Swimming Pool Statistics: U.S. Ownership, Use, and Safety Data (2026)
Pool Removal Mesa Research is the independent research and reference section of poolremovalmesa.com.
What are the key swimming pool statistics for 2026?
An estimated 9.60 million occupied U.S. primary residences reported having a swimming pool in 2024, according to preliminary Residential Energy Consumption Survey data the U.S. Energy Information Administration released in March 2026. That is the newest federal household measurement available; the widely repeated 10.4 million residential-pool figure traces through an archived CDC citation to a market report using 2011 data.
9.60 million occupied U.S. primary residences reported a swimming pool in 2024 — the newest federal estimate, released as preliminary data in March 2026. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2024 RECS, Table HC2.1)
That is 7.24% of all 132.54 million occupied primary residences, or 9.82% of the 97.79 million non-apartment residences that were actually asked the question. Apartment households were not asked. (Calculated from EIA 2024 RECS Table HC2.1)
The 9.60 million estimate carries a 3.13% relative standard error, giving an approximate 95% confidence range of 9.00 to 10.20 million. (Calculated from EIA's published estimate, RSE, and confidence-interval guidance)
More occupied U.S. primary residences reported a hot tub (10.08 million) than a swimming pool (9.60 million) in 2024. (EIA, 2024 RECS, Table HC2.1)
The widely cited “10.4 million residential pools and 309,000 public aquatic venues” figures use 2011 data from P.K. Data Inc.'s U.S. Swimming Pool and Hot Tub Market 2011, prepared for the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals. The original market report was not publicly inspectable in this verification pass; the provenance is preserved through an archived CDC citation. (CDC Healthy Swimming, archived October 17, 2012)
Leslie's, Inc. told the SEC that the U.S. residential pool market is approximately 9.0 million pools in its fiscal 2025 Form 10-K, filed December 18, 2025 — up from approximately 8.8 million in its fiscal 2023 and 2024 filings. (Leslie's, Inc., Form 10-K, fiscal year ended October 4, 2025)
An average of 376 children under 15 died in reported pool- or spa-related drownings each year from 2021 through 2023, and 77% of the victims were under age five. (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 2026 submersion report)
71% of reported fatal child pool- or spa-related drownings from 2021 through 2023 occurred in residential settings. CPSC defines those settings as the victim's home or the home of a family member, friend, acquaintance, or neighbor. (CPSC, 2026 submersion report)
An estimated 5,900 children under 15 were treated in U.S. emergency departments each year for nonfatal pool- or spa-related drowning injuries from 2023 through 2025. (CPSC, 2026 submersion report, NEISS data)
More than 4,500 unintentional drowning deaths occurred per year in the United States across all ages and water settings during 2020 through 2022. This is an all-setting drowning figure, not a swimming-pool count. (CDC Vital Signs, 2024)
CPSC recalled approximately 5 million above-ground pools 48 inches and taller in 2025 after nine reported child drowning deaths linked to compression straps that could form a foothold. (CPSC recall notice, July 21, 2025)
In Mountain South — Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico — 18.05% of residences asked reported a swimming pool, the highest point estimate among the South and West regions published in EIA Table HC2.8. (Calculated from EIA 2024 RECS Table HC2.8)
An estimated 90.28% of pool-reporting residences in that three-state region used the pool eight to twelve months a year, compared with 52.40% nationally. (Calculated from EIA 2024 RECS Tables HC2.8 and HC2.1)
Across the 2006–2025 annual series for Maricopa and Pinal Counties, Arizona, Children's Safety Zone reports 3,096 water-related incidents and 1,063 fatalities. The series covers all reported water settings, not swimming pools alone. (Pool Removal Mesa Research compilation of Children's Safety Zone annual totals)
2024 was the deadliest year in that 20-year series, with 79 reported water-related deaths; 2025 fell to 57. (Pool Removal Mesa Research compilation of Children's Safety Zone annual totals)
A standard 16-by-36-foot uncovered Arizona pool loses four to six feet of water per year to evaporation, according to an Arizona Department of Water Resources fact sheet developed in 2009 and reformatted in 2015. Added refilling and backwashing make the loss roughly equivalent to filling the pool annually. (Arizona Department of Water Resources)
How many U.S. homes have swimming pools?
An estimated 9.60 million occupied primary residences reported a swimming pool in 2024, out of 132.54 million occupied primary residences nationwide. That is 7.24% of all such residences and 9.82% of the 97.79 million non-apartment residences that EIA actually asked.
The national benchmark
| Measure | Estimate | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| All occupied primary residences | 132.54 million | 50 states and D.C.; excludes vacant units, seasonal units, second homes, military housing, and group quarters |
| Reported a swimming pool | 9.60 million | Preliminary federal survey estimate |
| Reported no swimming pool | 88.19 million | Non-apartment residences answering “no” |
| Apartment residences — not asked | 34.74 million | Question was not put to apartment households |
| Share of all occupied primary residences | 7.24% | 9.60 ÷ 132.54 |
| Share among residences asked | 9.82% | 9.60 ÷ (9.60 + 88.19) |
| Relative standard error | 3.13% | Published by EIA |
| Approximate standard error | 0.30 million | 9.60 × 3.13% |
| Approximate 95% confidence range | 9.00–10.20 million | Estimate ± approximately two standard errors |
Why we publish two percentages, not one
Both rates are correct. They answer different questions, and using the wrong denominator changes what the statistic says.
7.24% is the share of all occupied primary residences. Use it when the denominator is every occupied primary residence represented by RECS.
9.82% is the share of the residences that were actually asked. EIA did not put the swimming-pool question to apartment households, so those 34.74 million residences are neither a “yes” nor a “no” in the eligible-rate calculation.
Treating “not asked” as “no” would claim knowledge about households EIA never queried. An apartment household not being asked about a pool at its residence also says nothing about access to a shared pool.
What this number does and does not measure
EIA counts occupied primary residences reporting a pool, not physical pools. A residence count does not establish a one-to-one inventory because a water feature can be shared by multiple residences and a property can contain more than one water feature.
The RECS universe also excludes vacant units, seasonal units, second homes, military housing, and group quarters. The 9.60 million estimate therefore answers a precise household-survey question; it should not be relabeled as a census of every residential swimming pool in the United States.
Why do published U.S. pool counts disagree?
Searches for the number of U.S. pools surface 8.8 million, 9.0 million, 9.6 million, 10.4 million, 10.7 million, 11.0 million, 14.1 million, and still larger totals. Much of that spread comes from unlike universes being given the same short label: “pools.”
