Eagle Scout Class of 2019: The numbers behind the largest Eagle class ever
Posted on February 24, 2020

More young people became Eagle Scouts in 2019 than in any other year in the 108-year history of the prestigious award.

Exactly 61,353 young men earned the Eagle Scout award last year, beating the previous record of 58,659 set in 2012, the 100-year anniversary of the award first being presented.

It’s worth noting that this is the last year I’ll be able to type “young men” when referring to the newest Eagle Scout class.

Last year, we reported that the BSA will honor the inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts in late 2020. This class is open to any young woman who passes her board of review between Oct. 1 and Oct. 31, 2020, and has submitted her postmarked Eagle application to the National Office no later than Nov. 2, 2020.

As an Eagle Scout (Class of 1999), I have to say it will be such a thrill to watch these impressive young women earn their Eagle badges later this year.

Speaking of impressive, let’s get back to the Eagle Scout Class of 2019.

Putting the number in perspective

The capacity of Soldier Field, home to the NFL’s Chicago Bears, is 61,500. That means this year’s Eagle Scout class would just barely fit inside, with room for 147 friends, family members or Scouting bloggers.

Never been to Soldier Field? Then try this: The Class of 2019 is so large that it wouldn’t fit inside any of the 30 Major League Baseball stadiums. Eagle Scout Day at the Ballpark? Better plan it for a doubleheader.

So why am I making such a big deal about the largest-ever Eagle Scout class? Because it’s a good thing to have so many new Eagle Scouts in the world.

As a Scout leader, you no doubt helped one of these young men discover new things about life, the natural world and himself. Now he’ll use those skills as he takes on life’s next chapter.

Think about that impressive Eagle Scout, and then multiply by 61,353. That’s 61,353 Eagle Scout service projects, 61,353 trained leaders and 61,353 more-prepared citizens.

Let’s break this record every year!

A deeper dive into the numbers

Let’s look at the numbers behind the numbers. We’ll cover:

• Total number of Eagle Scout service project hours recorded in 2019

• Region-by-region Eagle numbers

• Number of Eagle Scouts per year, from 1912 to 2019

• State-by-state Eagle rankings

• The average age of 2019’s Eagle Scouts

Thanks to the BSA’s Garfield Murden and Debbie Williams for providing these official numbers.

Total number of Eagle Scout service project hours recorded in 2019

Eagle Scouts, and the volunteers they led, completed 8,575,780 hours of work for Eagle Scout service projects in 2019. (The real number is probably even higher!)

That works out to 139.8 hours per project.

At the 2019 “value of volunteer time” rate of $25.43 per hour, that equals a staggering $218.1 million worth of service to communities.

As many city governments are forced to trim their budgets each year, Scouting often fills in the gaps through acts of service.

Average age of 2019 Eagle Scouts

The average age of youth earning the Eagle Scout Rank in 2019 was 17.3. That’s about the same as it has been for the past six years.

Eagle Scout Class of 2016, by the numbers

LINK

There were 55,186 Eagle Scouts in 2016. That’s the fourth-largest Eagle Scout class ever — surpassed only by 2012, 2010 and 2013 — and represents a 1.5 percent increase over 2015.

Just think about that for a sec: 55,186 Eagle Scouts. Each one has his own story of the challenging but rewarding journey to Scouting’s highest honor. These young men have come far, but I must remind my fellow Eagle Scouts that the journey is only beginning.

This is one of my favorite blog posts to write each year — a deep dive into the newest class of Eagle Scouts. This week, we’ll look at the numbers behind the number:

• Total number of service project hours Eagle Scouts recorded in 2016

• Region-by-region Eagle numbers

• Number of Eagle Scouts per year, from 1912 to 2016

• State-by-state Eagle rankings

• The average age of 2016’s Eagle Scouts

Before continuing, let’s give a big hand to the BSA’s Mike Lo Vecchio, who provides me with these Eagle Scout stats each year.

How many young men became Eagle Scouts in 2016?

Exactly 55,186 young men became Eagle Scouts in 2016.

The total is a 1.5 percent increase over last year’s Eagle Scout count (54,366), but it’s 6.3 percent less than the all-time high of 58,659 in 2012. That year’s count was inflated as Scouts hurried to finish requirements in time for the 100th anniversary of the Eagle Scout award. (And get the 2012 Eagle Scout patch only given to guys who earned Eagle that year.)

How many service hours did the 2016 Eagle Scout Class record while working on Eagle projects?

Young men who earned Eagle in 2016 combined to record 9,156,368 hours of service on Eagle projects.

That’s an average of 165.9 hours of service per Eagle project. (By the way, that’s a 6.1 percent increase over 2015’s 156.4 hours per project. That means Scouts are doing more service!)

With the value of volunteer time at $23.56 an hour, that means Eagle Scouts and the volunteers they led contributed — drumroll, please — more than $215.7 million worth of time working on these projects.

Which region had the most Eagle Scouts in 2016?

Congrats to the Western Region! You again took home the crown as the region with the most Eagle Scouts. The Western Region boasted an impressive 18,073 Eagle Scouts last year.

Here’s how the other regions fared:

• Western 18,073

• Southern 14,962

• Northeast 11,134

• Central 11,017

• TOTAL 55,186

How many young men have become Eagle Scouts in past years?

