High school sports participation per 1,000 teens, states with and without girls' sports eligibility laws

What this chart asks

Did girls' high school sports participation fall in states after they passed laws limiting girls' teams to female students, compared with states that did not?

Why it is shown this way

• Lines show the trend for each group across school years; boys are included so readers can see that part of the law states' rise is general, not specific to girls.
• Ordinal school-year axis keeps the two missing COVID years (2019-20, 2020-21) in place as gaps rather than joining across them.
• The y axis does not start at zero, to make changes of a few percent visible; values are labeled on hover.

Chart annotations

These markers provide relevant context for interpreting the chart. Their timing or position does not, by itself, establish causation.

No NFHS survey (COVID-19)

2019-20–2020-21

NFHS lists 2019-20 and 2020-21 as data unavailable due to the pandemic.

Data and accessibility

Download chart data · Open accessible table · Download PNG · Download SVG

Dataset girls-hs-sports-participation-by-state, analysis rate-by-group-year

Sources

This chart draws on the sources of the dataset versions it visualizes.

Girls' and boys' high school sports participation by state, 2015-16 to 2025-26, with state sports-eligibility laws

1. NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey, 2015-16 Participation counts by state and sex (Totals by State table) for 2015-16

   Retrieved October 23, 2026. NFHS copyright; factual figures used with attribution. Derived state totals republished with attribution; the PDF itself is linked, not hosted.

   Reliability: Other. The National Federation of State High School Associations compiles counts reported by its 51 member state associations. A student in two sports counts twice. The survey takes no position on state eligibility laws.

2. NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey, 2016-17 Participation counts by state and sex (Totals by State table) for 2016-17

   Retrieved October 23, 2026. NFHS copyright; factual figures used with attribution. Derived state totals republished with attribution; the PDF itself is linked, not hosted.

   Reliability: Other. The National Federation of State High School Associations compiles counts reported by its 51 member state associations. A student in two sports counts twice. The survey takes no position on state eligibility laws.

3. NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey, 2017-18 Participation counts by state and sex (Totals by State table) for 2017-18

   Retrieved October 23, 2026. NFHS copyright; factual figures used with attribution. Derived state totals republished with attribution; the PDF itself is linked, not hosted.

   Reliability: Other. The National Federation of State High School Associations compiles counts reported by its 51 member state associations. A student in two sports counts twice. The survey takes no position on state eligibility laws.

4. NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey, 2018-19 Participation counts by state and sex (Totals by State table) for 2018-19, plus girls' wrestling and flag football by state

   Retrieved October 23, 2026. NFHS copyright; factual figures used with attribution. Derived state totals republished with attribution; the PDF itself is linked, not hosted.

   Reliability: Other. The National Federation of State High School Associations compiles counts reported by its 51 member state associations. A student in two sports counts twice. The survey takes no position on state eligibility laws.

5. NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey, 2021-22 Participation counts by state and sex (Totals by State table) for 2021-22

   Retrieved October 23, 2026. NFHS copyright; factual figures used with attribution. Derived state totals republished with attribution; the PDF itself is linked, not hosted.

   Reliability: Other. The National Federation of State High School Associations compiles counts reported by its 51 member state associations. A student in two sports counts twice. The survey takes no position on state eligibility laws.

6. NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey, 2022-23 Participation counts by state and sex (Totals by State table) for 2022-23

   Retrieved October 23, 2026. NFHS copyright; factual figures used with attribution. Derived state totals republished with attribution; the PDF itself is linked, not hosted.

   Reliability: Other. The National Federation of State High School Associations compiles counts reported by its 51 member state associations. A student in two sports counts twice. The survey takes no position on state eligibility laws.

7. NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey, 2023-24 Participation counts by state and sex (Totals by State table) for 2023-24

   Retrieved October 23, 2026. NFHS copyright; factual figures used with attribution. Derived state totals republished with attribution; the PDF itself is linked, not hosted.

   Reliability: Other. The National Federation of State High School Associations compiles counts reported by its 51 member state associations. A student in two sports counts twice. The survey takes no position on state eligibility laws.

8. NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey, 2024-25 Participation counts by state and sex (Totals by State table) for 2024-25, plus girls' wrestling and flag football by state

   Retrieved October 23, 2026. NFHS copyright; factual figures used with attribution. Derived state totals republished with attribution; the PDF itself is linked, not hosted.

   Reliability: Other. The National Federation of State High School Associations compiles counts reported by its 51 member state associations. A student in two sports counts twice. The survey takes no position on state eligibility laws.

9. NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey, 2025-26 Participation counts by state and sex (Totals by State table) for 2025-26, plus girls' wrestling and flag football by state

   Retrieved October 23, 2026. NFHS copyright; factual figures used with attribution. Derived state totals republished with attribution; the PDF itself is linked, not hosted.

