The USA Hockey membership statistics were released yesterday and as always, I took a rather deep dive in to the numbers.
Across the board, USA Hockey Membership continued its steady climb up 1% by adding over 5,000 player memberships year over year. Here is an overview of the changes by State.
Raw membership by state
Major takeaways:
- Nevada added close to 1000 hockey players last year (61% increase year over year!). No doubt the Golden Knights arrival and massive success had a direct impact to the numbers.
- California continues to lead all states with new hockey memberships. Adding over 1000 hockey players year over year.
- With the growth, California is now the 5th biggest hockey playing state in the country, surpassing Illinois and Pennsylvania last year.
- Illinois saw a massive decline of 1,800 less memberships year over year. This is more than just the decline of the Blackhawks impact. There is probably a story here but it could be a big facility or league closing in an Illinois community.
All age groups saw the inclines except for the 13 to 14 age group.
Here is an interactive map of inclines and declines by state.
