Drowning data
Boating Deaths and Life Jackets
What the U.S. Coast Guard’s yearly report says about boating deaths, life jackets and boating education.
Recreational boating deaths, 2024
556
2,170 injuries, 3,887 incidents
U.S. Coast Guard, Recreational Boating Statistics 2024 (opens in a new tab)
Fatality rate, 2024
4.8
Deaths per 100,000 registered vessels
U.S. Coast Guard, Recreational Boating Statistics 2024 (opens in a new tab)
People who drowned in boating incidents, 2024
365
310 were not wearing a life jacket
U.S. Coast Guard, Recreational Boating Statistics 2024 (opens in a new tab)
Key takeaways
- 556 people died in recreational boating incidents in 2024, the fewest of any year from 2005 to 2024. (U.S. Coast Guard, Recreational Boating Statistics 2024 (opens in a new tab), 2024)
- Of the 365 people who drowned in boating incidents in 2024, 310 were not wearing a life jacket. (U.S. Coast Guard, Recreational Boating Statistics 2024 (opens in a new tab), 2024)
- The Coast Guard: “Where cause of death was known, 76% of fatal boating incident victims drowned.” and “Where Personal Flotation Device usage was known, 87% were not wearing a Personal Floatation Device.” (U.S. Coast Guard, Recreational Boating Statistics 2024 (opens in a new tab), 2024)
- 195 people died in 2024 on boats whose operator had no boating safety education. The report knew the operator’s instruction for 312 of the 556 deaths. (U.S. Coast Guard, Recreational Boating Statistics 2024 (opens in a new tab), 2024)
- The Coast Guard: “Alcohol use is the leading known contributing factor in fatal boating incidents; where the primary cause was known, it was listed as the leading factor in 20% of deaths.” (U.S. Coast Guard, Recreational Boating Statistics 2024 (opens in a new tab), 2024)
Boating deaths over time
These are reportable recreational boating incidents that states report to the Coast Guard. A boating death can be from drowning or another cause.
Recreational boating deaths, 2005-2024
United States, all causes of death
Reportable recreational boating incidents (Table 29). Boating deaths include drowning and other causes.
Source: U.S. Coast Guard, Recreational Boating Statistics 2024 (opens in a new tab). Retrieved .
Show the data table
| Year | Deaths | Injuries | Incidents |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 697 | 3,451 | 4,969 |
| 2006 | 710 | 3,474 | 4,967 |
| 2007 | 685 | 3,673 | 5,191 |
| 2008 | 709 | 3,331 | 4,789 |
| 2009 | 736 | 3,358 | 4,730 |
| 2010 | 672 | 3,153 | 4,604 |
| 2011 | 758 | 3,081 | 4,588 |
| 2012 | 651 | 3,000 | 4,515 |
| 2013 | 560 | 2,620 | 4,062 |
| 2014 | 610 | 2,678 | 4,064 |
| 2015 | 626 | 2,613 | 4,158 |
| 2016 | 701 | 2,903 | 4,463 |
| 2017 | 658 | 2,629 | 4,291 |
| 2018 | 633 | 2,511 | 4,145 |
| 2019 | 613 | 2,559 | 4,168 |
| 2020 | 767 | 3,191 | 5,265 |
| 2021 | 658 | 2,641 | 4,439 |
| 2022 | 636 | 2,222 | 4,040 |
| 2023 | 564 | 2,126 | 3,844 |
| 2024 | 556 | 2,170 | 3,887 |
Boating fatality rate, 2005-2024
Deaths per 100,000 registered recreational vessels
Table 31 of the report.
Source: U.S. Coast Guard, Recreational Boating Statistics 2024 (opens in a new tab). Retrieved .
Show the data table
| Year | Deaths | Registered vessels | Deaths per 100,000 registered vessels |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 697 | 12,942,414 | 5.4 |
| 2006 | 710 | 12,746,126 | 5.6 |
| 2007 | 685 | 12,875,568 | 5.3 |
| 2008 | 709 | 12,692,892 | 5.6 |
| 2009 | 736 | 12,721,541 | 5.8 |
| 2010 | 672 | 12,438,926 | 5.4 |
| 2011 | 758 | 12,173,935 | 6.2 |
| 2012 | 651 | 12,101,936 | 5.4 |
| 2013 | 560 | 12,013,496 | 4.7 |
| 2014 | 610 | 11,804,002 | 5.2 |
| 2015 | 626 | 11,867,049 | 5.3 |
| 2016 | 701 | 11,861,811 | 5.9 |
| 2017 | 658 | 11,961,568 | 5.5 |
| 2018 | 633 | 11,852,969 | 5.3 |
| 2019 | 613 | 11,878,542 | 5.2 |
| 2020 | 767 | 11,838,188 | 6.5 |
| 2021 | 658 | 11,957,886 | 5.5 |
| 2022 | 636 | 11,770,383 | 5.4 |
| 2023 | 564 | 11,546,512 | 4.9 |
| 2024 | 556 | 11,674,073 | 4.8 |
Life jackets
The report calls life jackets personal flotation devices (PFDs). In 2024, 310 of the 365 people who drowned were not wearing one.
