Radio Merit Badge History

Earned through 2020205,747

Best year20137,208 earned

All-time popularity#108official, as of 2020#108by 2025 (estimate)

Earned by Year

First earned in 1923. Peak year 2013 with 7,208. Hover over or tap a year for its numbers.

1923288 earned#51 of 63

1924250 earned#53 of 64

1925163 earned#58 of 64

1926286 earned#60 of 65

1927653 earned#54 of 68

1928710 earned#70 of 88

1929336 earned#79 of 89

1930384 earned#80 of 92

19311,226 earned#68 of 96

1932450 earned#83 of 98

1933621 earned#82 of 101

1934413 earned#86 of 101

1935413 earned#89 of 101

1936299 earned#92 of 101

1937512 earned#90 of 102

1938534 earned#89 of 105

1939283 earned#101 of 106

1940415 earned#94 of 106

1941271 earned#98 of 106

1942341 earned#93 of 110

1943332 earned#99 of 112

1944401 earned#101 of 111

1945506 earned#95 of 111

1946474 earned#95 of 111

1947369 earned#98 of 111

1948428 earned#92 of 111

1949410 earned#96 of 111

1950429 earned#100 of 111

1951577 earned#99 of 111

1952738 earned#98 of 120

1953822 earned#85 of 105

19541,195 earned#80 of 103

19551,542 earned#78 of 100

19561,684 earned#78 of 100

19572,044 earned#76 of 100

19582,112 earned#75 of 101

19592,080 earned#76 of 101

19602,236 earned#76 of 100

19612,012 earned#80 of 101

19621,856 earned#81 of 101

19631,902 earned#79 of 102

19641,846 earned#82 of 107

19651,920 earned#79 of 109

19661,551 earned#91 of 110

19671,514 earned#94 of 112

19681,497 earned#92 of 112

19691,550 earned#97 of 113

19701,612 earned#93 of 113

19711,534 earned#92 of 113

19721,745 earned#101 of 124

19732,266 earned#95 of 122

19742,350 earned#109 of 121

19751,984 earned#114 of 128

19761,946 earned#111 of 130

19771,808 earned#112 of 130

19781,696 earned#106 of 131

1979883 earned#115 of 132

1980552 earned#116 of 132

1981709 earned#117 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

19931,549 earned#105 of 123

1994No data available

1995No data available

19961,655 earned#102 of 134

1997No data available

1998No data available

1999No data available

20003,982 earned#82 of 128

20013,623 earned#85 of 129

20024,232 earned#86 of 129

20035,417 earned#73 of 130

20045,394 earned#73 of 121

20054,963 earned#77 of 121

20065,058 earned#74 of 121

20075,766 earned#68 of 121

20085,829 earned#72 of 121

20097,190 earned#66 of 122

20106,994 earned#70 of 125

20116,257 earned#71 of 129

20126,957 earned#59 of 132

20137,208 earned#49 of 129

20146,665 earned#73 of 136

20156,709 earned#73 of 138

20166,442 earned#74 of 138

20175,840 earned#79 of 139

20185,205 earned#85 of 139

20195,519 earned#84 of 139

20203,550 earned#90 of 137

2021No data available#98 of 137

2022No data available#81 of 138

2023No data available#76 of 138

2024No data available#83 of 138

2025No data available#82 of 141

Known count No data available

"—" means merit badges were earned that year but the exact number is not currently known. "#82 of 141" means the badge was number 82 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.