Different universes, different numbers
| Figure | What it counts | Source | Vintage | Publicly inspectable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.60 million | Occupied primary residences reporting a swimming pool | U.S. EIA, 2024 RECS Table HC2.1 | 2024 data; preliminary release March 2026 | Yes — EIA |
| 10.08 million | Occupied primary residences reporting a hot tub | U.S. EIA, 2024 RECS Table HC2.1 | 2024 data; preliminary release March 2026 | Yes — EIA |
| Approximately 9.0 million | U.S. residential-pool aftermarket, company estimate | Leslie's, Inc., Form 10-K | Fiscal year ended October 4, 2025 | Yes — SEC EDGAR |
| Approximately 5.5 million | U.S. residential spa/hot-tub aftermarket, company estimate | Leslie's, Inc., Form 10-K | Fiscal year ended October 4, 2025 | Yes — SEC EDGAR |
| Approximately 300,000 | Pools managed by professional operators across hotels, motels, apartment complexes, and water parks | Leslie's, Inc., Form 10-K | Fiscal year ended October 4, 2025 | Yes — SEC EDGAR |
| Approximately 11.0 million | “Bodies of water” served by the U.S. outdoor-living industry | Pool Corporation, Form 10-K | Year ended December 31, 2024 | Yes — SEC EDGAR |
| Approximately 5.4 million | In-ground swimming pools included in Pool Corporation's industry universe | Pool Corporation, Form 10-K | Year ended December 31, 2024 | Yes — SEC EDGAR |
| 10.4 million | Residential pools as cited through an archived CDC source note | P.K. Data Inc., U.S. Swimming Pool and Hot Tub Market 2011, prepared for APSP | 2011 | Archived citation is inspectable; original market report was not located publicly |
| 309,000 | Public aquatic venues in the same archived source trail | Same P.K. Data/APSP market report | 2011 | Archived citation is inspectable; original market report was not located publicly |
Similar numbers do not make the sources interchangeable
EIA's 9.60 million residences and Leslie's approximately 9.0 million residential-pool market estimate sit in a similar numerical range. That is useful context, but it is not mutual validation: one is a probability-survey estimate of occupied primary residences, and the other is a company estimate used to describe an aftermarket.
The sources were produced by different methods, for different purposes, and with different exclusions. A defensible sentence names both the source and its universe rather than converting either one into an exact national inventory.
Counts that must not be added together
Several published totals are produced by combining categories that are not equivalent and may overlap:
- Residential pool estimates plus residential hot-tub estimates. They are different water features, and some residences report both.
- Occupied primary residences plus professionally operated pools. The first counts residences; the second describes commercial and managed facilities.
- One company's in-ground estimate subtracted from another company's residential total to infer above-ground pools. The filings do not establish identical universes or methods.
- Public aquatic venues plus private residences. The public category can include spas, splash pads, and waterslide landing pools.
- “Bodies of water” treated as “swimming pools.” Pool Corporation uses the broader phrase deliberately.
The circulated “14.1 million U.S. pools” total is an example of mixed-category arithmetic. This page does not publish it as a swimming-pool count.
Frequently repeated pool statistics this page does not publish as facts
| Claim | Publication status | Why |
|---|---|---|
| “Arizona has approximately 505,000 pools” | Not published as fact | The circulating state table comes from private estimates whose publisher says they may not be accurate; no current official or reproducible Arizona-only count was identified |
| “Florida has 1.59 million residential pools” | Not published as fact | Same private-estimate source trail; no primary methodology was available to reproduce the figure |
| “The U.S. has 27.1 million swimming pools” | Not published as fact | The page carrying the claim supplied no source, and the number does not match any defined government or SEC-filed universe reviewed |
| “The U.S. has 14.1 million swimming pools” | Not published as a pool total | Produced by combining pools, spas/hot tubs, and professional or commercial categories |
| “The U.S. has 10.7 million total pools” | Archival provenance only | The rounded total combines the 2011 10.4 million residential and 309,000 public-venue figures; it is not a current measurement |
A state-by-state table will belong on this page only when each number can be tied to a primary administrative source or reproduced from a documented dataset. Version 1.0 does not manufacture a complete state comparison from unsupported private estimates.
Where did the internet's most-repeated pool statistics come from?
A group of pool statistics still repeated in current articles can be traced through an archived CDC Healthy Swimming page dated October 17, 2012. The page's source notes lead to one 2011 market report, one federal statistical abstract reporting 2009 participation data, and one CDC inspection study using 2002 spa-inspection data.
| Statistic as commonly published | Source named in the archived record | Data vintage | Current status |
|---|---|---|---|
| “10.4 million residential swimming pools” | P.K. Data Inc., U.S. Swimming Pool and Hot Tub Market 2011, prepared for the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals | 2011 | Original market report was not publicly inspectable in this verification pass |
| “309,000 public swimming pools” or public aquatic venues | Same P.K. Data/APSP 2011 market report | 2011 | Still repeated in later official statements, but no newer measurement was identified in the cited source trail |
| “36% of children aged 7–17 and 15% of adults swim at least six times a year” | U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2012, participation table | 2009 | Statistical Abstract series discontinued |
| “301 million swimming visits per year” | Same Statistical Abstract table | 2009 | Historical participation estimate |
| “56.8% of spas violated local health ordinances” | CDC, Surveillance Data from Public Spa Inspections — United States, May–September 2002, published in MMWR in 2004 | 2002 | Historical inspection result, not a current national rate |
The 309,000 figure later appeared in a 2024 Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists statement supporting use of CDC's Model Aquatic Health Code. Repetition in a newer document preserves the older estimate; it does not change the underlying 2011 vintage.
None of these figures had to be wrong when produced. The integrity problem begins when a dated estimate is presented as current without the year, universe, or original source trail attached.
Leslie's makes the same distinction in its own filing. The company says it believes its third-party industry sources are reliable but has not independently verified the underlying data, methods, or assumptions. A page that turns Leslie's approximate market estimate into an exact census would be claiming more certainty than the filing itself.
Do more U.S. homes report pools or hot tubs?
More occupied primary residences reported a hot tub. In 2024, EIA estimated 10.08 million residences with a hot tub and 9.60 million with a swimming pool — a difference of about 480,000 residences, or 5.0% relative to the pool estimate.
| Category | EIA 2024 RECS | Leslie's fiscal 2025 Form 10-K | What can be compared safely |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swimming pools | 9.60 million occupied primary residences reporting a pool | Approximately 9.0 million pools in the residential aftermarket | Similar numerical range; different universes and methods |
| Hot tubs / spas | 10.08 million occupied primary residences reporting a hot tub | Approximately 5.5 million residential spas or hot tubs in the aftermarket | Large cross-source difference; no one-to-one reconciliation is available |
We do not split the difference or declare one source correct. “10.08 million occupied primary residences reported a hot tub in 2024” and “Leslie's estimates an approximately 5.5 million residential spa/hot-tub aftermarket” are both defensible sentences because each keeps its source and universe.
The same EIA table reports that 3.12 million hot-tub-reporting residences used the hot tub for zero months during the previous year. That is approximately 30.95% of the 10.08 million hot-tub-reporting residences, calculated from rounded survey estimates.
How long are pools used, and how many are heated?