Life jacket wear by cause of death, 2024
Top five known causes of death; bar length is the number of deaths
- Not wearing a life jacket
- Wearing a life jacket
- Unknown
The report lists the top five known causes. Life jackets are called personal flotation devices (PFDs) in the report.
Source: U.S. Coast Guard, Recreational Boating Statistics 2024 (opens in a new tab). Retrieved .
Show the data table
| Cause of death | Deaths | Life jacket worn | Not worn | Unknown if worn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drowning | 365 | 48 | 310 | 7 |
| Trauma | 101 | 37 | 62 | 2 |
| Hypothermia | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| Cardiac arrest | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| Carbon monoxide poisoning | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Boating safety education
The Coast Guard: “Where instruction was known, 69% of deaths occurred on boats where the operator did not receive boating safety instruction.”
Boating deaths by the operator’s instruction, 2024
Deaths where the operator’s instruction was known (312 of 556)
Table 23, with the report’s own totals.
Source: U.S. Coast Guard, Recreational Boating Statistics 2024 (opens in a new tab). Retrieved .
Show the data table
| Type of boating instruction | Deaths |
|---|---|
| American Red Cross | 0 |
| Informal | 13 |
| Internet Course | 13 |
| State Course | 48 |
| US Power Squadrons | 2 |
| USCG Auxiliary | 3 |
| Other | 8 |
| No Education | 195 |
| Total Deaths - Known Operator Instruction | 312 |
| Total Deaths - Unknown Operator Instruction | 270 |
| Total Deaths - No Operator | 4 |
| Total Deaths - Known & Unknown Operator Instruction | 556 |
Key findings from the Coast Guard’s 2024 report
The fatality rate was 4.8 deaths per 100,000 registered recreational vessels.
Compared to 2023, the number of incidents increased 1.1%, the number of deaths decreased 1.4%, and the number of injuries increased 2.1%.
Where cause of death was known, 76% of fatal boating incident victims drowned.
Where Personal Flotation Device usage was known, 87% were not wearing a Personal Floatation Device.
Where length was known, 4 of every 5 boaters who drowned were aboard vessels less than 21 feet in length.
Alcohol use is the leading known contributing factor in fatal boating incidents; where the primary cause was known, it was listed as the leading factor in 20% of deaths.
Where instruction was known, 69% of deaths occurred on boats where the operator did not receive boating safety instruction.
Only 19% of deaths occurred on vessels where the operator had received a nationally-approved boating safety education certificate.
Quoted from 2024 Recreational Boating Statistics (COMDTPUB P16754.38) (opens in a new tab).
Boating-related drowning on death certificates
CDC also counts drowning in boating and other water-transport accidents (ICD-10 V90 and V92). This is a different measure from the Coast Guard’s, so the two are never added or compared as one number.
Boating-related drowning deaths (CDC)
| Year | Deaths (ICD-10 V90, V92) | Age-adjusted rate per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 335 | 0.08 |
| 2019 | 375 | 0.12 |
| 2020 | 412 | 0.11 |
| 2021 | 340 | 0.09 |
| 2022 | 341 | 0.10 |
| 2023 | 327 | 0.08 |
| 2024 | 339 | 0.08 |
| 2018-2024 combined | 2,469 | 0.08 |
CDC death-certificate data. Not the same measure as the Coast Guard counts: never add or compare them as one number.
Source: CDC WONDER (opens in a new tab). Retrieved .
Boating data for your state
Every state’s Coast Guard boating numbers for 2020-2024, with its boating education rules, are on the state data pages.
Methodology
- Coast Guard boating counts
- The U.S. Coast Guard counts reportable recreational boating incidents that the states, territories and DC report. A boating death can be from drowning, trauma, hypothermia or another cause. These are not the same as CDC’s drowning counts.
- Why sources are not mixed
- CDC, the U.S. Coast Guard and WHO count different things in different ways. We keep each source in its own chart and never add their numbers together.
- Fatality rate
- Deaths per 100,000 registered recreational vessels. States register different kinds of boats, so boats a state does not register are not in its vessel count.
- Revisions and the next report
- The Coast Guard revised its 2019-2023 statistics on February 12, 2025. Its statistics page lists the 2025 report as pending, due October 31, 2026. We will update these pages when it is out.
Data last checked . We copy numbers exactly as the source publishes them. We do not estimate, model or add up numbers. Found a mistake? Tell us and we will check it against the source.
Sources
- 2024 Recreational Boating Statistics (COMDTPUB P16754.38) (opens in a new tab) U.S. Coast Guard
- Recreational boating accident statistics (opens in a new tab) U.S. Coast Guard
- CDC WONDER: Underlying Cause of Death (final data, 1999-2024) (opens in a new tab) CDC, National Center for Health Statistics
What you can do today
- Wear a life jacket on every boat ride
How to choose one that fits, for adults and kids.
- Find the right life jacket
Answer a few questions to see which type fits your trip.
- Find swimming lessons near you
It is never too late to learn. Lessons help children and adults.
- Learn the signs of drowning
Drowning is often quiet. Know what it looks like and what to do.