1923288#51 of 63

1924250#53 of 64

1925163#58 of 64

1926286#60 of 65

1927653#54 of 68

1928710#70 of 88

1929336#79 of 89

1930384#80 of 92

19311,226#68 of 96

1932450#83 of 98

1933621#82 of 101

1934413#86 of 101

1935413#89 of 101

1936299#92 of 101

1937512#90 of 102

1938534#89 of 105

1939283#101 of 106

1940415#94 of 106

1941271#98 of 106

1942341#93 of 110

1943332#99 of 112

1944401#101 of 111

1945506#95 of 111

1946474#95 of 111

1947369#98 of 111

1948428#92 of 111

1949410#96 of 111

1950429#100 of 111

1951577#99 of 111

1952738#98 of 120

1953822#85 of 105

19541,195#80 of 103

19551,542#78 of 100

19561,684#78 of 100

19572,044#76 of 100

19582,112#75 of 101

19592,080#76 of 101

19602,236#76 of 100

19612,012#80 of 101

19621,856#81 of 101

19631,902#79 of 102

19641,846#82 of 107

19651,920#79 of 109

19661,551#91 of 110

19671,514#94 of 112

19681,497#92 of 112

19691,550#97 of 113

19701,612#93 of 113

19711,534#92 of 113

19721,745#101 of 124

19732,266#95 of 122

19742,350#109 of 121

19751,984#114 of 128

19761,946#111 of 130

19771,808#112 of 130

19781,696#106 of 131

1979883#115 of 132

1980552#116 of 132

1981709#117 of 134

1982—

1983—

1984—

1985—

1986—

1987—

1988—

1989—

1990—

1991—

1992—

19931,549#105 of 123

1994—

1995—

19961,655#102 of 134

1997—

1998—

1999—

20003,982#82 of 128

20013,623#85 of 129

20024,232#86 of 129

20035,417#73 of 130

20045,394#73 of 121

20054,963#77 of 121

20065,058#74 of 121

20075,766#68 of 121

20085,829#72 of 121

20097,190#66 of 122

20106,994#70 of 125

20116,257#71 of 129

20126,957#59 of 132

20137,208#49 of 129

20146,665#73 of 136

20156,709#73 of 138

20166,442#74 of 138

20175,840#79 of 139

20185,205#85 of 139

20195,519#84 of 139

20203,550#90 of 137

2021—#98 of 137

2022—#81 of 138

2023—#76 of 138

2024—#83 of 138

2025—#82 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.

Radio: workbook data

Printings (93)

Have	Year	Month	Cover	Run	©	BSA #	UPC	HC	Notes
x	1922		2						without a copyright date-spring of 1922 mentioned in intro on page 4
	1922		2
	1923	not made
	1924	not made
c	1925		3A
c	1926		3A
c	1927		3A
	1928	not made
x	1929	December	3B
	1930	July	3B
c	1930	September	3B
c	1931	February	3B
c	1931	October	3B
x	1932	December	3B
	1932	not made
	1933	not made
x	1934	February	3B	1M
	1934	August	3B	1M
c	1935	June	3B	1M
x	1936	April	3C	1M
x	1937	February	3C	1M
x	1938	March	3C	1M
	1939	January	3C	1M
c	1939	May	3C	1M					pasted
c	1940	December	4	2M
x	1941	June	4	2M				HCB
x	1942	June	4	2M
x	1943	June	4	2M
x	1944	April	5A	3M
x	1945	April	5B	3M
x	1945	October	5B	3M
	1946	not made
x	1947	May	5B	4M	1947
x	1948	June	5B	3M	1947
	1949	not made
x	1950	March	5B	2M	1947
x	1951	January	5B	3M	1947
x	1951	November	5B	4M	1947
c	1952	June	6	4M	1947
c	1953	July	6	1M	1947			HCI
x	1953	October	6	5M	1947
x	1954	May	6	7M	1947
x	1954	December	6	10M	1947			HCJV1
	1955	not made
x	1956	January	6	10M	1947			HCJV1
x	1956	November	6	10M	1947
x	1957	July	6	12M	1947
x	1958	July	6	12M	1947
x	1959	May	6	13M	1947
x	1960	April	6	13M	1947
x	1961	April	6	13M
	1962	September	6	3M
x	1963	January	6	8M				HCP
x	1963	June	6	10M
x	1964	March	6	13M				HCQ
x	1965	July	6	13M	1965			HCK, HCP
x	1966	August	7A	12M	1965			HCL
x	1967	August	7B	12M	1965			HCL
x	1968	August	7B	24M	1965			HCL
	1969	not made
	1970	not made
x	1971	June	7B	8M	1965			HCM, HCSV1
x	1972	July	7B	8M	1965			HCSV2
	1973	not made
x	1974	February	8	8M	1965
x	1975	March	8	6M	1965
x	1976	December	8	4.5M	1965
x	1977	December	8	4M
	1978	not made
x	1979	September	9A	2.5M
	1980	not made
x	1981	December	9A	2.8M
	1982	not made
x	1983	February	9A	1.2M
x	1983	May	9A	1.5M
x	1984	April	9A	2.5M
c	1985	June	9A	2.5M
	1986	not made
	1987	not made
	1988	not made
x	1989	October	9B	6M	1989
x	1990	June	9B	3M	1989
x	1991	February	9B	4M	1989
x	1992	February	9B	5M	1989
	1993	not made
x	1994	February	9B	3.5M
x	1995	April	9B	3M
	1996	not made
x	1997	September	9						front states © 1996 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2-back states 9-1-96
x	1998		9
x	1999		9
	2000	not made
x	2001		9
x	2002		9
x	2003		9
x	2004		9
	2005	not made
x	2006		9
x	2007		9C
x	2007		9C						2nd printing
x	2008		10A
x	2009		10B
x	2010		10C
x	2011		10C
	2012	not made
x	2013		10C
x	2014		10C
x	2015		10C
x	2016		10C
x	2017		10C
	2018	not made
x	2019		10D			642986	730176347592
x	2019		10D			655194	730176351476
	2020	not made
	2021	not made
x	2022		10D			656911	7301766569118
x	2023		10D			659871	7301766598712
x	2024		10D			661041	7301766610414		358
	2025	not made

