How to open a merit badge

Steps to open a merit badge...

Pick a subject that interest you.

Visit Ms LaCrosse to obtain a blue card

Visit Mr Arnold to have the blue card signed

Return to Ms LaCrosse who will add the merit badge to Troopmaster

Begin working on requirements!

You can meet with your counselor at any point after the blue card is signed.

Mr Arnold, Mrs Pearson and Ms LaCrosse can give you MB Counselors names

2023 merit badge rankings: A look into Scouts’ current interests and achievements

By Gina Circelli February 13, 2024 Merit Badges, Scouts BSA

If you’re a Scout parent or leader who likes to keep a finger on the pulse of youth interests, the list you’ve been waiting for is here!

Once a year, we share our roundup of the most-earned merit badges from the last calendar year. And we just got the results from 2023.

In 2022, we saw the Citizenship in Society merit badge top the list as it launched its first full year as the newest Eagle-required badge. This year, things look similar. That is at least until we get farther down the list. Let’s take a look at the 2023 merit badge rankings.

The top 10 most-earned merit badges of 2023

Bolded below are badges that flipped rankings slightly but still remain close to where they were last year. To compare, check out our 2022 merit badge rankings.

2023 Rank Merit Badge

1 Citizenship in Society

2 First Aid

3 Swimming

4 Environmental Science

5 Citizenship in the World

6 Camping

7 Citizenship in the Nation

8 Personal Fitness 

9 Communication 

10 Cooking 

Yup, this list looks very close to last year’s. But now let’s view the list through another lens.

An alternative top 10

If we remove the merit badges Scouts are required to earn to achieve Eagle Scout, we see another top 10 list. There are more than 100 other badges Scouts can choose among. Here’s what topped those rankings.

2023 Rank Merit Badge

1 Fingerprinting

2 Chess

3 Archery

4 Rifle Shooting

5 Leatherwork

6 Wood Carving

7 Kayaking

8 Art

9 Fishing

10 Wilderness Survival

From last year, the Chess merit badge jumped up five spots! Otherwise, the changes were minor.

The rarest badges of 2023

There’s a realm of Scouts who live to earn the rarest badges. And we’ve got a list for them, too!
2023 Rank Merit Badge

129 Dentistry

130 Gardening

131 Energy

132 Stamp Collecting

133 Composite Materials 

134 American Labor

135 Surveying

136 Journalism

137 Drafting

138 Bugling

The Veterinary Medicine and Truck Transportation merit badges jumped out of the bottom 10, up 14 and 13 spots respectively. These least-earned badges saw a bit of shake up this year, proving Scouts’ interests change even from one year to the next