Just over half of pool-reporting occupied primary residences — an estimated 5.03 million, or 52.40% — used the pool eight to twelve months during the prior year. An estimated 3.44 million pool-reporting residences had a heated pool, and 2.42 million of those reported heating it for no more than three months.
| Months used | Residences (million) | Share of pool-reporting residences |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 3 | 1.71 | 17.81% |
| 4 to 7 | 2.86 | 29.79% |
| 8 to 12 | 5.03 | 52.40% |
| Category | Residences (million) | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Heated swimming pool | 3.44 | 35.83% of pool-reporting residences |
| — Natural gas | 1.51 | 43.90% of heated-pool residences |
| — Electricity | 1.27 | 36.92% of heated-pool residences |
| — Some other fuel or method | 0.38 | 11.05% of heated-pool residences |
| — Propane | 0.28 | 8.14% of heated-pool residences |
| Unheated swimming pool | 6.17 | 64.27% of pool-reporting residences |
Among the 3.44 million heated-pool residences, an estimated 2.42 million reported heating the pool for zero to three months, 0.81 million for four to seven months, and 0.21 million for eight to twelve months. Using the rounded estimates, those shares are 70.35%, 23.55%, and 6.10%.
How pool reporting varies by housing type
| Housing type | All occupied primary residences (million) | Reported a pool (million) | Derived prevalence | RSE on pool estimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single-family detached | 82.51 | 9.28 | 11.25% | 3.15% |
| Single-family attached | 8.65 | 0.15 | 1.73% | 21.43% |
| Mobile home | 6.64 | 0.18 | 2.71% | 24.61% |
| Apartment, 2–4 units | 9.69 | Not asked | — | — |
| Apartment, 5 or more units | 25.05 | Not asked | — | — |
Detached single-family residences account for an estimated 9.28 million of the 9.60 million pool-reporting residences — 96.67% of the total. The attached-home and mobile-home pool estimates have relative standard errors above 20%, so their point estimates carry substantially more relative sampling uncertainty than the detached-home estimate.
How does swimming-pool reporting vary by household income?
The published point estimates rise across the available household-income bands, from 2.80% among residences asked in the under-$10,000 band to 20.57% in the $200,000-or-more band. The low-income estimates are less precise, and EIA withholds the $10,000–$14,999 pool estimate entirely.
| Annual household income | All residences (million) | Reported a pool (million) | Reported no pool (million) | Apartment / not asked (million) | Share among residences asked | RSE on pool estimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Less than $10,000 | 6.23 | 0.08 | 2.78 | 3.36 | 2.80% | 34.87% |
| $10,000–$14,999 | 5.90 | Q — withheld | 2.96 | 2.86 | Not calculated | Withheld |
| $15,000–$29,999 | 13.42 | 0.26 | 8.24 | 4.92 | 3.06% | 18.55% |
| $30,000–$59,999 | 30.96 | 1.46 | 20.46 | 9.04 | 6.66% | 10.23% |
| $60,000–$99,999 | 29.41 | 1.81 | 20.59 | 7.01 | 8.08% | 8.07% |
| $100,000–$199,999 | 32.30 | 3.39 | 23.39 | 5.52 | 12.66% | 5.16% |
| $200,000 or more | 14.32 | 2.53 | 9.77 | 2.02 | 20.57% | 5.42% |
EIA marks a cell Q when an estimate has a relative standard error greater than 50% or is based on fewer than 10 sample households. The withheld $10,000–$14,999 estimate cannot be reconstructed responsibly by subtracting rounded components.
This table shows a descriptive association between the published income bands and pool reporting. It does not establish that income alone causes pool ownership, and the relative uncertainty in the lowest-income estimate is much larger than in the upper-income bands.
Which published U.S. regions have the highest swimming-pool reporting rates?
Mountain South — Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico — has the highest pool-reporting point estimate among the South and West regions shown in EIA Table HC2.8: 18.05% of residences asked. The table does not publish comparable pool rows for the Northeast and Midwest, so it is not a complete four-region national comparison.
| Region | Reported a pool (million) | Reported no pool (million) | Rate among residences asked | RSE on pool estimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 9.60 | 88.19 | 9.82% | 3.13% |
| Mountain South (Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico) | 0.72 | 3.27 | 18.05% | 7.72% |
| South Atlantic | 2.63 | 18.43 | 12.49% | 6.89% |
| South (total) | 4.44 | 35.66 | 11.07% | 4.93% |
| Pacific | 1.49 | 12.01 | 11.04% | 9.33% |
| West (total) | 2.26 | 19.18 | 10.54% | 6.84% |
| West South Central | 1.28 | 11.14 | 10.31% | 8.63% |
| Mountain (total) | 0.77 | 7.18 | 9.69% | 7.12% |
| East South Central | 0.54 | 6.10 | 8.13% | 9.31% |
| Mountain North | 0.05 | 3.91 | 1.26% | 34.81% |
Two qualifications belong with any use of the table. Mountain South is a three-state region, not an Arizona estimate. And the Mountain North pool estimate has a 34.81% relative standard error, too high for a confident “lowest-prevalence region” conclusion.
Pools and hot tubs inside the West
Within the West, Mountain South is the only published subregion in Table HC2.8 where pool-reporting residences outnumber hot-tub-reporting residences: 0.72 million versus 0.56 million. Mountain North reports 0.05 million pool residences and 0.46 million hot-tub residences; Pacific reports 1.49 million and 2.10 million, respectively.
That finding is not true across every South-and-West row. The South and each of its three divisions also have higher pool estimates than hot-tub estimates, so the accurate claim is limited to the West's published subregions.
Regional use patterns differ sharply. Of the 0.72 million Mountain South pool-reporting residences, an estimated 0.65 million — 90.28% using rounded estimates — used the pool eight to twelve months, compared with 52.40% nationally. EIA also estimated that 0.49 million Mountain South pool residences had an unheated pool, or 68.06% of the regional pool estimate.
Is the number of U.S. homes reporting a pool increasing?
The published national point estimate increased from 8.30 million pool-reporting occupied primary residences in 2015 to 8.52 million in 2020 and 9.60 million in preliminary 2024 data. That pattern is descriptive; this page has not performed a cross-cycle statistical-significance test.
| RECS year | Pool-reporting residences | All occupied primary residences | Share of all residences | Share among residences asked | Release status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 8.30 million | 118.20 million | 7.02% | 9.47% | Final; released February 2017 and revised May 2018 |
| 2020 | 8.52 million | 123.53 million | 6.90% | 9.33% | Final release March 2023 |
| 2024 | 9.60 million | 132.54 million | 7.24% | 9.82% | Preliminary release March 2026 |
From 2015 to 2024, the point estimate increased by 1.30 million residences, or 15.66%. From 2020 to 2024, it increased by 1.08 million, or 12.68%.
Those changes are not direct measures of net pool construction. The survey estimates describe occupied primary residences reporting a pool, and the 2024 result is preliminary. They do not isolate newly built pools, removed pools, second-home pools, vacant-property pools, public pools, or the effect of sampling variation across survey cycles.
How many people drown in swimming pools each year?
CPSC's current child surveillance reports an average of 376 reported pool- or spa-related fatal drownings per year among children under 15 during 2021–2023. CDC's broader mortality work reports more than 4,500 unintentional drowning deaths per year across all ages and all water settings during 2020–2022, so the two figures answer different questions.
Drowning is the leading cause of death for U.S. children ages one through four. CPSC's 2026 report found that 77% of reported fatal child pool/spa drownings involved children younger than five.
