Eagle Scout Service Project Statistics (2026)

Eagle Scout service projects represent one of America's most significant youth-led service movements, delivering millions of hours of community benefit annually. Every year, tens of thousands of young leaders—many under the age of 18—plan, organize, and execute meaningful projects that improve schools, parks, trails, nonprofits, and communities nationwide. This report synthesizes verified data on Eagle Scout service metrics, volunteer demographics, project types, and community impact, part of our volunteer management statistics hub.

Key takeaways

The Historic Scale of Eagle Scout Service Projects

As of 2026, 27,718 new Eagle Scouts earned the rank , adding to over 2.8 million youth who have earned the Eagle Scout rank since the rank's inception in 1911 . Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process , making each Eagle Scout service project a milestone achievement.

The cumulative impact is staggering. In 2012, the National Eagle Scout Association researched the number of volunteer hours spent on Eagle Projects and it came a total of more than 100 million hours of service. Each year, new Eagle Scouts are adding more than three million more hours of community work. This means that since 2012, Eagle Scouts have contributed well over 140 million hours to American communities.

Service Hours: The Leadership Measure

In 2015, young men who earned Eagle recorded 8,503,337 hours of service on Eagle projects, an average of 156.4 hours of service per Eagle project. Looking further back, Eagle Scouts, and the volunteers they led, completed 7,987,074 hours of work for Eagle Scout service projects in 2018, which works out to 153.1 hours per project. And in 2019, Eagle Scouts, and the volunteers they led, completed 8,575,780 hours of work for Eagle Scout service projects in 2019, which works out to 139.8 hours per project.

Importantly, there is no numerical minimum amount of time or requirement for time in which the project needs to be completed, but it must be enough to "demonstrate leadership." Actual hours often exceed reports, as many young men may be improperly recording their Eagle Scout service hours completed on projects , sometimes failing to count all volunteer helper hours or travel time.

Demographic Profile of Eagle Scouts

The average age of youth earning the Eagle Scout Rank in 2019 was 17.3. In 2013, the average age of boys earning the Eagle Scout rank was 17 years of age. This consistency reflects the high achievement bar and multi-year journey required—most Scouts must invest 3+ years of dedicated effort after reaching Scout rank to attain Eagle.

Female Eagle Scouts represent rapidly growing demographic since program opened in 2019. In February 2019, the first girls joined the renamed Scouts BSA program. While exact current numbers for 2026 female Eagle Scouts are not yet published, the trend is sharply upward as girls now represent a significant portion of new Eagle candidates.

Overall participation in Scouting has shifted over decades. Participation in scouting programs has declined from peak membership of 4.8 million in 1973 to current levels, though Eagle Scout completion rates have increased proportionally. In 1973, approximately 2% of scouts achieved Eagle rank compared to 6% today. This reflects both changing youth demographics and heightened selectivity around the Eagle designation.

The Breadth of Eagle Scout Project Types

The Eagle Scout Service Project is the opportunity for a Scout to demonstrate leadership of others while performing a project for the benefit of their community. The project must benefit an organization other than Scouting America, and it cannot be performed for an individual or a business or be commercial in nature.

Projects span environmental, educational, and community-infrastructure domains. Eagle Scout projects directly create and improve human access and enjoyment of nature by building infrastructure such as: Trail Features including small bridges, platforms for wet area crossings, movable trail boardwalks, and routed trail signage improve safety and navigability. Recreational Amenities such as picnic tables, river seating areas, fishing pole holders, canoe racks, and canoe/kayak river access trails directly enhance opportunities for outdoor recreation. Educational Spaces including Trail-head kiosks, Little Free Libraries promoting environmental literacy, and knot-tying stations create learning opportunities.

Other high-impact categories include beautification (removing graffiti, planting gardens), accessibility improvements (wheelchair ramps, pathway upgrades), and support for vulnerable populations (book drives for nonprofits, community service kits). Some Scouts have added wheelchair ramps to a cabin in a state park so that disabled visitors could book stays.

Economic Value of Eagle Scout Service

When valued at the U.S. Department of Labor's standard volunteer-hour rate, Eagle Scout projects deliver extraordinary economic benefit. At the 2018 "value of volunteer time" rate of $24.69 per hour, Eagle Scout service projects represented $197.2 million worth of service to communities. In 2019, at the 2019 "value of volunteer time" rate of $25.43 per hour, Eagle Scout service equaled a staggering $218.1 million worth of service to communities.

For context, a single year of Eagle Scout service (2019: ~8.6 million hours × $25.43/hour) exceeds the annual budgets of most midsized nonprofits and small municipalities. Over a decade, the economic impact approaches $2 billion—entirely delivered by youth ages 16–18 who also pursue education, family responsibility, and leadership roles in their troops and schools.

Well-Being & Civic Outcomes for Eagle Scouts

Research shows that Eagle Scouts report measurably higher well-being outcomes than non-Scouts. Compared to non-Scouts, Eagle Scouts report higher levels of daily/frequent enjoyment; feelings of gratitude, contentment, and purpose; and fewer feelings of loneliness, sadness, or fear. Men and women who were Scouts as youth, and particularly Eagle Scouts, are significantly more likely than those who have never been Scouts to have a positive outlook on life.

These findings come from a survey conducted initially from October 10 through November 17, 2025, and relaunched from December 16, 2025, through January 9, 2026 by the Harris Poll on behalf of Scouting America, comparing a cohort of 3,178 adults and spanning both Eagle Scouts, non-Eagle Scouts, and non-Scout populations, weighted to reflect national demographic proportions.

Volunteer Recruitment & Leadership Pipeline

Eagle Scout projects require leadership of other volunteers. The Eagle Scout Service Project is the culmination of the Scout's leadership training, and it requires a significant effort on his or her part. Every Eagle Scout project is documented with a list of all volunteer helpers and their hours, broken down by category (Scout helpers, other youth, adults, etc.).

