All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) are a narrower category than off-highway vehicles (OHVs). The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission defines an ATV as an off-road motorized vehicle with three or more low-pressure tires, a straddle seat and handlebars; ROVs and UTVs are separate side-by-side categories.
The statistics below make the population, geography and measurement period explicit, while distinguishing estimates, surveys and reported counts.
Key All-Terrain Vehicle Statistics
The following highlights span sales, use and safety data:
- U.S. ATV new retail sales were 813,000 units in 2004, according to an industry retail-sales estimate.
- The estimated U.S. ATV fleet was 5.60 million vehicles during 2001–2003, a vehicle-population estimate rather than a complete registration count.
- OHV recreation participation was 23.2% among U.S. people age 16 and older in fall 2002–summer 2003, the peak in the reported survey series.
- The pooled 1999–2007 OHV participation rate was 18.6% among U.S. people age 16 and older, using a broad OHV definition rather than ATV-only use.
- U.S. OHV participants averaged 31.1 activity days in 2005–2007, based on self-reported activity during the prior 12 months.
- About 36.3 million U.S. people participated in off-highway driving, ATV or motorcycle use in the 2001 estimate, a combined category rather than an ATV-only count.
- The U.S. West had a 28.1% pooled OHV participation rate in 1999–2007, the highest regional estimate reported.
- Non-metropolitan U.S. residents had a 25.8% pooled OHV participation rate in 1999–2007, compared with 16.8% for metropolitan residents.
- ATVs accounted for 1,643 of 2,448 reported U.S. OHV deaths in 2018–2020, according to CPSC fatality reporting.
- Reported U.S. ATV deaths reached 643 in 2020, compared with 494 in 2018 and 506 in 2019.
- Males represented 82% of reported U.S. OHV deaths in 2018–2020, with gender unknown for six deaths.
- CPSC estimated 504,400 U.S. emergency-department-treated OHV injuries over 2018–2022, covering OHVs with more than two wheels.
- The annual U.S. OHV injury rate ranged from about 28 to 33 per 100,000 people during 2018–2022, with no statistically significant linear trend.
- Head and neck injuries were 35% of estimated U.S. OHV injuries in 2022, the largest body-region share reported.
- Twenty-one percent of estimated U.S. OHV injuries resulted in hospitalization in 2022, while 76% were treated and released.
- Polaris estimated worldwide ATV retail sales at 340,000 units in 2024, an unaudited management estimate rather than a global census.
Contents
- Key All-Terrain Vehicle Statistics
- All-Terrain Vehicle Sales and Fleet Data
- All-Terrain Vehicle Participation and Activity Trends
- Regional and Demographic All-Terrain Vehicle Data
- All-Terrain Vehicle Deaths and Fatality Trends
- All-Terrain Vehicle Injury Statistics and Outcomes
- All-Terrain Vehicle Market Scale and Company Estimates
All-Terrain Vehicle Sales and Fleet Data
The USDA Forest Service reproduced Motorcycle Industry Council estimates showing a sharp expansion in U.S. ATV new retail sales from the mid-1990s into the early 2000s. These are industry retail-sales estimates, not a current administrative series.
| Year | U.S. new ATV retail sales |
|---|---|
| 1995 | 277,800 units |
| 1999 | 545,900 units |
| 2003 | 799,400 units |
| 2004 | 813,000 units |
| 2005 | 780,500 units |
| 2006 | 747,581 units |
Source: Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation in the United States and its Regions and States, which reproduces the industry estimates.
The same USDA report estimated the U.S. ATV fleet at 3.91 million vehicles in 1998 and 5.60 million vehicles during 2001–2003. The fleet figures are estimated vehicle populations, not registrations in every jurisdiction, and should not be read as a complete current inventory.
All-Terrain Vehicle Participation and Activity Trends
The USDA’s National Survey on Recreation and the Environment measured broad OHV recreation among U.S. people age 16 and older. Because the survey category includes off-highway vehicle recreation rather than ATV-only use, it is useful for participation context but cannot be treated as a direct ATV ownership rate.
| Survey period | OHV participation, U.S. age 16+ |
|---|---|
| Fall 1999–summer 2000 | 17.5% |
| Fall 2000–summer 2001 | 17.4% |
| Fall 2001–summer 2002 | 18.1% |
| Fall 2002–summer 2003 | 23.2% |
| Fall 2003–summer 2005 | 22.3% |
| Fall 2005–summer 2007 | 19.2% |
| Pooled 1999–2007 | 18.6% |
The reported series peaked at 23.2% in fall 2002–summer 2003. Participation then measured 22.3% in fall 2003–summer 2005 and 19.2% in fall 2005–summer 2007; these are survey-period estimates, not annual ATV sales trends.
Activity frequency also varied across the series. OHV participants averaged 23.2 days in 2001, 30.7 days in 2003 and 31.1 days in 2005–2007, while the pooled 1999–2007 mean was 27.9 days per participant.
These means refer to self-reported activity days during the prior 12 months.
