Girls' flag football participation statistics
102,360 girls played high school flag football in 2025-26, at 3,990 schools, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). That is up 48.7 percent in a year, and more than six times the 15,716 who played in 2021-22. In 2025-26 girls' flag football entered the NFHS's top ten girls' sports by participation for the first time.
How many girls play high school flag football?
The NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey is the national count. It is compiled from figures each state association reports, so a state appears only once its association reports the sport. The NFHS notes that its totals count participation entries, not unique students.
| Season | Girls | Change | Schools | Boys | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 102,360 | +48.7% | 3,990 | 1,213 | NFHS survey |
| 2024-25 | 68,847 | +60.3% | 2,736 | 825 | NFHS survey |
| 2023-24 | 42,955 | +105.8% | 1,777 | 999 | NFHS survey |
| 2022-23 | 20,875 | +32.8% | 913 | 1,105 | NFHS survey |
| 2021-22 | 15,716 | — | 662 | 685 | NFHS survey |
2021-22 was the first survey after the pandemic; the NFHS ran no survey for 2019-20 or 2020-21. "Schools" is the number of schools reporting girls' flag football. Download: national figures (CSV).
Is girls' flag football the fastest-growing high school sport?
The NFHS has called it the nation's fastest-growing emerging high school sport, and its numbers bear that out. Participation rose 105 percent in 2023-24, 60 percent in 2024-25 and 48.7 percent in 2025-26. Girls' wrestling, the other girls' sport the NFHS singles out for growth, rose 19.9 percent in 2025-26, to 88,771 participants.
The growth tracks sanctioning. A state usually enters the NFHS count once its association sponsors or recognises the sport, so each new state adds a block of schools at once. Nine associations decided to sanction it in 2026, and the NFHS says 37 states will either sanction it or run independent or pilot programs by 2027.
Which states have the most girls playing flag football?
The table below is the NFHS's state-by-state count for 2024-25, the latest season for which we have checked every row; the rows add up exactly to the national total of 68,847 girls at 2,736 schools. States not listed reported no girls' flag football to the NFHS that year, which does not mean nobody played — Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington, for example, ran programs but are not in the 2024-25 count.
| State | Girls (2024-25) | Schools | Status today |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 19,921 | 697 | Sanctioned |
| Florida | 10,924 | 449 | Sanctioned |
| Georgia | 7,084 | 261 | Sanctioned |
| New York | 5,048 | 214 | Sanctioned |
| New Jersey | 4,184 | 165 | Sanctioned |
| Illinois | 4,022 | 199 | Sanctioned |
| Arizona | 3,003 | 101 | Sanctioned |
| Tennessee | 2,786 | 120 | Sanctioned |
| North Carolina | 2,200 | 100 | Sanctioned |
| Colorado | 1,972 | 71 | Sanctioned |
| Nevada | 1,866 | 45 | Sanctioned |
| Alabama | 1,596 | 112 | Sanctioned |
| Maryland | 1,266 | 52 | Sanctioned |
| Hawaii | 1,021 | 60 | Sanctioned |
| Michigan | 946 | 43 | Not sanctioned |
| Alaska | 416 | 14 | Sanctioned |
| Mississippi | 300 | 12 | Sanctioned |
| District of Columbia | 235 | 15 | Sanctioned |
| Utah | 39 | 4 | Not sanctioned |
| Arkansas | 18 | 2 | Not sanctioned |
Source: NFHS 2024-25 participation survey. Download: state figures (CSV). The NFHS's 2025-26 state table will be added once we have checked it row by row.
What states report themselves
Some associations publish their own counts, which can be more recent than the NFHS survey or count something different (schools entered in the state series, teams, or schools sponsoring the sport):
- California: the CIF reported 24,979 girls in 2025-26, up 25.4 percent, making flag football the sixth-largest girls' sport in the state.
- Illinois: 154 schools entered the IHSA state series in 2024, 223 in 2025 and 234 in 2026.
- Maryland: the MPSSAA counted 10 participating schools in 2023-24, 53 in 2024-25 and 91 in 2025-26, and projects 132 for 2026-27.
- Ohio: the OHSAA counted 80 high schools with a team in July 2025 and 162 by spring 2026.
- Tennessee: the TSSAA classified 155 participating schools for 2025-26.
- Colorado: CHSAA records 74 member schools in its fall 2026 season.
Each state's page links to the association's own document.
Do boys play high school flag football?
Very few, in the NFHS count: 1,213 boys in 2025-26, against 102,360 girls. Flag football's growth in high schools is almost entirely a girls' sport, because it is being added to give girls a football option. Unified flag football, which pairs students with and without intellectual disabilities, is counted separately.
How the numbers are used — and misused
National participation is not the same as sanctioning. A state can have thousands of players in leagues outside its association, and the NFHS survey counts only what associations report. For which states have formally adopted the sport, see the national tracker; for why published state counts disagree, see our explainer. Reporters can find citation guidance on the press page.
Sources: NFHS participation surveys linked above; NFHS, 1 October 2026; NFHS, 9 September 2025; NFHS, 11 June 2025; CIF census release. Checked 1 November 2026.