The CPSC series, one overlapping window at a time
Each annual CPSC edition covers a three-year fatality window, and the windows overlap. Reported annual fatality counts can also change in later editions because fatality reporting remains open.
| Report edition | Three-year annual average | Window | Single-year figure disclosed in that edition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 report | 389 | 2017–2019 | 2019: 367 |
| 2023 report | 371 | 2018–2020 | 2020: 340 |
| 2024 report | 358 | 2019–2021 | 2021: 380 |
| 2025 report | 357 | 2020–2022 | 2022: 345 |
| 2026 report | 376 | 2021–2023 | 2023: 379; latest 2022 value: 359 |
The 2026 report's 379 is the count for calendar year 2023, not the three-year annual average. The average is 376 for 2021–2023. Those values should not be swapped.
Nonfatal child drowning injuries
CPSC estimated an annual average of 5,900 hospital emergency-department-treated, nonfatal pool- or spa-related drowning injuries among children under 15 during 2023–2025. Of that estimate, 71% involved children younger than five, 42% of victims were admitted to a hospital or transferred to another hospital, and 95% of the injuries were associated with pools rather than spas.
CPSC's NEISS estimates are national projections from a probability sample of hospital emergency departments and are rounded to the nearest hundred. They do not count every nonfatal event that receives no emergency-department treatment.
Where reported fatal child drownings occurred
CPSC reports that 71% of pool- or spa-related fatal drownings among children under 15 during 2021–2023 occurred in residential settings: 51% at the victim's home, 15% at a family member's, friend's, or acquaintance's home, and 5% at a neighbor's residence. CPSC places condominium and apartment-complex pools in its public/community/business category rather than in the residential categories used for that table.
Fatalities are consistently concentrated in the summer months, especially June, July, and August.
All-setting drowning mortality is a separate denominator
CDC's current Vital Signs analysis reports more than 4,500 unintentional drowning deaths per year during 2020–2022 across all ages and water settings. CDC's Drowning Facts page also reports an older average of 4,083 per year for 2012–2021.
The higher, newer figure does not mean every one of those deaths happened in a swimming pool. Both CDC totals include natural water, bathtubs, pools, and other settings, and the periods differ.
Equipment recalls
On July 21, 2025, CPSC announced the recall of approximately 5 million Bestway, Intex, and Polygroup above-ground pools 48 inches and taller sold since 2002. CPSC linked the recall to nine reported child drowning deaths involving children ages 22 months through three years and identified exterior compression straps that could create a foothold.
Scope and safety
The figures on this page are reference data, not instructions for managing drowning, entrapment, chemical exposure, or electrical hazards around water. CPSC's Pool Safely program and CDC's drowning-prevention materials are the appropriate official sources for prevention guidance.
What do public-pool inspection, outbreak, and chemical-injury data show?
CDC's best multi-state public-aquatic-facility inspection dataset uses 2013 records from 16 public health agencies in Arizona, California, Florida, New York, and Texas. Separate CDC surveillance found 208 voluntarily reported treated recreational-water outbreaks during 2015–2019 and about 4,500 emergency-department visits per year related to pool chemicals.
Pool-chemical injuries and treated-water outbreaks
| Measure | Figure | Period and scope |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency-department visits related to pool chemicals | About 4,500 per year | Current CDC summary; at least one-third of injured people are younger than 18 |
| Treated recreational-water outbreaks | 208 | Voluntarily reported by 36 states and D.C., 2015–2019 |
| Illnesses linked to those outbreaks | At least 3,646 | Minimum count from the reported outbreaks |
| Hospitalizations | 286 | Associated with the 208 outbreaks |
| Deaths | 13 | Associated with the 208 outbreaks |
| Outbreaks associated with public/nonbackyard pools, hot tubs, or water playgrounds | 199 of 208, or 96% | CDC's treated recreational-water venue classification |
The outbreak reports were voluntary and do not form a complete census. CDC's treated recreational-water category includes hot tubs and water playgrounds as well as swimming pools, so the 208-outbreak total should not be relabeled as “swimming-pool outbreaks” without the broader venue qualifier.
Routine public-aquatic-facility inspections
CDC analyzed 84,187 routine inspections of 48,632 public aquatic venues reported by 16 public health agencies in five states. The exact closure percentages depend on the venue type and on the records containing closure data.
| Finding | Numerator and denominator | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Routine inspections reviewed | 84,187 inspections of 48,632 venues | — |
| Inspection records with violation data that had at least one violation | 50,974 of 64,580 | 78.9% |
| Inspection records with closure data that resulted in immediate closure | 8,118 of 66,098 | 12.3% |
| Public-pool inspections resulting in immediate closure | 5,139 of 43,636 | 11.8% |
| Public hot-tub/spa inspections resulting in immediate closure | 2,217 of 14,637 | 15.1% |
| Public wading-pool inspections resulting in immediate closure | 205 of 948 | 21.6% |
The inspection dataset is more precise than the shorthand “one in eight venues closed.” Closure was an inspection outcome, not necessarily a permanent facility closure, and the denominators are inspection records with closure data.
The five participating states were selected because they had the largest estimated numbers of public aquatic venues, but the participating agencies do not form a nationally representative sample. The data are also from 2013, and no newer equivalent multi-state surveillance table was identified in this review.
CDC's Model Aquatic Health Code is guidance that state, territorial, tribal, and local jurisdictions can choose to adopt. It is not a universal federal swimming-pool code.
These inspection and outbreak statistics principally describe public or nonbackyard aquatic venues. They do not measure the condition of private backyard pools.
What do official Arizona and Phoenix metro sources show?
Arizona is part of Mountain South, the three-state EIA region with the highest pool-reporting point estimate among the South and West rows in Table HC2.8. State law supplies a defined residential barrier standard and exemptions, ADWR publishes dated water-use figures, Maricopa County regulates public and semi-public aquatic facilities, and Children's Safety Zone publishes a long-running local incident series.
Leslie's, Inc. lists its principal executive offices in Phoenix and identifies Arizona among the states with large installed pool bases and substantial competition in its SEC filing. That filing is useful market context, not an official state pool count.
What Arizona's residential pool barrier statute requires
| Provision | Statutory requirement or scope |
|---|---|
| Covered body of water | Contains water at least 18 inches deep at any point, is wider than eight feet at any point, and is intended for swimming |
| General barrier height | At least five feet, measured on the exterior side |
| Openings | No opening through which a four-inch sphere can pass; additional spacing and mesh rules apply |
| Gates | Open outward from the pool and be self-closing and self-latching |
| Latch | At least 54 inches above underlying ground, on the pool side under the statutory release-mechanism configuration, or secured by a keyed/electric/combination device allowed by the statute |
| Climbability | No exterior opening, handhold, or foothold that can be used to climb the barrier |
| Distance from water | At least 20 inches from the water's edge |
| Residence used as part of enclosure | One of four statutory alternatives must be used: an interior four-foot barrier meeting specified standards; a qualifying motorized safety cover; qualifying door/window controls; or a qualifying above-ground-pool configuration |
| Statutory exemptions | Specified water and drainage infrastructure; agricultural water structures; public or semi-public pools; pools, bodies of water, or barriers built before the article's effective date; qualifying local ordinances; and a residence where all residents are at least six years old |
The exemption list matters because the statute is not a universal statement that every pool in Arizona must match the same state specifications. It does not apply to the categories named in subsection D, and an equal or more restrictive local ordinance can govern instead.
