Does Arizona Have the Most Boats in the U.S.?

You have probably heard of the legend of the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland. Well, if you ever visit or move to Arizona you will hear something just as fantastical—that Arizona has the most boats per capita than any other state in America.

From the data available, this seems to be one big, dried up myth, much like some of Arizona's lakes during drier days.

If you look at 2010 U.S. Census data regarding boat ownership and registration statistics collected from the U.S. Coast Guard, it turns out the  “Land of 10,000 Lakes,” Minnesota, actually has the most boats.

In 2010 there were nearly 309 million people in the U.S. There were close to 12.5 million registered recreational water vessels in that year, meaning that about 4 percent of our population owns a recreational watercraft of some sort. There is no way that Arizona ranks even close to the top of the list for watercraft, watercraft per capita, or any other measure relating to boats.

How Did This Rumor Start?

How could Arizona, a landlocked state, have more boats per capita than the "Great Lakes State" of Michigan or Florida, the state with more than 1,300 miles of coastline?

Back in 2006, if you searched "most boats per capita than any other state," you would find four sources on the Internet perpetuating this fallacy.

Those were: the Encyclopedia Britannica, the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, Mesa Community College and AZCentral.com, the online version of the Arizona Republic, Arizona's leading newspaper. Since then, these sources have removed the erroneous claim.

Nowadays, it's realtor companies that perpetuate the myth. If the myth helps sell houses or lakefront property, the legend will invariably live on.

Arizona Rivers and Lakes

Arizona does have many lakes, about 200, and most are manmade. And, due to Arizona's dry climate, many of the lakes are intermittent lakes and do not contain water throughout the entire year. Of Arizona's total area, 0.32 percent consists of water, which makes Arizona the state with the second-lowest percentage of water after New Mexico. The Colorado River, along with Arizona's border with California and Nevada, is where Arizona gets 40 percent of its water supply.

Who Keeps Track of Boats?

The U.S. Coast Guard keeps track off boat registrations per state. A boat, or vessel, is defined as a "watercraft or other artificial contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on water." This definition includes rowboats, sailboats, canoes, and kayaks. Additionally, the state's Arizona Game and Fish Department, which has anecdotal evidence about statewide boat ownership, denies that the rumor is true.

Was the Rumor Ever True?

The term per capita means per person (or literally, per head). That means that on a percentage basis, Arizona would need to have the highest percentage of boat registrations relative to population size. For example, in 2004, Arizona ranked 30th among the states with respect to the number of boats registered in the state, per the U.S. Coast Guard. As a percentage of its population, it ranked 43rd out of 50, with only 2.56 percent of the population owning boats.