	December	6		27M
	1967	not made
x	1968	December	7		6M
x	1969	March	7		12M	1969	HCL
x	1970	May	7		12M	1969	HCM, HCP2
x	1971	May	7		10M	1969
	1972	not made
x	1973	January	8A		9M	1969	HCSV2, HCT
x	1974	February	8A		10M	1969
x	1975	January	8A		10M	1969
x	1976	March	8B		7.8M	1969
	1977	not made
x	1978	January	8B		5.5M
x	1979	August	9A		3.5M
	1980	not made
x	1981	May	9A		3M
	1982	not made
x	1983	July	9A		2.4M
	1984	not made
	1985	February	9B		2M	1985
c	1986	January	9A	back-9b-2	2M	1985
x	1986	August	9B		2.5M	1985
x	1987	September	9B		2.5M	1985
x	1988	April	9B		2.5M	1985
x	1989	July	9B		2.5M	1985
	1990	not made
x	1991	April	9B		2M	1985
x	1992	May	9B		2M	1985
x	1993	September	9B		2M
x	1994	September	9B		2M
x	1995	October	9B		1M
x	1996	October	9B		2M
x	1997	September	9	back-9d
x	1998		9
x	1999		9C
	2000	not made
x	2001		9
	2002	not made
	2003	not made
x	2004		9D
x	2005		9D
x	2006		9D
	2007	not made
x	2008		10A
	2009	not made
x	2010		10C
x	2011		10C
	2012	not made
x	2013		10C
x	2014		10C
	2015	not made
	2016	not made
x	2017		10C
x	2018		10D					358
x	2019		10D					358
	2020	not made
x	2021		10D					358
x	2022		10D					358
	2023	not made
	2024	not made
	2025	not made

Earned and rank by year

Year	Earned	Rank	Of
1911	9	3	22
1912	225	2	51
1913	576	2	56
1914	759	2	58
1915	836	3	58
1916	1,080	4	56
1917	1,831	3	58
1918	2,187	2	58
1919	4,899	3	59
1920	4,603	2	59
1921	7,465	1	61
1922	9,624	1	61
1923	9,603	2	63
1924	8,820	3	64
1925	11,491	2	64
1926	16,209	4	65
1927	19,092	4	68
1928	18,802	5	88
1929	22,542	4	89
1930	23,247	4	92
1931	24,281	6	96
1932	25,724	6	98
1933	27,909	6	101
1934	25,332	5	101
1935	28,181	5	101
1936	23,759	5	101
1937	25,099	7	102
1938	30,562	7	105
1939	33,807	6	106
1940	33,801	5	106
1941	30,547	5	106
1942	28,057	5	110
1943	32,796	5	112
1944	37,966	5	111
1945	37,675	5	111
1946	30,043	5	111
1947	26,838	5	111
1948	25,145	6	111
1949	29,189	5	111
1950	33,477	4	111
1951	36,151	7	111
1952	34,631	8	120
1953	20,597	13	105
1954	25,507	14	103
1955	28,563	14	100
1956	31,929	13	100
1957	31,236	13	100
1958	31,979	14	101
1959	33,730	14	101
1960	39,922	16	100
1961	43,544	14	101
1962	44,509	14	101
1963	42,809	16	102
1964	34,708	19	107
1965	23,255	23	109
1966	17,080	28	110
1967	15,449	31	112
1968	13,836	37	112
1969	13,162	36	113
1970	12,477	39	113
1971	12,152	39	113
1972	9,121	51	124
1973	7,182	63	122
1974	14,280	49	121
1975	14,430	49	128
1976	12,939	48	130
1977	11,242	48	130
1978	9,359	46	131
1979	6,517	53	132
1980	3,850	55	132
1981	4,541	65	134
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996	1,956	97	134
1997
1998
1999
2000	1,171	114	128
2001	1,221	111	129
2002	1,323	112	129
2003	1,231	115	130
2004	1,179	115	121
2005	2,028	106	121
2006	1,123	115	121
2007	1,487	111	121
2008	1,453	111	121
2009	1,928	109	122
2010	1,958	112	125
2011	1,989	108	129
2012	1,783	103	132
2013	2,006	88	129
2014	1,821	126	136
2015	1,780	126	138
2016	1,837	125	138
2017	1,798	126	139
2018	2,382	121	139
2019	2,507	120	139
2020	11,510	20	137
2021		54	137
2022		110	138
2023		125	138
2024		119	138
2025		117	141