What is the Best State in the U.S. for Boating?

There are a multitude of boating opportunities across the United States, from the Great Lakes to the long rivers that run through multiple states, to the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Just ask the more than twelve million boat owners that live here. What we want to know is, which of the fifty states is the best for boating? The SI Yachts team analyzed ten factors that make a state appealing to boaters and ranked the states by how well they scored for each. The factors focused on the weather conditions found in each state, availability of water to boat on, cost of insuring a boat, as well as the number of registered boats and public boat launches available in each of the fifty states. Check out the results of our boating index below to see which state is the best in the nation for boat enthusiasts!

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What is the Best State for Boating?

After tallying the total number of points each state earned on our boating index, it was determined that Louisiana is the best state for boating. Louisiana earned the highest final score, 373.55 points, just barely beating second-place Florida by a couple of points. Louisiana has great weather for boating with 216 sunny days each year, only 102 days with precipitation, and an average wind speed of 16.5 mph (14.4 knots). Louisiana's average annual temperature of 66.4°F also means the state has more warm days throughout the year, allowing for more opportunities to go out on the boat. One fact we were surprised to learn about Louisiana is that it has 7,721 miles of coastline! What are the best spots to go boating in Louisiana? In addition to its many miles of coastline, Louisiana also has many lakes and rivers to take the boat out on for an afternoon. The National Boat Owners Association put together a list of their favorite places in Louisiana to go boating, including Caddo Lake with its thousands of acres of stunning nature, and False River which is a great choice for water sports. There are 695 public boat launches through the state of Louisiana, find the closest boat launch to you with SNOFLO's map of Louisiana Boat Launches.

The 10 Best States for Boating

1. Louisiana
2. Florida
3. Michigan
4. Hawaii
5. California
6. Rhode Island
7. Minnesota
8. Delaware
9. South Dakota
10. Wisconsin

What is the Lowest Rated State for Boating?

The state that earned the lowest score on our boating index was New York. The Empire State may have 2,625 miles of coastline and a number of rivers and lakes to explore by boat, but the weather in New York State isn't the most appealing for boat enthusiasts. The state has some of the coldest temperatures, a high average wind speed, and the third-lowest number of sunny days per year. New York is also the fifth rainiest state in the U.S. with 139 days that gets at least 0.1 inch of precipitation. Although 13.6% of New York is water area, the state only has 205 public boat launches to offer boaters. With nearly half a million boats registered in New York, this leaves just one public boat launch for every 2,130 registered boats.

The 10 Lowest-Rated States for Boating

1. New York
2. West Virginia
3. Colorado
4. Indiana
5. Wyoming
6. Vermont
7. Missouri
8. New Jersey
9. Mississippi
10. Pennsylvania

What State Has the Most Water Area?

The state that has the highest percentage of water area is Michigan with 41.5% of the state covered in water. A majority of the water area in Michigan is from the Great Lakes surrounding the Wolverine state. According to the Michigan Lakes and Streams Association, there are a total of 11,037 lakes in Michigan that are five acres or more in size. Of these, 1,148 lakes are larger than 100 acres, 98 exceed 1,000 acres, and 10 of the lakes in Michigan are over 10,000 acres in size. The state also has more than fifty thousand miles of river running through it.

What State Has the Most Miles of Coastline?

It's no surprise that the largest state in the U.S. also has the most miles of coastline. Alaska has 33,904 miles of coastline, more than the next seven states combined. Much of the coast of Alaska is rough terrain, making it less than ideal for most boaters looking to enjoy an afternoon on the open seas.

The 10 States With the Most Coastline

1. Alaska: 33,904 miles
2. Florida: 8,436 miles
3. Louisiana: 7,721 miles
4. Maine: 3,478 miles
5. California: 3,427 miles
6. North Carolina: 3,375
7. Texas: 3,359
8. Virginia: 3,315
9. Michigan: 3,224
10. Maryland: 3,190

Do you live in one of the top states in the U.S. for boating? Take advantage of all your state has to offer with one of our new, or used, yachts. Venture through the many rivers and lakes in your state on a new Viking Yacht, or explore its many miles of coastline from the deck of your very own Princess Yacht.

Complete Ranking of the Best States in the U.S. for Boating

Methodology:

The best state in the U.S. for boating was determined by analyzing the 10 factors that make a state more appealing to boaters and scoring each state based on how well it performed with each factor. The state with the highest final score was deemed to be the best in the nation for boating. The 10 factors include a range of weather conditions, availability of water to boat on, the cost of insuring a boat, as well as the number of boats and public boat launches that can be found in each of the 50 states.

The Factors and Scoring System:

Full weight factors were scored up to 100 points, half weight factors were scored up to 50 points, and a couple of factors deduct points from the final score.

• Percentage of State that is Water Area (full weight)
• Miles of Coastline (half weight)
• Average Number of Sunny Days per Year (half weight)
• Average Number of Days with Precipitation [Minimum of 0.1 inches on the ground] (half weight)
• Average Annual Temperature (full weight)
• Likelihood of Hurricanes (point deduction)
•    Points Deducted:
•  - Very High: 20 pts.
•  - Relatively High: 16 pts.
•  - Relatively Moderate: 12 pts.
•  - Relatively Low: 8 pts
•  - Very Low: 4 pts
•  - Not Applicable: 0 pts.
• Average Wind Speed [5-15 knots (5.75-17.3 mph) is ideal for boating] (full weight plus points deducted)
•  - 10 pts. deducted for average winds speeds of 17.4 – 18.9 mph
•  - 15 pts. Deducted for average wind speeds of 19+ mph
• Number of Registered Boats per 1,000 People (half weight)
• Number of Registered Boats per Public Boat Launch (half weight)
• Average Annual Cost for Boating Insurance (half weight)

Data sources for the factors in the index:

• Percentage of Water Area: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_area
• Miles of Coastline: https://www.datapandas.org/ranking/coastline-length-by-state#full-data
• Sunny Days & Days of Precipitation: https://www.bestplaces.net/climate/
• Annual Temperature: https://www.currentresults.com/Weather/US/average-annual-state-temperatures.php
• Hurricanes: https://hazards.fema.gov/nri/hurricane
• Wind Speed: https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/windiest-states
• Registered Boats: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1155988/us-recreational-boating-vessels/
• Public Boat Launches: https://www.usgs.gov/data/boat-ramp-locations-united-states-america
• Boat Insurance: https://www.investopedia.com/how-much-does-boat-insurance-cost-7485669