The state safety notice also states that local requirements may supersede the state requirements when they are equal or more restrictive. A legal or compliance article should check the applicable city or county code in addition to the state statute.
What Arizona sources report about pool water use
| Figure | Scope | Source and vintage |
|---|---|---|
| Four to six feet per year | Evaporation from a standard 16-by-36-foot uncovered Arizona pool | ADWR fact sheet developed in 2009, reformatted in 2015 |
| Roughly one pool refill per year | Evaporation plus water lost during refilling and backwashing, as described by ADWR | Same 2009/2015 fact sheet |
| Approximately 16% | Pool and spa share of outdoor water use stated in the fact sheet | Same 2009/2015 fact sheet |
| About 146 gallons per resident per day | Average water use per Arizona resident | Current ADWR public-resources page, verified 2026 |
| Up to 70% | Share of residential municipal water used outdoors, including landscaping, pools, and vehicle washing | Current ADWR public-resources page, verified 2026 |
| $135 per body of water | Fee for a requested Maricopa County advisory/punch-list construction or operational inspection | Maricopa County Environmental Services page, verified July 27, 2026 |
The four-to-six-foot evaporation figure is an agency estimate from a dated fact sheet, not a measurement of every Arizona pool. Pool size, cover use, weather, exposure, operation, and maintenance practices can change actual water loss.
Maricopa County requires operating permits for public and semi-public pools, wading pools and splash pads, special-use pools, spas, and artificial bathing lakes. Its page states that operating permits are not required for private residential pools and spas; that does not eliminate city or county construction, barrier, electrical, or other code requirements that may apply to a private project.
Maricopa County also provides a searchable public inspection system for its regulated aquatic facilities. Those records describe a public/semi-public universe and must not be combined with private-residential pool estimates.
What do 20 years of Phoenix metro water-incident reports show?
Children's Safety Zone publishes annual water-related incident and fatality reports assembled from fire-department public information officers across Maricopa and Pinal Counties. Pool Removal Mesa Research transcribed the closed-year annual totals for 2006–2025 into machine-readable files and preserved source conflicts instead of forcing them to reconcile.
The closed-year annual series
| Year | Reported incidents | Reported fatalities |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 155 | 57 |
| 2024 | 157 | 79 |
| 2023 | 133 | 57 |
| 2022 | 143 | 60 |
| 2021 | 159 | 64 |
| 2020 | 137 | 47 |
| 2019 | 150 | 36 |
| 2018 | 161 | 52 |
| 2017 | 153 | 61 |
| 2016 | 157 | 50 |
| 2015 | 158 | 46 |
| 2014 | 152 | 53 |
| 2013 | 143 | 44 |
| 2012 | 170 | 60 |
| 2011 | 180 | 49 |
| 2010 | 140 | 48 |
| 2009 | 162 | 47 |
| 2008 | 153 | 49 |
| 2007 | 174 | 52 |
| 2006 | 159 | 52 |
| 20-year total | 3,096 | 1,063 |
The series covers all water-related incidents reported through participating agencies, not swimming pools alone. Lakes, rivers, canals, bathtubs, and other settings can appear alongside backyard-pool incidents.
What the comparable age period shows
Before 2013, the consolidated source says ages 0–5 and 6–12 were counted together. To avoid crossing that definition change, this page calculates age shares only for 2014–2025, when the same four age groups appear throughout the series.
| Age group | Reported fatalities | Share of 662 fatalities |
|---|---|---|
| Ages 0–5 | 162 | 24.47% |
| Ages 6–12 | 15 | 2.27% |
| Ages 13–17 | 18 | 2.72% |
| Ages 18 and older | 467 | 70.54% |
| Total | 662 | 100.00% |
Adults account for 467 of the 662 reported fatalities in this comparable 12-year period. That is a local all-water finding; it does not contradict CPSC's child pool/spa surveillance, because the sources cover different ages, settings, reporting systems, and geographies.
The deadliest year in the series
The 79 fatalities reported for 2024 are the highest annual total in the 2006–2025 consolidated series. The next-highest total is 64 in 2021, so the 2024 total is 23.44% higher using the rounded annual counts.
The 2025 total fell to 57, a decline of 22 deaths or 27.85% from 2024. That is a one-year descriptive change, not evidence by itself of a sustained trend.
Source conflicts found during transcription
The original files do not reconcile perfectly. The conflicts below remain visible in the page and the downloadable data.
| Year / record | Consolidated source | Individual or component source | Publication treatment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 incident total | 170 incidents | Consolidated age components sum to 169 | Retain the source-published annual total of 170 and disclose the one-incident cross-foot difference |
| 2013 annual total | 143 incidents and 44 fatalities | Individual 2013 year-end report gives 139 incidents and 43 fatalities | Retain consolidated totals for the continuous series; publish both values as a source conflict |
| 2025 Maricopa County Sheriff's Office row | 12 incidents and zero fatalities | Individual 2025 year-end report gives 12 incidents and 11 fatalities | Do not publish an aggregate agency-total table until agency cells are reconciled; both sources still report 57 fatalities overall |
This is why the original agency table has been replaced rather than filled with guessed values. The countywide annual totals and the stable-period age totals can be reproduced; an agency-by-agency 20-year fatality table cannot yet be published without reopening and reconciling the individual annual reports.
2026 to date
As of July 25, 2026, Children's Safety Zone reported 94 water-related incidents and 37 deaths in Maricopa and Pinal Counties: four fatalities among ages 0–5, none among ages 6–12, one among ages 13–17, and 32 among adults.
Mesa Fire & Medical Department had reported 12 incidents — eight involving ages 0–5, none ages 6–12, one teen, and three adults — and four fatalities, consisting of one teen and three adults. Phoenix Fire Department had reported 41 incidents and 14 fatalities.
Partial-year figures are not comparable to the closed-year totals in Table 17 and are not included in the 2006–2025 download.
How was this swimming pool statistics dataset built?
All consequential figures were rechecked against the issuing agency's publication, the original data producer's report, or a direct SEC filing on July 27, 2026. Derived values remain labeled as calculations, and unavailable, suppressed, conflicting, or definitionally incompatible figures are not converted into measurements.
Collection window and source vintage
All source retrieval and verification for version 1.0 was completed on July 27, 2026. The verification date is separate from the period measured: a 2011 market estimate, 2013 inspection record, or 2024 household estimate keeps that original vintage even though the source was checked in 2026.
The visible “Last verified” date changes only after the underlying sources and calculations are actually rechecked. A design, formatting, or spelling update does not justify re-dating the research.
Source hierarchy
Sources were evaluated in this order:
- The issuing federal, state, county, or local agency and its own table, report, statute, or program page.
- A company's direct SEC filing when the claim is explicitly a company market estimate.
- The original data producer's own report or live reporting page.
- An archived official page for source provenance when the originating document is no longer publicly available.
- Secondary pages only to discover a source trail or document a claim this page declines to publish — never as the origin of a consequential number.
