54 Camping Electricity Statistics

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These camping electricity figures cover the measurement periods and populations identified in the available source material. Estimates, surveys and forecasts retain their reported scope.

Key Camping Electricity Statistics

The main findings are:

  • Full-service water/sewer/electric hookups were among the ten amenities sought by 29% of campers when selecting a campground (2021; North American campers).
  • The typical surveyed park/campground had 98 total sites or units, while the reported mean was 137 (2022 report; United States parks and campgrounds).
  • The average surveyed campground had 50-amp electrical service at 64% of its sites (2022 report; United States surveyed campgrounds).
  • Average total energy consumption was 8.1 kWh per guest-night across 99 German campsites in the Ecocamping network (2009; 99 German Ecocamping-network campsites).
  • A peer-reviewed Saudi desert-camping case study modeled a full-load scenario with an annual peak load of 3.84 kW (2006 study; Modeled camping site in Saudi Arabia).
  • Approximately 63% of private campgrounds had water and electric hookups (2021; United States private campgrounds).
  • The median number of full-hookup sites among campgrounds offering them was 69 (2022 report; United States parks/campgrounds with full hookups).
  • The average surveyed campground had 30-amp electrical service at 62% of its sites (2022 report; United States surveyed campgrounds).
  • Average electricity consumption was 3.1 kWh per guest-night across the same 99 German campsites (2009; 99 German Ecocamping-network campsites).
  • The same case study modeled a 75%-load scenario with an annual peak load of 3.06 kW (2006 study; Modeled camping site in Saudi Arabia).
  • Approximately 51% of private campgrounds had sewer hookups (2021; United States private campgrounds).
  • The median number of water-and-electric-only sites among campgrounds offering them was 23 (2022 report; United States parks/campgrounds with water/electric-only sites).
  • The average surveyed campground had 20-amp electrical service at 34% of its sites (2022 report; United States surveyed campgrounds).
  • The report says campsite total energy per guest-night was less than 18% of the mid-range hotel comparison (2009 comparison; 99 German campsites versus mid-range hotels).
  • The same case study modeled a half-load scenario with an annual peak load of 2.27 kW (2006 study; Modeled camping site in Saudi Arabia).

Contents

Camping electricity statistics: campground hookup availability and demand

Reported by the RVIA market analysis from the 2021 North American Camping Report; this is stated preference, not electricity consumption.

Campground-industry market analysis; evidence of availability, not utilization.

Availability measure; sewer is included as a campground amenity and is not an electricity metric.

Availability measure, not metered electricity use.

Amenity availability, included for comparison with electric-hookup coverage.

Availability measure, not electricity use.

Stated preference; pull-through status is not itself an electricity measure.

Amenity availability used as RV-infrastructure context.

Related electrical/communications amenity; does not measure electricity consumption.

Related amenity; does not measure electricity consumption.

Ratio is reported by the source; it compares inventory, not energy use.

Accommodation preference; not a measure of electricity access or consumption.

Inventory measure; tent sites may or may not have electrical service.

Camping electricity data by campground type and region

  • The typical surveyed park/campground had 98 total sites or units, while the reported mean was 137 (2022 report; United States parks and campgrounds). (2022 Industry Trends and Insights…)
  • The median number of full-hookup sites among campgrounds offering them was 69 (2022 report; United States parks/campgrounds with full hookups). (2022 Industry Trends and Insights…)
  • The median number of water-and-electric-only sites among campgrounds offering them was 23 (2022 report; United States parks/campgrounds with water/electric-only sites). (2022 Industry Trends and Insights…)
  • The median number of rustic/tent sites among campgrounds offering them was 10 (2022 report; United States parks/campgrounds with rustic/tent sites). (2022 Industry Trends and Insights…)
  • The median number of electric-only sites among campgrounds reporting them was 10 (2022 report; United States parks/campgrounds with electric-only sites). (2022 Industry Trends and Insights…)
  • The median number of water-only sites among campgrounds reporting them was 10 (2022 report; United States parks/campgrounds with water-only sites). (2022 Industry Trends and Insights…)
  • The median number of full-hookup sites was 102 in the Northeast, 76 in the Midwest, 85 in the South and 58 in the West (2022 report; United States campgrounds with full hookups, by region). (2022 Industry Trends and Insights…)
  • The median number of water-and-electric-only sites was 43 in the Northeast, 42 in the Midwest, 14 in the South and 11 in the West (2022 report; United States campgrounds with water/electric-only sites, by region). (2022 Industry Trends and Insights…)
  • The median number of rustic/tent sites was 10 in the Northeast, 9 in the Midwest, 6 in the South and 20 in the West (2022 report; United States campgrounds with rustic/tent sites, by region). (2022 Industry Trends and Insights…)
  • The median number of modern cabins/cottages was 4 nationally, with regional medians of 5, 3, 5 and 4 from Northeast through West (2022 report; United States campgrounds reporting modern cabins/cottages). (2022 Industry Trends and Insights…)
  • The median number of rustic cabins was 3 nationally, with regional medians of 2, 5, 2 and 3 from Northeast through West (2022 report; United States campgrounds reporting rustic cabins). (2022 Industry Trends and Insights…)
  • The median number of park-model cabins was 5 nationally, with regional medians of 7, 5, 6 and 4 from Northeast through West (2022 report; United States campgrounds reporting park-model cabins). (2022 Industry Trends and Insights…)

Unweighted industry survey; mean was influenced by a handful of large parks.