   Reliability: Other. The National Federation of State High School Associations compiles counts reported by its 51 member state associations. A student in two sports counts twice. The survey takes no position on state eligibility laws.

10. NFHS news release (August 2026): Led by Girls Flag Football and Girls Wrestling, High School Sports Participation Increases for Fifth Consecutive Year National 2025-26 totals and the growth of girls' flag football and wrestling

    Retrieved October 23, 2026. NFHS copyright; quoted with attribution. Linked, not hosted.

    Reliability: Other. Has a stake in this finding. NFHS promotes high school sports and reports on its own survey; its framing of growth is promotional, but the figures match the survey tables.

11. U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Estimates of the Civilian Population by Single Year of Age and Sex for States, 2010-2019 (SC-EST2019-AGESEX-CIV) July 1, 2015-2018 civilian population ages 14-17 by sex and state (denominators for 2015-16 to 2018-19) Free copy

    Retrieved October 23, 2026. Public domain (U.S. government work). Aggregates republished.

    Reliability: Government. Census Bureau population estimates (Vintage 2019), built from the 2010 Census plus births, deaths and migration.

12. U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Estimates of the Civilian Population by Single Year of Age and Sex for the United States and States: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2025 (SC-EST2025-AGESEX-CIV) July 1, 2021-2025 civilian population ages 14-17 by sex and state (denominators for 2021-22 to 2025-26) Free copy

    Retrieved October 23, 2026. Public domain (U.S. government work). Aggregates republished.

    Reliability: Government. Census Bureau population estimates (Vintage 2025), built on the 2020 Census base; not strictly continuous with Vintage 2019.

13. Idaho Legislature, House Bill 500 (2020), Fairness in Women's Sports Act: bill status Idaho enactment date (signed March 30, 2020; effective July 1, 2020)

    Retrieved October 23, 2026. Public government record. Linked.

    Reliability: Government. Official legislative status page; the page notes status updates are unofficial until the journal.

14. NPR, Tennessee Becomes 3rd State This Month To Enact Restrictions For Transgender Athletes (March 27, 2021) Enactment dates for the Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee laws

    Retrieved October 23, 2026. News report; cited. Linked.

    Reliability: News report. National news report written at the time of signing.

15. ESPN, Transgender athlete laws by state: Legislation, science, more (August 2023) State-by-state bill numbers and enactment dates for laws enacted 2020-2023, and court blocks

    Retrieved October 23, 2026. News report; cited. Linked.

    Reliability: News report. State-by-state tracker compiled by ESPN reporters; dated August 2023, so it predates the 2024-2025 laws.

16. Trans Athlete (transathlete.com), state policy tracker, Take Action page Wyoming enactment date; Alaska and Virginia listed as policy, not law; count of 29 states

    Retrieved October 23, 2026. Advocacy page; cited. Linked.

    Reliability: Advocacy group. Maintained by an advocate for transgender athletes' inclusion, which opposes these laws; used only for dates and classifications.

17. Axios Columbus, Ohio bill restricting trans health care to take effect in 90 days (January 24, 2024) Ohio HB 68 veto override date

    Retrieved October 23, 2026. News report; cited. Linked.

    Reliability: News report. Local news report on the Senate override vote.

18. New Hampshire Bulletin, Sununu signs bans on trans girls in girls' sports, gender affirming surgeries for minors (July 19, 2024) New Hampshire HB 1205 signing date

    Retrieved October 23, 2026. News report; cited. Linked.

    Reliability: News report. Nonprofit state news outlet reporting the signing.

19. Office of Governor Jim Pillen, Governor Pillen Signs the Stand With Women Act (June 4, 2025) Nebraska LB 89 signing date

    Retrieved October 23, 2026. Public government record. Linked.

    Reliability: Government. Has a stake in this finding. Press release from the governor who signed the law.

20. Nebraska Legislature, LB 89 (2025), Stand With Women Act, slip law Nebraska requirement that every athlete give a doctor-signed document confirming sex

    Retrieved October 23, 2026. Public government record. Linked.

    Reliability: Government. Official slip law published by the Nebraska Legislature.

21. Oklahoma Legislature, SB 2 (2022), enrolled Oklahoma requirement of an annual parent affidavit of sex for every athlete

    Retrieved October 23, 2026. Public government record. Linked.

    Reliability: Government. Enrolled bill text published by the Oklahoma Legislature.

Limitations

• Population-weighted group totals; large states (Texas, Florida, California) weigh heavily. The state-level comparison in the dataset weights states equally.
• NFHS counts are self-reported by state associations and count participation entries, not unique students.
• Law states and no-law states differ in region and politics; the chart shows trends, not effects of the laws.
• 2015-16 to 2018-19 rates use Census Vintage 2019 and later years Vintage 2025.
• Law states started lower (370 vs 453 girls per 1,000 in 2018-19); part of their later gain may be catch-up (see the dataset's catch-up-check).