Federal housing-survey extraction
The national benchmark, housing-type, use, heating, and hot-tub rows come from EIA's 2024 RECS Table HC2.1 and its relative-standard-error panel. Income rows come from Table HC2.5. South and West regional rows come from Table HC2.8. The trend table uses the corresponding HC2.1 releases for 2015, 2020, and 2024. The tables were read directly. Apartment residences marked “not asked” were kept separate from “no.” Suppressed Q cells were not reconstructed from rounded components.
RECS calculations
Percentages are calculated from EIA's displayed rounded estimates and shown to two decimal places:
- All-residence pool share: pool yes ÷ all occupied primary residences.
- Eligible pool-reporting share: pool yes ÷ (pool yes + pool no).
- Housing-type prevalence: pool yes for housing type ÷ all residences of that housing type.
- Income-band share: pool yes ÷ (pool yes + pool no) within the income band.
- Use and heating shares: category estimate divided by the relevant pool-reporting or heated-pool estimate.
- Approximate standard error: estimate multiplied by the published RSE.
- Approximate 95% interval: estimate plus or minus approximately two standard errors, consistent with EIA's guidance for the 60-replicate-weight design.
- Point-estimate change: later displayed estimate minus earlier displayed estimate, with percentage change divided by the earlier estimate.
The confidence interval and derived rates are approximate because the public tables display rounded estimates and rounded RSEs. This page did not calculate replicate-weight variances for every ratio and did not run cross-cycle significance tests.
Company estimates and source reconciliation
Leslie's and Pool Corporation figures were read in the companies' direct SEC filings. They are labeled as company estimates and retain the wording each filing uses — including “residential pool market,” “spas or hot tubs,” “professionally managed pools,” and “bodies of water.”
The older 10.4 million and 309,000 figures were traced through an archived CDC Healthy Swimming page to P.K. Data Inc.'s U.S. Swimming Pool and Hot Tub Market 2011, prepared for the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals. The original market report was not publicly available for inspection, so those figures appear only as dated provenance rather than independently verified current measurements.
Safety and public-health extraction
Current child pool/spa fatality and injury figures were read from CPSC's 2026 submersion report. Earlier report-edition averages were read from the corresponding CPSC report pages and kept as edition-specific values because reported fatality counts can be revised later.
CDC's drowning, pool-chemical, outbreak, and public-aquatic-facility inspection figures were taken from the agency's own pages and MMWR reports. Venue scope, reporting coverage, date, numerator, and denominator remain attached to each statistic.
Arizona law and water data
Arizona barrier requirements and all seven statutory exemption categories were read against A.R.S. § 36-1681. The Arizona Department of Health Services notice was used to confirm the residential presentation and the role of equal or more restrictive local requirements.
ADWR's four-to-six-foot evaporation estimate and 16% outdoor-water figure come from a fact sheet developed in 2009 and reformatted in 2015. The 146-gallon and “up to 70% outdoors” figures come from ADWR's current public-resources page. Their different vintages remain visible.
How the Maricopa–Pinal series was transcribed
The source's consolidated 2006–2025 PDF was used for the continuous annual totals. Each year's incident and fatality total was transcribed into a tidy file. Age-group fatality values were transcribed only for 2014–2025 in the analytical table because the source states that ages 0–5 and 6–12 were combined before 2013.
The transcription was cross-footed against source totals. A 2012 one-incident mismatch, the consolidated-versus-individual 2013 conflict, and the 2025 Maricopa County Sheriff's Office agency-cell conflict are retained as explicit source-reconciliation records. No value was guessed to make the documents agree.
The machine-readable local file contains annual totals, stable-period age-group fatalities, and conflict records. It does not claim to be vital statistics, to cover every water event, or to isolate swimming-pool incidents.
Verification tiers and publication status
The dataset uses explicit verification and publication fields:
- ★ Direct primary-source verification: read directly in an agency publication, statute, original producer's report, or SEC filing.
- ★ Reproducible calculation from primary-source inputs: arithmetic shown in the calculation field and reproducible from published source values.
- ★ Provenance verified; original report unavailable: source trail is documented, but the originating market report was not publicly inspectable.
- Publish as company estimate: the filing supports the statement, but it is not a government measurement.
- Publish as source conflict: the original documents disagree and both values remain visible.
- Not published as fact: no defensible primary or reproducible foundation was established.
Versioning
Version 1.0 includes a 118-record swimming-pool statistics file, a 93-record Maricopa–Pinal incident file, JSON equivalents, and a data dictionary. A substantive refresh requires a new modification date, an incremented version, regenerated downloads, and a change record describing revised source values or calculations.
What are the limitations of these swimming pool statistics?
The page combines several legitimate sources without pretending they measure the same thing. The limits below are part of the dataset and should travel with any figure drawn from it.
- EIA counts occupied primary residences reporting a pool, not physical pools. A residence is not guaranteed to equal one pool, and shared facilities can serve multiple residences.
- 34.74 million apartment residences were not asked the pool question. “Not asked” is not “no.”
- Vacant units, seasonal units, second homes, military housing, and group quarters are outside the RECS occupied-primary-residence universe.
- The 2024 RECS estimates are preliminary. EIA released them in March 2026 and can revise them.
- Derived percentages use rounded displayed inputs. They are reproducible approximations rather than additional estimates published by EIA.
- The approximate national confidence interval uses EIA's displayed estimate, displayed RSE, and a t-value of approximately two. It is not a substitute for calculation from the full replicate weights.
- No cross-cycle or cross-region statistical-significance test was performed. Higher point estimates are described as point-estimate differences.
- Estimates with RSEs above 20% require extra caution. This includes the attached-home, mobile-home, and Mountain North pool estimates.
- Table HC2.8 is not a complete all-region U.S. pool table. It publishes South and West rows, not pool estimates for the Northeast and Midwest.
- Mountain South combines Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico. Its 0.72 million and 18.05% figures are not Arizona-only statistics.
- The income table is descriptive. It does not establish a causal relationship between income and pool ownership, and one income-band estimate is suppressed by EIA.
- Leslie's and Pool Corporation figures are company market estimates. They are not official counts, and their underlying third-party methods are not fully disclosed in the filings.
- The original P.K. Data/APSP 2011 market report was not publicly inspectable in this review. The 10.4 million and 309,000 figures are published only as traced archival provenance.
- CPSC's current child figures combine pools and spas and cover children younger than 15. They do not count all-age swimming-pool drownings.
- CPSC reported fatality counts can change between editions. The agency says yearly values may differ because incident reporting is ongoing.
- CDC's all-setting drowning totals include natural water, bathtubs, pools, and other settings. The 4,083 and “more than 4,500” averages use different periods and should not be treated as contradictory.
- CDC's pool-chemical estimate is not a drowning statistic. It describes emergency-department visits related to pool chemicals.
- The treated recreational-water outbreak reports were voluntary. The 2015–2019 totals are not a complete national census and include hot tubs and water playgrounds.
- The public-aquatic-facility inspection data are from 2013 and 16 agencies in five states. They are not current and not nationally representative.
- The ADWR evaporation and 16% outdoor-water figures come from a fact sheet developed in 2009 and reformatted in 2015. They are agency estimates with a visible vintage, not measurements of every current Arizona pool.
