2020 merit badge rankings: A list rewritten by the pandemic

The pandemic didn’t stop Scouts from earning merit badges in 2020, but it did cause a dramatic shift in which merit badges Scouts earned most.

Ever since we started publishing merit badge rankings back in 2012, the top of the list has been dominated by merit badges that are both:

1. On the list of Eagle-required merit badges.
2. Offered at most council summer camps.

But everything changed in 2020.

With the majority of summer camps not operating, the popularity of those merit badges fell. In their place, we saw an unprecedented rise in the popularity of merit badges that can be earned at home, often with a Scout’s family.

Eagle-required merit badges still dominated, accounting for all 13 of the top 13. But instead of traditional top-of-the-list merit badges like First Aid, Swimming or Cooking, we had a new No. 1 in 2020.

That was Family Life, which jumped nine spots from its No. 10 ranking last year.

Speaking of newcomers, all three citizenship merit badges (Citizenship in the Nation, Citizenship in the World and Citizenship in the Community) found their way into the top five for the first time, as did Personal Management.

We can also learn a lot from which merit badges saw the biggest jumps in popularity from 2019 to 2020. In a true “sign of the times” moment, the merit badges with the biggest percentage increases were Public Health (up 359%), American Business (up 238%) and Safety (up 97%). The whole list of “ups and downs” is fascinating, so be sure to look for that below.

The other side of the list holds some interesting nuggets, too. The merit badges with the biggest drops in popularity from 2019 to 2020 were Small Boat Sailing (down 76%), Rowing (down 71%) and Lifesaving (down 70%).

More than 1.1 million merit badges were earned in 2020 — and there’s a story behind each one. Let’s look more closely at the numbers.

The actual top 10

Each merit badge in 2020’s top 10 has something in common: it’s required to earn the Eagle Scout award, Scouts BSA’s highest honor.

The BSA didn’t select its Eagle-required badges at random. Together, they represent a set of essential skills for life.

The alternative top 10

What happens if we eliminate the Eagle-required merit badges from the list?

Typically, we’re left with 10 merit badges commonly offered at summer camp. But not in 2020.

Notice a trend? These are merit badges Scouts could earn at home, perhaps while spending quality time with their parents and siblings.

The bottom 10

Put an asterisk by these 10, which did nothing to deserve their spots at the bottom of 2020’s rankings. Many of these merit badges will bounce back once the pandemic ends.

The ups and downs

Some merit badges, like food delivery companies, saw their stock rise during the pandemic. Others were not so fortunate.

These were the top 10 gains and losses from 2019 to 2020.

Top 10 Gains

Takeaways:

• Two of the most dominant news stories in 2020 were COVID-19 and its effect on businesses. So we shouldn’t be surprised to see Public Health and American Business on this list.
• While people have remained at home to avoid spreading the virus, Scouts and their families have been able to take up Gardening, spend more time with their Pets and work on building new Collections.
• Genealogy was on last year’s list of the Top 10 Drops. It was down 15%, meaning it had quite a rebound in 2020.

Top 10 Drops

Takeaways:

• All 10 of these merit badges are offered at many council camps, which partly explains their decline in popularity last year.
• That’s two straight years on this list of Top 10 Drops for Rowing and Motor Boating. Boating aficionados, consider this a friendly challenge to become a merit badge counselor and get those numbers up.
• You know what isn’t on this list? Bugling, which actually saw a modest 5% increase from 2019 to 2020 after years of decline. Buglers, go ahead and toot your own horn.

What’s the source?

The data comes from Local Council Charter Applications. That means they’re based on the actual number earned, not on sales of the badges. Some troops purchase extra emblems in anticipation of future badge earnings, so sales numbers can mislead.

Special thanks to the BSA’s Garfield Murden for supplying the numbers.

The raw data

If you’ve made it this far in the post, you might be looking for the complete rankings. I should warn you that this information is only for the geekiest of geeks like me — people unfazed by line after line of merit badge data.

You’ve been warned. Keep scrolling to find:

• The complete 2020 rankings
• Merit badge popularity over the last five years
• Lifetime rankings from 1911 to 2020
• Every merit badge ranked by its percent change from 2019 to 2020

The complete 2020 rankings

What the colors mean:

• Blue: merit badge is required for Eagle
• Red: merit badge is considered “new” — released in 2015 or later

Merit badge numbers over the last five years

I offer this alphabetically sorted list in case you want to complete your own data analysis. I ask that if you find something interesting, you share it in the comments below!

Note: Computers was discontinued in 2014, and Cinematography became Moviemaking in 2013. Scouts who started these merit badges before the change were allowed to finish them as long as they did so before turning 18.

Lifetime rankings from 1911 to 2020

Two notes:

1. This list includes only merit badges that could be earned in 2020. Sorry, but that means the Taxidermy merit badge (and these other discontinued merit badges) didn’t make the cut.
2. The rankings are interesting but don’t tell the whole story. A merit badge released more recently will rank lower than one of the original 1911 merit badges. My go-to example of this is the Home Repairs merit badge. It’s No. 18 lifetime but was released in 1943. The Chess merit badge was about 4.5 times more popular in 2020, but it has only been around since 2011.

Every merit badge ranked by its percent change from 2019 to 2020

Life has its ups and downs. So do merit badges.

You did it! You reached the end of this 2,000-word post. Thanks for reading!

For making it to the end, you deserve a s’more.