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Data and Statistics
 More
than 12,000 day and resident camps exist
in the U.S.- Each year more than 11 million children
and adults attend camp.
- Nonprofit groups including youth agencies
and religious organizations operate approximately
8,000 camps, and 4,000 are privately owned
independent for-profit operators.
- Camps employ more than 1,200,000 adults
to work as counselors, program/activity
leaders, unit and program directors/supervisors,
and in support services roles such as
maintenance, administration, food service
and health care.
- 48% of camps report a staff
return of 50% or more.
- In the past 10 years there has been
an increase in the use of international
staff to expose campers to different cultures.
- Of the estimated 12,000 camps in the
U.S., approximately 7,000 are resident
camps and 5,000 are day camps.
- The number of day camps in the U.S.
has grown by nearly 90% in the past 20
years.
- Of ACA-accredited camps, approximately
12% are tour/travel camps, while 22% offer
wilderness trips.
- 15% of ACA-accredited camps offer both
day and resident camps.
- Camp Costs: While fees to attend camp
vary, the average weekly fee for
resident camps ranges from $325
to $780 per week, and the average
day camp fee is $100 to $275 per
week, and can be as low as $75 per week.
- 90% of ACA-accredited camps offer some form
of financial assistance to over one million
children who are from economically deprived
families, have special medical needs,
or special situations that might preclude
them from attending camp.
Trends
 Programs: 88%
of ACA-accredited camps offer swimming,
48% offer horseback riding, 22% offer
wilderness programs, 12% travel/tour
programs, 57% teambuilding, and 21%
community service.- In an ACA survey, 75% of camp directors
reported adding new activities and programs
over the last few years. The newest program
additions in recent years are challenging
and adventurous activities, including
high and low ropes courses, climbing
walls, zip lines, backpacking, mountain
biking, and cave exploring.
- Over 50% of ACA-accredited camps offer
ropes course activities or have other
constructed adventure/challenge facilities.
- In an ACA survey, over half of the
camps reported having community service
or good deed programs incorporated into
their programs. The top projects conducted
at camps were community clean-ups, food
drives, recycling programs, and volunteering
with senior citizens and hospital patients.
- School Trends: Nearly
4% of all students attend school year-round.
Camps are extending the season and diversifying
their services. The 1999 ACA-accreditation
standards program changed from accrediting
just the summer program to accrediting
the year-round operation. New partnerships
with school systems are emerging as
a way to help children retain learning
over the summer.
- Technology: Computers
are now used not only for camp registration
and financial records, but also for
program scheduling and client data.
Use of the Internet as a marketing tool
continues to increase. ACA's Web site
receives an average of over 120,000
visits a month and an average
of 4,000 visits daily.
Of the approximately 2,400 ACA-accredited
camps, 79% have their own Web site.
- 65% of camps report enrollment that
stayed the same or increased within the
past five years, while 10% of camps reached capacity
level and 35% of camps are reportedly
90-99% full.
What Do Parents Think About Camp?
 Parents
cite the following as the most important
reasons for sending their children to camp:
- Camp helps build self-confidence and
self-esteem
- Camp is a safe environment
- Camp is a place to build social skills
and make friends
ACA's opinion research reveals:
- Parents see fun and safety as most
important to the camp experience
- Parents have very definitive perceptions
of the value of camp for their children,
believing developmental value is important
- social and emotional growth - but this
is secondary to providing their children
with safe and secure facilities, along
with positive and fun activities
- Parents were also surprised to learn
that there is no government oversight
of camps; they assumed that because camps
involved children that some form of regulation
was taking place. Most parents did not
know that ACA accreditation was voluntary
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