Cheerleading demographics statistics show a strongly female-participating activity with meaningful differences by age, geography, setting, and school program. The figures below combine the LA84 Foundation’s 2018 Youth Sports Participation Report with National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) surveys from 2014-15, 2017-18, and 2021-22. The LA84 figures describe cheer/dance participation, while NFHS figures describe high school competitive spirit and unified cheer, so the measures should not be treated as identical.
Contents
- Youth participation at a glance
- Participation by sex and age
- High school participation
- Where cheer and dance participation happens
- Los Angeles County regional estimates
- Demographic profile indexes
Youth participation at a glance
The LA84 Foundation’s 2018 Youth Sports Participation Report recorded an overall cheer/dance participation rate of 13.5% nationally in 2018. In Los Angeles County, the corresponding overall rate was 15.4%. These are participation rates for the populations measured in that report, not a count of all cheerleaders in the United States or Los Angeles County.
The same report estimated 233.8 thousand cheer/dance players in Los Angeles County. Its regional projections were 77.9 thousand players in the North region, 37.9 thousand in the South region, 81.2 thousand in the East region, 17.8 thousand in the West region, and 20.5 thousand in the Metro region. These are projected player estimates for Los Angeles County, rather than observed registrations.
The county rate was 1.9 percentage points higher than the national rate in the report. That comparison describes the two reported rates for 2018; it does not establish why the difference existed or imply that the county is representative of every U.S. community.
Participation by sex and age
Sex differences were large in both geographies. In Los Angeles County, the reported cheer/dance participation rate was 27.9% for girls and 2.3% for boys. Nationally, the rate was 24.8% for girls and 5.4% for boys. The report therefore showed a higher girls’ rate in Los Angeles County, while the boys’ rate was higher nationally.
Age patterns were comparatively close between Los Angeles County and the national figures. The county rates were 17.3% for ages 6-8, 15.8% for ages 9-11, 16.0% for ages 12-14, and 12.2% for ages 15-17. National rates were 14.4%, 15.2%, 15.9%, and 11.8% for those same age groups.
| Age group | Los Angeles County | National | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6-8 | 17.3% | 14.4% | 2018 |
| 9-11 | 15.8% | 15.2% | 2018 |
| 12-14 | 16.0% | 15.9% | 2018 |
| 15-17 | 12.2% | 11.8% | 2018 |
In the LA84 report’s cheer/dance profile index, males had an index of 15 and females had an index of 188. The report described the male index as showing that males were much less likely to participate than average. The age indexes were 115 for ages 6-8, 105 for ages 9-11, 102 for ages 12-14, and 77 for ages 15-17. These indexes are profile measures from the report and are not participation percentages.
The age rates and the profile indexes answer different questions. The rates state the share participating within each named age group. The indexes describe how strongly a group appeared in the participant profile relative to the report’s average reference. Keeping those measures separate avoids treating an index value such as 188 as 188% participation.
High school participation
NFHS data provides a separate view of high school athletics. In the 2021-22 High School Athletics Participation Survey, competitive spirit included 140,552 girls participants and 3,657 boys participants, for 144,209 combined participants. Competitive spirit ranked ninth among girls sports by participation at 140,552 athletes and tenth among boys sports at 3,657 athletes.
The same 2021-22 survey reported 7,236 girls schools and 755 boys schools reporting competitive-spirit participation. It also recorded 9,022 girls participants and 272 boys participants in unified cheer, for 9,294 combined unified-cheer participants. Unified cheer is reported separately from competitive spirit in those figures.