The cited 2001 national survey estimate counted about 36.3 million people in combined off-highway driving, ATV or motorcycle use. Since the categories are combined, the figure does not isolate ATV participants.
Regional and Demographic All-Terrain Vehicle Data
The pooled USDA survey shows meaningful differences in broad OHV participation by region and residence type. The figures below describe U.S. people age 16 and older during 1999–2007 and are not ATV-only estimates.
| Group or region | Pooled OHV participation |
|---|---|
| U.S. West | 28.1% |
| U.S. North | 16.0% |
| U.S. Pacific | 18.7% |
| U.S. South | 18.7% |
| Non-metropolitan residents | 25.8% |
| Metropolitan residents | 16.8% |
The West had the highest reported regional rate at 28.1%, while the North had the lowest at 16.0%. Pacific and South participation were each 18.7%.
The demographic results also show how broad participation varied across the survey population:
- Under-30 adults had a 29.0% pooled OHV participation rate.
- Women had a 14.1% pooled OHV participation rate.
- White respondents had a 21.0% pooled OHV participation rate.
- Black respondents had a 12.4% pooled OHV participation rate.
- American Indian respondents had a 27.2% pooled OHV participation rate.
- People with less than a high-school education had an 18.2% pooled OHV participation rate.
- People with household income of $150,000 or more had a 25.7% pooled OHV participation rate.
All figures in this group are self-reported, pooled NSRE estimates for broad OHV recreation. They should not be interpreted as causal effects of age, gender, race, education or income on ATV use.
All-Terrain Vehicle Deaths and Fatality Trends
The CPSC recorded 2,448 reported OHV deaths from 2,384 fatal incidents in the United States during 2018–2020. CPSC describes these fatality data as anecdotal, and the latest years can be incomplete; vehicle classifications may also change when later information becomes available.
ATVs accounted for 1,643 reported deaths in that period. ROVs accounted for 635 and UTVs for 56, illustrating why OHV totals cannot be substituted for ATV totals.
| Year | Reported OHV deaths | Reported ATV deaths |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 714 | 494 |
| 2019 | 744 | 506 |
| 2020 | 990 | 643 |
The annual figures are reported counts, not exposure-adjusted fatality rates. Reported OHV deaths rose from 714 in 2018 to 744 in 2019 and reached 990 in 2020; reported ATV deaths rose from 494 to 506 and then 643.
Age and gender distributions add context to the reported fatalities. Children under 12 represented 5% of reported OHV deaths in 2018–2020, while people age 55 and older represented 30%; males represented 82%, with gender unknown for six deaths.
At least 60 of the 2,384 fatal incidents involved multiple fatalities, including 57 doubles, two triples and one quadruple.
Source: 2023 Report of Deaths and Injuries Involving Off-Highway Vehicles with More than Two Wheels.
All-Terrain Vehicle Injury Statistics and Outcomes
For 2018–2022, CPSC estimated 504,400 emergency-department-treated OHV injuries in the United States. The NEISS-based estimate covers OHVs with more than two wheels and therefore includes multiple vehicle classes, not only ATVs; the arithmetic average reported for the five-year period is about 100,900 injuries per year.
The estimated annual injury rate ranged from about 28 to 33 injuries per 100,000 people during 2018–2022. CPSC reported no statistically significant linear trend across that period.
In 2022, the estimated injury mix included the following diagnoses and body regions:
| Measure | Share of estimated 2022 OHV injuries |
|---|---|
| Fractures | 29% |
| Contusions and abrasions | 18% |
| Internal-organ injuries | 16% |
| Head and neck | 35% |
| Arms | 27% |
| Torso | 19% |
| Legs | 17% |
The body-region figures identify the primary injured body part; arms run from shoulders to fingertips in the report’s definition. Males were 68% of people with estimated OHV injuries in 2022.
Disposition data show that 76% of estimated 2022 OHV injuries were treated and released, while 21% resulted in hospitalization. The percentages may not sum to 100% because of other dispositions and rounding.
Source: 2023 Report of Deaths and Injuries Involving Off-Highway Vehicles with More than Two Wheels.
All-Terrain Vehicle Market Scale and Company Estimates
Polaris reported unaudited management estimates for ATV retail sales in its 2024 Form 10-K. The estimates are based partly on third-party industry surveys and should not be presented as a census of all sales.
| Geography and category | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| North American ATV retail sales | 250,000 | 240,000 | 240,000 units |
| Worldwide ATV retail sales | 355,000 | 335,000 | 340,000 units |
The worldwide ATV estimate was 355,000 units in 2022, 335,000 in 2023 and 340,000 in 2024. North American estimates were 250,000 units in 2022 and 240,000 in both 2023 and 2024.
Polaris also estimated worldwide side-by-side retail sales at 600,000 units in 2022. Side-by-side vehicles are not ATVs, so this figure is included only as adjacent off-road-vehicle context and should not be combined with the ATV totals.
Source: Polaris Inc. 2024 Form 10-K Annual Report.