Earned and rank by year

Year	Earned	Rank	Of
1923	288	51	63
1924	250	53	64
1925	163	58	64
1926	286	60	65
1927	653	54	68
1928	710	70	88
1929	336	79	89
1930	384	80	92
1931	1,226	68	96
1932	450	83	98
1933	621	82	101
1934	413	86	101
1935	413	89	101
1936	299	92	101
1937	512	90	102
1938	534	89	105
1939	283	101	106
1940	415	94	106
1941	271	98	106
1942	341	93	110
1943	332	99	112
1944	401	101	111
1945	506	95	111
1946	474	95	111
1947	369	98	111
1948	428	92	111
1949	410	96	111
1950	429	100	111
1951	577	99	111
1952	738	98	120
1953	822	85	105
1954	1,195	80	103
1955	1,542	78	100
1956	1,684	78	100
1957	2,044	76	100
1958	2,112	75	101
1959	2,080	76	101
1960	2,236	76	100
1961	2,012	80	101
1962	1,856	81	101
1963	1,902	79	102
1964	1,846	82	107
1965	1,920	79	109
1966	1,551	91	110
1967	1,514	94	112
1968	1,497	92	112
1969	1,550	97	113
1970	1,612	93	113
1971	1,534	92	113
1972	1,745	101	124
1973	2,266	95	122
1974	2,350	109	121
1975	1,984	114	128
1976	1,946	111	130
1977	1,808	112	130
1978	1,696	106	131
1979	883	115	132
1980	552	116	132
1981	709	117	134
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993	1,549	105	123
1994
1995
1996	1,655	102	134
1997
1998
1999
2000	3,982	82	128
2001	3,623	85	129
2002	4,232	86	129
2003	5,417	73	130
2004	5,394	73	121
2005	4,963	77	121
2006	5,058	74	121
2007	5,766	68	121
2008	5,829	72	121
2009	7,190	66	122
2010	6,994	70	125
2011	6,257	71	129
2012	6,957	59	132
2013	7,208	49	129
2014	6,665	73	136
2015	6,709	73	138
2016	6,442	74	138
2017	5,840	79	139
2018	5,205	85	139
2019	5,519	84	139
2020	3,550	90	137
2021		98	137
2022		81	138
2023		76	138
2024		83	138
2025		82	141