Here’s a year-by-year breakdown of the 2,429,979 young men who have become Eagle Scouts since the award was first presented in 1912.

Which state had the most Eagle Scouts in 2016?

No state produced more Eagle Scouts in 2016 than Utah. To see the rankings, 1 to 50, click here.

What was the average age of 2016 Eagle Scouts?

Eagle Scouts are getting older, and that’s not a bad thing. Click here for the average age in 2016 (and 2009 through 2015).

Eagle Scout Class of 2015, by the numbers

If you were to put the 2015 Eagle Scout class inside Yankee Stadium, you’d still have more than 4,000 Eagle Scouts without seats.

That gives you some idea how large the 2015 Eagle Scout class is — 54,366 members strong, representing an increase of 4.9 percent over 2014.

This was the fourth-biggest Eagle Scout class in history, trailing only 2012, 2010 and 2013.

First, please help me congratulate each and every one of those remarkable young men. To my fellow Eagle Scouts I say this: You’ve achieved greatness, but your journey has only just begun.

OK, now it’s time to do a deep dive into the 2015 Eagle Scout class. This week we’ll look at the numbers behind the number: total number of service project hours Eagle Scouts recorded, the average age of 2015’s Eagle Scouts, state-by-state Eagle rankings and much more.

How many young men became Eagle Scouts in 2015?

Exactly 54,366 young men became Eagle Scouts in 2015, which amounts to 6.57 percent of eligible Scouts. (Eligible Scouts is defined as registered Boy Scouts or male Venturers who are under 18).

The total is a 4.9 percent increase over last year’s Eagle Scout count (51,820) but 7.3 percent less than the all-time high of 58,659 in 2012. That year’s count was inflated as Scouts hurried to finish requirements in time for the 100th anniversary of the Eagle Scout award. (And get the 2012 Eagle Scout patch only given to guys who earned Eagle that year.)

Let’s stop and reflect on the 54,366 number. It’s remarkable to think that 54,366 new Eagle Scouts have entered society to make this world a better place. And to realize that 54,366 Eagle Scout service projects were finished, each leaving behind a positive impact on the Scout’s communities.

How many service hours did the 2015 Eagle Scout Class record while working on Eagle projects?

Young men who earned Eagle in 2015 combined to record 8,503,337 hours of service on Eagle projects. That’s an average of 156.4 hours of service per Eagle project.

With the value of volunteer time at $23.07 an hour, that means Eagle Scouts and the volunteers they led contributed — drumroll, please — more than $196 million worth of time working on these projects.

Which region had the most Eagle Scouts in 2015?

Western 18,317

Southern 14,484

Central 10,913

Northeast 10,652

How many young men have become Eagle Scouts in past years?

Lots. As in millions. For the year-by-year look, go HERE.

Which state had the most Eagle Scouts in 2015?

See the state-by-state rankings HERE.

What was the average age of 2015 Eagle Scouts?

See the average age HERE.

Eagle Scout Class of 2014, by the numbers

51,820 boys became Eagle Scouts in 2014. Here are some quick facts about the 2014 Eagle Scout class:

The average age of Eagle Scouts in the 2014 class was 17.31 years.

Every 2014 Eagle Scout completed an Eagle Scout service project, and the combined number of hours put in for those selfless acts of service was 8,127,532 hours. If the estimated value of volunteer time is $22.55 per hour, that means Eagle Scouts and the volunteers they led provided $183.3 million worth of service to their communities. The average number of project hours per Eagle Scout last year was 156.84 hours.

Scouts didn’t just earn Eagle in one of the 50 states. Here are the numbers for BSA members who earned Eagle in Puerto Rico, Washington, D.C., and the BSA’s Transatlantic and Far East Councils.

The average age of 2018’s Eagle Scouts

This number has remained pretty steady over the past five years.

Eagle Scout Class of 2017, by the numbers

LINK

The world needs more Eagle Scouts, and 2017 delivered in a big way. Exactly 55,494 young men became Eagle Scouts in 2017. That’s the most in a single year since 2013, and it’s the fourth-biggest Eagle Scout class in history (trailing 2012, 2010 and 2013).

This is great news for our country and our world. It means the planet has another 55,494 people who are prepared to be outstanding friends and coworkers, leaders and innovators, husbands and fathers.

How large was the Eagle Scout Class of 2017?

There were 55,494 Eagle Scouts in 2017. Are you having trouble wrapping your head around that number? I was, too, so I looked at the seating capacities of Major League Baseball stadiums.

The largest, Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, holds 56,000 people. Close enough. Here’s what Dodger Stadium looks like when it’s almost full:

That’s a lot of Eagle Scouts.

How many Eagle Scout service project hours were recorded in 2017?

Eagle Scouts and their volunteers completed 8,461,760 hours of service in 2017. That works out to about 152.5 hours per project.

Some might call that amount of service to communities “priceless.” But, in fact, you can put a price on it.

At the current “value of volunteer time” rate of $24.14 per hour, that works out to $204.3 million worth of service to communities.

Note: The real number is probably much higher. Many soon-to-be Eagle Scouts miscalculate the number of hours worked, thereby shortchanging themselves. Read this post for details.

How many young men have been Eagle Scouts in past years?

In all, 2,485,473 young men have become Eagle Scouts from 1912 to 2017. That includes every Eagle Scout since the very first one: Arthur Rose Eldred in 1912.