Unweighted respondents with that site type; small segment bases are flagged in the report.

Unweighted respondents with that site type; not a national inventory total.

Small/segment reporting base; source chart suppresses some small cells.

Small/segment reporting base; not a national inventory total.

Unweighted regional survey figures; source warns that comparisons can rely on few reporting parks.

Unweighted regional survey figures; small bases limit comparisons.

Unweighted regional survey figures; site category does not imply electric service.

Accommodation context rather than direct electricity use; regional cells may be small.

RV electrical service amperage statistics for camping sites

  • The average surveyed campground had 50-amp electrical service at 64% of its sites (2022 report; United States surveyed campgrounds). (2022 Industry Trends and Insights…)
  • The average surveyed campground had 30-amp electrical service at 62% of its sites (2022 report; United States surveyed campgrounds). (2022 Industry Trends and Insights…)
  • The average surveyed campground had 20-amp electrical service at 34% of its sites (2022 report; United States surveyed campgrounds). (2022 Industry Trends and Insights…)
  • The average surveyed campground reported 4% of sites with no electrical hookup (2022 report; United States surveyed campgrounds). (2022 Industry Trends and Insights…)
  • The regional mean share of sites with 50-amp service was 42% in the Northeast, 68% in the Midwest, 86% in the South and 59% in the West (2022 report; United States surveyed campgrounds, by region). (2022 Industry Trends and Insights…)
  • The regional mean share of sites with 30-amp service was 56% in the Northeast, 58% in the Midwest, 60% in the South and 70% in the West (2022 report; United States surveyed campgrounds, by region). (2022 Industry Trends and Insights…)
  • The regional mean share of sites with 20-amp service was 29% in the Northeast, 36% in the Midwest, 37% in the South and 36% in the West (2022 report; United States surveyed campgrounds, by region). (2022 Industry Trends and Insights…)
  • The regional mean share of sites with no electric hookup was 7% in the Northeast, 2% in the Midwest, 2% in the South and 6% in the West (2022 report; United States surveyed campgrounds, by region). (2022 Industry Trends and Insights…)
  • Among parks that had seen customer EV use, 41% reported customers plugging EVs into 20-amp GFCI receptacles on RV pedestals (Past 12 months before 2022 survey; United States campgrounds with observed customer EV use). (2022 Industry Trends and Insights…)
  • Among the same EV-observing parks, 36% said customers were not plugging EVs into those 20-amp GFCIs and 23% did not know (Past 12 months before 2022 survey; United States campgrounds with observed customer EV use). (2022 Industry Trends and Insights…)
  • For truck campers in the Missouri RV-trends table, 31.1% required 15-amp service and 68.9% required 30-amp service (Report table; Truck campers in the report sample). (Recreational Vehicle Industry Trends)
  • For folding campers, 88.2% required 15-amp service and 11.8% required 30-amp service (Report table; Folding campers in the report sample). (Recreational Vehicle Industry Trends)
  • For travel trailers, 98.8% required 30-amp service and 1.2% required 50-amp service (Report table; Travel trailers in the report sample). (Recreational Vehicle Industry Trends)
  • For fifth wheels, 78.1% required 30-amp service and 21.9% required 50-amp service (Report table; Fifth wheels in the report sample). (Recreational Vehicle Industry Trends)
  • For Class A motorhomes, 21.6% required 30-amp service and 78.4% required 50-amp service (Report table; Class A motorhomes in the report sample). (Recreational Vehicle Industry Trends)
  • For Class B motorhomes, 100% required 30-amp service in the report table (Class B motorhomes in the report sample). (Recreational Vehicle Industry Trends)
  • For Class C motorhomes, 97.8% required 30-amp service and 2.2% required 50-amp service (Report table; Class C motorhomes in the report sample). (Recreational Vehicle Industry Trends)

Unweighted base of 288 qualified respondents; fill-in answers and overlapping service categories mean percentages are not additive.

Unweighted base of 288; service categories can overlap.

Unweighted base of 288; this is a reported mean, not a national site-weighted estimate.

Unweighted regional means; service categories can overlap.

Unweighted regional means; not a national site-weighted estimate.

Base of 148 qualified respondents who had seen EV use; this is reported behavior, not metered energy.

Base of 148; response categories describe operator reports.

RV-type survey table; not a campground-site availability measure.

RV-type survey table; sample composition and representativeness are not established here.

Camping electricity consumption and energy intensity

Average benchmark from a specific network and year; total energy is broader than electricity.

Specific network/year benchmark; guest-night denominator includes all campsite guests.

Comparative statement from the JRC report; denominator and hotel sample are described in the report figure.

Comparative statement from the JRC report; not a universal campsite benchmark.

Secondary citation within the JRC report; source context differs from the 99-site Ecocamping dataset.

Hotel comparison cited by the JRC; not a campsite electricity measure.

Fuel-mix breakdown cited in the JRC report; percentages describe energy, not necessarily electricity demand.

Solar and battery electricity scenarios for remote camping

Engineering feasibility case study, not measured campground demand.

Engineering scenario, not an observed camping population.

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