Earlier NFHS surveys provide additional historical reference points. The 2017-18 High School Athletics Participation Survey reported 162,669 girls participants and 3,851 boys participants in competitive spirit, or 166,520 combined participants. The 2014-15 High School Athletics Participation Survey reported 125,763 girls participants and 5,358 girls schools reporting participation. These survey-year totals are not interchangeable with the LA84 2018 youth participation rates or with one another without accounting for their different survey definitions and reporting periods.
| NFHS survey measure | Girls | Boys | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| Competitive spirit, 2021-22 | 140,552 | 3,657 | 144,209 |
| Unified cheer, 2021-22 | 9,022 | 272 | 9,294 |
| Competitive spirit, 2017-18 | 162,669 | 3,851 | 166,520 |
The 2021-22 competitive-spirit total was lower than the 2017-18 total reported by NFHS, but the figures come from separate survey years and should be read as reported participation counts rather than as a controlled trend series. A 2009 study cited in the NFHS story “Cheerleading and the Law” reported 394,694 girls in sideline cheer. That older figure is included as a historical reference and was not independently verified here.
Where cheer and dance participation happens
The LA84 Foundation’s 2018 Youth Sports Participation Report also separated participation by organization type. Organized school-based cheer/dance accounted for 47% of participants, organized non-school cheer/dance accounted for 42%, and casual or pick-up cheer/dance accounted for 11%.
The report’s location breakdown was similar in showing the importance of schools while also identifying non-school venues. School was the location for 48% of cheer/dance participation. Private or commercial facilities hosted 24%, public facilities hosted 11%, private nonprofit facilities hosted 11%, and other locations hosted 7%.
These two breakdowns use different categories: one describes how participation was organized, while the other describes where it occurred. For example, the 47% organized school-based figure should not be substituted for the 48% school-location figure. The one-point difference reflects the fact that organization type and physical location are separate classifications in the report.
The setting data also places school and non-school participation in the same frame. Organized non-school participation represented 42%, while private or commercial facilities represented 24% of locations. The figures do not identify the specific activities, costs, team sizes, or program types within each category.
Los Angeles County regional estimates
Within Los Angeles County, the LA84 report projected 233.8 thousand total cheer/dance players. The regional estimates were 81.2 thousand in the East region, 77.9 thousand in the North region, 37.9 thousand in the South region, 20.5 thousand in the Metro region, and 17.8 thousand in the West region.
The East region had the largest projected count in this list, followed by the North region. The West region had the smallest projected count. These are regional player estimates supplied by the LA84 report, and the source presents them as projections rather than as a registration census.
The regional totals are useful for describing the distribution of the county estimate, but they should not be converted into regional participation rates. The dataset provides projected player counts for the regions and an overall county total, but it does not provide the corresponding population denominators needed for a rate comparison.
Demographic profile indexes
The LA84 report included profile indexes for race and ethnicity groups. White youth had a cheer/dance profile index of 101, Hispanic/Latino youth had an index of 97, Black/African-American youth had an index of 140, and Asian/Pacific Islander youth had an index of 64.
The report also included household-income profile indexes. Households under $35,000 had an index of 104; households earning $35,000-$74,000 had an index of 87; households earning $75,000-$149,000 had an index of 127; and households earning $150,000 or more had an index of 62.
| Profile group | Cheer/dance profile index |
|---|---|
| White youth | 101 |
| Hispanic/Latino youth | 97 |
| Black/African-American youth | 140 |
| Asian/Pacific Islander youth | 64 |
| Households under $35,000 | 104 |
| Households at $35,000-$74,000 | 87 |
| Households at $75,000-$149,000 | 127 |
| Households at $150,000 or more | 62 |
These profile indexes are descriptive indicators from the 2018 Los Angeles County cheer/dance research. They are not percentages, population totals, or evidence that income or racial and ethnic identity causes participation differences. The figures also do not replace participation rates, because an index and a rate have different denominators and interpretations.
Taken together, the available statistics describe several distinct layers of cheerleading demographics: youth cheer/dance participation in 2018, high school competitive spirit and unified cheer in specific NFHS survey years, the settings where participation occurred, projected Los Angeles County regional counts, and profile indexes for selected demographic groups. Reading the measures according to their source, geography, definition, and measurement period is essential when comparing them.