This creates a two-fold volunteer pipeline: Scouts leading other youth and adults in service, and later, Eagle Scouts becoming adult mentors in their communities. 61,353 Eagle Scout service projects represent 61,353 trained leaders and 61,353 more-prepared citizens. Each project is a real-world leadership laboratory, testing the Scout's ability to recruit, delegate, and inspire others toward a shared goal. Unlike corporate team-building, these projects deliver tangible community benefit while building the Scout's leadership resume. This aligns well with organizations seeking to strengthen character references and leadership vetting—the Eagle Scout experience is a robust indicator of civic responsibility.

What this means for your volunteer program

If your nonprofit or church accepts Eagle Scout projects, you're not just receiving volunteer labor—you're participating in a nationally-vetted leadership development program. Every Scout completing an Eagle project has been thoroughly screened through their troop's youth protection policies and trained in safety and service. Project hours are documented and verified by council records.

However, if you work with non-Eagle youth volunteers or other community volunteers at scale, you should implement thorough screening. A simple identity verification and FCRA-compliant background check at $5 per volunteer ensures you're protecting participants and mitigating liability—especially important for nonprofits serving vulnerable populations. VolunteerBadge's background check system integrates seamlessly with volunteer intake; no monthly fees, and results are delivered instantly. Consider pairing FCRA screening with character reference tools to build a complete volunteer profile. See how first-year volunteer retention improves when you match volunteers to the right roles from day one—volunteer screening is a best practice, not a burden.

For more context on the broader volunteer landscape, review our Volunteer Retention Benchmark Report (2026) and Mission Trip Statistics (2026) to understand how youth and adult volunteer demographics align across programs.

Download the data

Access a machine-readable table of every statistic in this report—Eagle Scout counts by year, service hours, economic values, and demographic data—in spreadsheet format.

Frequently asked questions

Q: How many Eagle Scouts earn the rank each year?
A: In 2026, 27,718 new Eagle Scouts earned the rank. Historical annual totals have ranged from about 50,000 (peak years like 2012–2016) to lower recent years. The variation reflects scouting participation trends and the selective nature of the Eagle rank.

Q: What is the minimum service hour requirement for an Eagle Scout project?
A: There is no numerical minimum. The project must demonstrate leadership; the scope and hours vary widely based on project complexity and volunteer mobilization. Average reported projects are 140–156 hours.

Q: Can family members' hours count toward an Eagle Scout project?
A: Yes. Family members are treated as any other project volunteer—their hours are logged and counted in the total project hours, just as they would be for unrelated helpers.

Q: What age are most Eagle Scouts when they earn the rank?
A: The average age is approximately 17.3 years old. Scouts must be under 18 to earn the rank; the board of review can be completed up to 3 months after the 18th birthday if all other requirements are met beforehand.

Q: Can an Eagle Scout project benefit the Scout's own school or religious institution?
A: Yes. The project must benefit an organization other than Scouting America itself, but it can absolutely benefit a Scout's chartered organization—often a church, school, or community group. The restriction is that it cannot benefit a business or individual, nor be commercial in nature.

Q: How many female Eagle Scouts have earned the rank since girls joined in 2019?
A: Exact current numbers for 2026 have not yet been published, but the trend is sharply upward. Girls are now eligible through the full Scouts BSA program and represent a rapidly growing demographic within the Eagle cohort.

Sources & references

1. Wikipedia: Eagle Scout — Definition, history, and recognition
2. Wikipedia: List of Eagle Scouts — Annual recipient counts and statistics
3. Wikipedia: Eagle Scout Service Project — Project requirements and cumulative impact data
4. BSA Troop 98: Eagle Scout Annual Statistics — Year-by-year service hour and economic impact data (2014–2019)
5. Scouting Magazine: Eagle Scout Service Hours May Be Higher Than Reported — Analysis of 2015 service hour reporting
6. A Legacy of Values-Based Leadership and Service (2026) — Harris Poll research on Eagle Scout well-being outcomes
7. On Scouting: What Percentage of Boy Scouts Become Eagle Scouts? — Historical attainment rate analysis
8. CollegeBase: Eagle Scout College Admissions — Scouting membership trends and demographics
9. On Scouting: Eagle Projects of the Year — Annual Glenn A. and Melinda W. Adams National Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year Award
10. Scout Life: Eagle Scout Project Requirements and Resources — Official project guidelines and documentation
11. Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook (2023) — Official BSA project documentation and safety guidelines
12. Nature Into Action: 200+ Eagle Scout Projects in the Parks — Case studies of environmental projects
13. ScouterMom: What Can Scouts Use as Service Hours? — Community service and project types
14. Cheddar Up: Eagle Scout Project Ideas — Sustainability, public space, and educational project examples
15. GoFundMe: 10 Creative Eagle Scout Service Project Ideas — Community improvement and conservation projects
16. Scout Smarts: 99 Amazing and Creative Eagle Scout Project Ideas — Diverse project categories and examples
17. Sam Houston Area Council: Service Projects — Conservation partnership opportunities
18. Scouting Magazine: Boy Scout Service Hour Requirements to Increase — 2016 program changes and Eagle requirement context
19. Scouting Wire: Service Requirement Changes in 2016 — Rank-specific service hour breakdown
20. BSA: Journey to Excellence Frequently Asked Questions — Family member hours and travel time guidance
21. EagleCoach: The Project Log — How to Painlessly Track Volunteer Hours — Hour-tracking best practices
22. Tidewater Council: Annual Scouting Report — Regional council service hour and Eagle Scout data
23. Troop 97: All Eagle Scout Requirements Since 1911 — Historical requirement evolution