Youth Sports Costs Put Growing Financial Pressure on Families

For families trying to keep their children involved in youth sports, the price tag is getting harder to ignore.

A 2026 survey commissioned by Good Sports and conducted by The Harris Poll found that 68% of parents of children under 18 who play sports have seriously considered pulling them out. The survey included 574 U.S. parents and was conducted June 23-25. Find out more about the financial and logistical pressures driving families away from the game.

Rising Price of Youth Sports Participation

Cost ranked as the leading issue among several concerns noted in the survey. In fact, 26% of parents whose children have played sports said participation costs were a reason they strongly considered stopping, compared with 24% who cited injuries and 23% who cited their child’s enjoyment.

The financial strain is also affecting families whose children remain involved — 61% of youth-sport parents said required equipment has become a burden, while 53% said they were concerned an uptick in costs could prevent their child from participating the following year.

The latest numbers follow a broader trend documented by the Aspen Institute’s Project Play, an initiative launched in 2013 to improve access to quality physical activity and help build healthy communities for youth sports. Its nationally representative survey of 1,848 parents found families spent an average of $1,016 on a child’s primary sport in 2024, up 46% from 2019.

Including expenses for other sports, the average reached nearly $1,500 per child.

Travel, Club Sports Making Youth Athletics Less Affordable

The bump extends beyond registration fees. Project Play identified team fees, travel and lodging, camps and private instruction among major expenses. Average spending on basketball jumped 105% from 2019-24, while spending on soccer and baseball climbed 69% and 68%, respectively.

Good Sports’ 2026 research points to another potential pressure point: access to lower-cost alternatives. Seventy-seven percent of surveyed parents said the growth of private clubs and travel teams is making youth sports less affordable, while 67% said affordable or public-school options have declined over the past five years.

Together, these findings point to an environment where the question about youth sports isn’t whether children want to play, but whether their families can afford to keep them involved.