- A.R.S. § 36-1681 contains seven exemption categories and allows equal or more restrictive local ordinances. The state table does not replace a check of applicable local law.
- Maricopa County's aquatic operating-permit program excludes private residential pools and spas. Separate construction, barrier, electrical, plumbing, or local code requirements can still apply.
- Children's Safety Zone data are participating fire-agency incident reports, not death-certificate vital statistics. They include all water settings and cover Maricopa and Pinal Counties only.
- The source's age definitions change across the series. This page uses 2014–2025 for age-share analysis rather than presenting a false 20-year comparison.
- The 2012 consolidated incident categories sum to 169 while the source publishes 170 total incidents. The source total is retained and the mismatch disclosed.
- The 2013 consolidated and individual year-end reports conflict. They report 143 incidents and 44 fatalities versus 139 incidents and 43 fatalities.
- The 2025 consolidated and individual reports conflict at the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office agency row. Both report 57 countywide fatalities, but the agency cell is zero in the consolidated file and 11 in the individual report.
- No current primary-source or reproducible state-by-state pool inventory was identified. This page does not publish a complete state comparison or the circulating 505,000 Arizona estimate as fact.
- The 2026 Maricopa–Pinal figures are partial-year values through July 25. They are excluded from the 2006–2025 closed-year dataset.
What files are included in the swimming pool statistics dataset?
Version 1.0 publishes the data behind every consequential figure on the page in spreadsheet- and machine-readable formats. The files are ordinary links with no email gate, account, lead form, or download wall.
| File | Contents | Records |
|---|---|---|
| swimming‑pool‑statistics‑2026.csv | U.S. ownership, use, heating, income, regional, trend, market-estimate, safety, public-health, Arizona, and source-status records | 118 |
| swimming‑pool‑statistics‑2026.json | Same 118 records in JSON | 118 |
| maricopa‑pinal‑water‑incidents‑2006‑2025.csv | Closed-year incident and fatality totals, 2014–2025 fatality age groups, and source-conflict records | 93 |
| maricopa‑pinal‑water‑incidents‑2006‑2025.json | Same local records nested by year | 93 |
| swimming‑pool‑statistics‑data‑dictionary.csv | Field definitions for both datasets | 33 field definitions |
The main file retains source organization, document, URL, vintage, universe, denominator, calculation, uncertainty, caveat, verification tier, and publication status. The local file retains source version, extraction status, cross-foot check, and conflict notes rather than silently harmonizing disagreements.
How can this page be cited?
The block below is a neutral attribution reference for identifying the publication, title, version, canonical URL, and verification date. It is not a request for a citation or link.
Publication: Pool Removal Mesa Research Page title: Swimming Pool Statistics: U.S. Ownership, Use, and Safety Data (2026) URL: https://poolremovalmesa.com/research/swimming-pool-statistics/ Version: 1.0 Last verified: July 27, 2026
APA-style form:
Pool Removal Mesa Research. (2026). Swimming pool statistics: U.S. ownership, use, and safety data (Version 1.0). https://poolremovalmesa.com/research/swimming-pool-statistics/
Figures from the Maricopa–Pinal incident series retain Children's Safety Zone as the underlying original data producer, consistent with that project's stated reproduction terms.
What else do readers ask about swimming pool statistics?
The answers below repeat the page's principal figures with the same denominators and qualifications.
How many U.S. homes have a swimming pool?
An estimated 9.60 million occupied primary residences reported a swimming pool in 2024, according to preliminary EIA data released in March 2026. That is a household-survey estimate, not a physical inventory, and it excludes vacant units, seasonal units, second homes, military housing, and group quarters.
What percentage of U.S. homes have a pool?
The estimate equals 7.24% of all 132.54 million occupied primary residences, or 9.82% of the 97.79 million non-apartment residences that were actually asked. Apartment households were not asked and are excluded from the second denominator rather than counted as having no pool.
Why do other websites say there are 10.7 million U.S. pools?
The rounded 10.7 million total combines 10.4 million residential pools and 309,000 public aquatic venues from a market report using 2011 data. The figures spread through an archived CDC source trail, and the original market report was not publicly inspectable in this verification pass.
Do more occupied U.S. primary residences report pools or hot tubs?
Hot tubs, narrowly. EIA estimated 10.08 million occupied primary residences reporting a hot tub in 2024 and 9.60 million reporting a swimming pool; both are residence estimates rather than physical-product inventories.
How does pool reporting differ by household income?
Among non-apartment residences asked, the published point estimate rises from 2.80% in the under-$10,000 band to 20.57% in the $200,000-or-more band. EIA withholds the $10,000–$14,999 pool estimate, and the lower-income estimates have higher relative sampling uncertainty.
Which published region has the highest pool-reporting rate?
Mountain South — Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico combined — has the highest point estimate among the South and West regions in EIA Table HC2.8, at 18.05% of residences asked. The table does not publish comparable pool rows for the Northeast and Midwest.
How many pools are in Arizona?
No current Arizona-only pool count met this page’s publication standard. The best official household context available here is Mountain South’s three-state estimate of 0.72 million pool-reporting residences; it cannot be relabeled as Arizona alone.
Is the number of homes reporting a pool increasing?
The published RECS point estimate rose from 8.30 million occupied primary residences in 2015 to 8.52 million in 2020 and 9.60 million in preliminary 2024 data. This page has not performed a cross-cycle significance test, so it describes the point-estimate pattern rather than declaring a statistically proven trend.
How many children drown in pools each year?
CPSC reports an average of 376 pool- or spa-related fatal drownings per year among children under 15 during 2021–2023, with 77% of victims under age five. The single-year 2023 count was 379, which is not the same as the three-year average.
Are private backyard pools included in the CDC inspection statistics?
No. The CDC inspection study covers public aquatic facilities reported by participating health agencies. Maricopa County also states that its aquatic operating permits are not required for private residential pools and spas, although construction and other local code requirements can still apply.
How was the Phoenix metro incident dataset assembled?
The closed-year annual totals were transcribed from Children’s Safety Zone’s consolidated 2006–2025 report, and 2014–2025 fatality age groups were used for comparable age analysis. The downloadable files retain the 2012 cross-foot mismatch and the 2013 and 2025 source conflicts rather than replacing them with estimates.
Which primary and original sources support this page?
The list below contains the agency publications, statutes, SEC filings, and original local reports used in version 1.0. Archival sources are identified as archival, and every source was opened or rechecked during the July 27, 2026 verification pass.
- U.S. Energy Information Administration. 2024 Residential Energy Consumption Survey, Table HC2.1: Structural and geographic characteristics of U.S. homes, by housing unit type. Preliminary release March 2026. https://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2024/hc/pdf/HC2.1_2024.pdf — verified July 27, 2026.
- U.S. Energy Information Administration. 2024 Residential Energy Consumption Survey, Table HC2.5: Structural and geographic characteristics of U.S. homes, by annual household income. Preliminary release March 2026. https://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2024/hc/pdf/HC2.5_2024.pdf — verified July 27, 2026.
- U.S. Energy Information Administration. 2024 Residential Energy Consumption Survey, Table HC2.8: Structural and geographic characteristics of U.S. homes in the South and West regions. Preliminary release March 2026. https://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2024/hc/pdf/HC2.8_2024.pdf — verified July 27, 2026.
