--- title: The Astronomical Cost of Kids’ Sports description: Parents are spending a lot of money on kids' sports. Here’s how six popular sports stack up, according to surveys from Utah State University. canonical: https://time.com/4913284/kids-sports-cost/ author: Emily Barone article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-08-24T13:40:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T17:08:04.934Z article:section: Sports og:title: 6 Popular Kids' Sports, Ranked by How Much It Costs to Play og:description: Parents are spending thousands of dollars on youth sports og:url: https://time.com/4913284/kids-sports-cost/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1e506ef9a9182a11/6988daeb196cf4b83e0419a2/gettyimages-514611469.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 170824_sport equipment og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 6 Popular Kids' Sports, Ranked by How Much It Costs to Play twitter:description: Parents are spending thousands of dollars on youth sports twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1e506ef9a9182a11/6988daeb196cf4b83e0419a2/gettyimages-514611469.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Astronomical Cost of Kids’ Sports > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. by [Emily Barone](https://time.com/author/emily-barone/) ## Emily Barone Aug 24, 2017 1:40 PM UTC  Sport equipment seen on a wooden board. Sport equipment seen on a wooden board.iStock/Getty Images by [Emily Barone](https://time.com/author/emily-barone/) ## Emily Barone Aug 24, 2017 1:40 PM UTC In [TIME’s cover story ](http://time.com/4913687/how-kids-sports-became-15-billion-industry/)this week, senior writer Sean Gregory explores the growing business of kids’ sports — a $15.3 billion industry that has nearly doubled in the last 10 years. Between league fees, camps, equipment, training and travel, families are spending as much as 10% of their income on sports, according to survey research from [Utah State University](https://www.usu.edu/). Sky-high costs are preventing some kids from participating. Overall sports participation rates have declined in the U.S. in recent years, and the trend is most evident among kids from lower-income families. “Some parents just can’t pony up for it,” says Travis Dorsch, one of Utah State’s leading researchers on parental involvement in youth sports. “How many Michael Jordans and Michael Phelpses are out there who don’t have the opportunity?” One of Utah State’s surveys conducted last year found that the average family spends $2,292 per year on sports. The respondents to that survey include families with children as young as 8 and who participate at all levels, from recreational to elite. The same 2016 survey found that the maximum spending among the respondents was close to $20,000, as some families invest in travel teams and personal trainers. Not all sports are equally expensive. Soccer and basketball, for instance, don’t have as many equipment costs as, say, baseball or hockey. Here’s how six popular youth sports stack up according to Utah State’s survey sample: ## Lacrosse Average: $7,956 Maximum: $17,500 ## Hockey Average: $7,013 Maximum: $19,000 ## Baseball/Softball Average: $4,044 Maximum: $9,900 ## Football Average: $2,739 Maximum: $9,500 ## Soccer Average: $1,472 Maximum: $5,500 ## Basketball Average: $1,143 Maximum: $5,150 ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4913284/kids-sports-cost/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4913284/kids-sports-cost/"},"headline":"The Astronomical Cost of Kids’ Sports","datePublished":"2017-08-24T13:40:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:08:04.934Z","description":"Parents are spending thousands of dollars on youth sports","url":"https://time.com/4913284/kids-sports-cost/","keywords":["society"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1e506ef9a9182a11/6988daeb196cf4b83e0419a2/gettyimages-514611469.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Emily Barone","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/emily-barone/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1e506ef9a9182a11/6988daeb196cf4b83e0419a2/gettyimages-514611469.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"170824_sport equipment","caption":"170824_sport equipment","creditText":"iStock/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/society/","name":"society"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4913284/kids-sports-cost/","name":"The Astronomical Cost of Kids’ Sports"}}]}] ```