- U.S. Energy Information Administration. How to Use the 2024 RECS Microdata File. https://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2024/pdf/How%20to%20Use%20the%20RECS%202024%20Microdata%20File.pdf — verified July 27, 2026.
- U.S. Energy Information Administration. 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey, Table HC2.1. Final release March 2023. https://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2020/hc/pdf/HC%202.1.pdf — verified July 27, 2026.
- U.S. Energy Information Administration. 2015 Residential Energy Consumption Survey, Table HC2.1. Released February 2017; revised May 2018. https://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2015/hc/php/hc2.1.php — verified July 27, 2026.
- U.S. Energy Information Administration. About the Residential Energy Consumption Survey. https://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/about.php — verified July 27, 2026.
- Leslie's, Inc. Form 10-K, fiscal year ended October 4, 2025. Filed December 18, 2025. SEC CIK 1821806. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1821806/000119312525323811/lesl-20251004.htm — verified July 27, 2026.
- Leslie's, Inc. Form 10-K, fiscal year ended September 28, 2024. SEC CIK 1821806. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1821806/000095017024131476/lesl-20240928.htm — verified July 27, 2026.
- Leslie's, Inc. Form 10-K, fiscal year ended September 30, 2023. SEC CIK 1821806. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1821806/000095017023066773/lesl-20230930.htm — verified July 27, 2026.
- Pool Corporation. Form 10-K, year ended December 31, 2024. SEC CIK 945841. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/945841/000094584125000032/pool-20241231.htm — verified July 27, 2026.
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Pool or Spa Submersion: Estimated Nonfatal Drowning Injuries and Reported Drownings, 2026 Report. May 2026. https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/Pool-or-Spa-Submersion-Estimated-Nonfatal-Drowning-Injuries-and-Reported-Drownings-2026-Report.pdf — verified July 27, 2026.
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. CPSC Report Highlights Persistent Risk of Childhood Drowning. Release 26-572, June 24, 2026. https://www.cpsc.gov/Newsroom/News-Releases/2026/CPSC-Report-Highlights-Persistent-Risk-of-Childhood-Drowning — verified July 27, 2026.
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Pool or Spa Submersion: Estimated Nonfatal Drowning Injuries and Reported Drownings, 2025 Report. https://www.cpsc.gov/content/Pool-or-Spa-Submersion-Estimated-Nonfatal-Drowning-Injuries-and-Reported-Drownings-2025-Report — verified July 27, 2026.
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Pool or Spa Submersion: Estimated Nonfatal Drowning Injuries and Reported Drownings, 2024 Report. https://www.cpsc.gov/content/Pool-or-Spa-Submersion-Estimated-Nonfatal-Drowning-Injuries-and-Reported-Drownings-2024-Report — verified July 27, 2026.
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Pool or Spa Submersion: Estimated Nonfatal Drowning Injuries and Reported Drownings, 2023 Report. https://www.cpsc.gov/content/Pool-or-Spa-Submersion-Estimated-Nonfatal-Drowning-Injuries-and-Reported-Drownings-2023 — verified July 27, 2026.
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Pool or Spa Submersion: Estimated Nonfatal Drowning Injuries and Reported Drownings, 2022 Report. https://www.cpsc.gov/content/Pool-or-Spa-Submersion-Estimated-Nonfatal-Drowning-Injuries-and-Reported-Drownings-2022-Report — verified July 27, 2026.
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Bestway, Intex, and Polygroup Recall Certain Above-Ground Pools 48 Inches and Taller Due to Drowning Hazard. July 21, 2025. https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2025/Bestway-Intex-and-Polygroup-... — verified July 27, 2026.
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Pool Safely. https://www.poolsafely.gov/ — verified July 27, 2026.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Drowning Facts. https://www.cdc.gov/drowning/data-research/facts/index.html — verified July 27, 2026.
- Clemens T, Moreland B, Mack KA, Thomas K, Bergen G, Lee R. Vital Signs: Drowning Death Rates, Self-Reported Swimming Skill, Swimming Lesson Participation, and Recreational Water Exposure — United States, 2019–2023. MMWR 2024;73(20). https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/wr/mm7320e1.htm — verified July 27, 2026.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Pool Chemical Emergencies. https://www.cdc.gov/healthy-swimming/toolkit/pool-chemical-emergencies.html — verified July 27, 2026.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Outbreaks Associated with Treated Recreational Water — United States, 2015–2019. MMWR 2021;70(20). https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7020a1.htm — verified July 27, 2026.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Immediate Closures and Violations Identified During Routine Inspections of Public Aquatic Facilities — Network for Aquatic Facility Inspection Surveillance, Five States, 2013. MMWR Surveillance Summaries 2016;65(5). https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/ss/ss6505a1.htm — verified July 27, 2026.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Healthy Swimming — Publications, Data, & Statistics (“Fast Facts”). Archived October 17, 2012. https://cybercemetery.unt.edu/oilspill/20121017215217mp_/http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/swimming — verified July 27, 2026.
- Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists. Support for Use of the CDC's Model Aquatic Health Code. 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/model-aquatic-health-code/media/pdfs/2024/05/CSTE-MAHC-support-statement-508.pdf — verified July 27, 2026.
- Arizona State Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes § 36-1681, Pool enclosures; requirements; exceptions; enforcement. https://www.azleg.gov/ars/36/01681.htm — verified July 27, 2026.
- Arizona Department of Health Services. Residential Pool Safety Notice. September 2012. https://www.azdhs.gov/documents/preparedness/epidemiology-disease-control/environmental-health/residential-pool-safety-notice.pdf — verified July 27, 2026.
- Arizona Department of Water Resources. Pools and Spas: Water Saving Tips and Technologies. Developed 2009; reformatted 2015. https://www.azwater.gov/sites/default/files/media/Pool%26Spas_2015_1.pdf — verified July 27, 2026.
- Arizona Department of Water Resources. Public Conservation Resources. https://www.azwater.gov/conservation/public-resources — verified July 27, 2026.
- Maricopa County Environmental Services. Aquatic Health & Safety. https://www.maricopa.gov/2584/Public-Swimming-Pools — verified July 27, 2026.
- Children's Safety Zone. Water Related Incidents Reports 2006–2025 for Maricopa & Pinal Counties. https://childrensafetyzone.com/wp-content/uploads/2006_2025_Incidents.pdf — verified July 27, 2026.
- Children's Safety Zone. Maricopa and Pinal Counties — Current-Year Water-Related Incident Report. https://childrensafetyzone.com/water-related-incident-reports/maricopa-and-pinal-counties-valley-of-the-sun/ — verified July 27, 2026; page data through July 25, 2026.
- Children's Safety Zone. Water Related Incidents and Fatalities Report 2013. https://childrensafetyzone.com/wp-content/uploads/Water-Related-Incidents-and-Fatalities-Report-2013.pdf — verified July 27, 2026.
- Children's Safety Zone. Water Related Incidents and Fatalities Report, January 1–December 31, 2025. https://childrensafetyzone.com/wp-content/uploads/December.31.2025.pdf — verified July 27, 2026.