I am looking for a list of hobbies by popularity.  Ideally the list
will be at least the 20-30 most popular hobbies.

Hello Pagej,

According to Harris Interactive the list of the most popular hobbies
and leisure activities in descending order are as follows.

26%  Reading	

15%  TV watching

11% Spending time with family/kids

8%  Fishing

8% Gardening

7%  Playing team sports
 
6%  Going to movies	

5%  Swimming
 
5%  Golf
 
5%  Socializing with friends/neighbors

4% Computer activities	

4% Walking

4% Exercise (aerobics, weights)

4% Traveling	

4% Listening to music

3% Renting movies

3% Boating

3% Hunting

3% Relaxing

3% Sewing/crocheting
 
3% Bicycling

3% Sleeping

3% Hiking

2% Eating out/dining out

2% Shopping

2% Crafts (unspecified)

2% Camping

2% Church/church activities

2% Watching sporting events

2% Cooking

2% Entertaining

2% Painting

2% Running

2% Woodworking

1% Playing music

1% Bowling

1% Working on cars

1% Animals/pets/dogs

Other activities mentioned by 1% include video games, hobbies,
concerts, driving around, playing cards and pets.

Harris Interactive Inc: The Harris Poll (2002):
Pollhttp://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=328


According to Harris Interactive the list of the most popular hobbies
and lesiure activities in descending order are as follows (2001):

TV watching
Spending time with family/kids
Fishing
Gardening
Swimming
Computer activities
Going to movies
Walking
Golf
Exercise (aerobics, weights)
Playing team sports
Socializing with friends/neighbors
Renting movies
Traveling
Listening to music
Shopping
Crafts (unspecified)
Camping
Church/church activities
Boating
Hunting
Relaxing
Sewing/crocheting
Bicycling
Watching sporting events
Playing music
Sleeping
Beach/Sun tanning
Bowling
Cooking
Entertaining
Working on cars
Animals/pets/dogs
Eating out
Painting
Running
Woodworking
Hiking

See additioanl details at the link below.

Harris Interactive Inc: The Harris Poll
http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=249


---------------------------------------------------------


"Hobbies occupy much of the leisure time of many Americans. Large
numbers of people enjoy raising flower or vegetable gardens or indoor
plants. Other popular hobbies include stamp collecting, coin
collecting, and photography. Since the mid-1900's, interest in such
crafts hobbies as needlepoint, quilting, weaving, pottery making, and
woodworking has increased sharply."

List of hobbies
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hobbies


Search terms:
Most popular hobbies OR leisure activities


I hope the information provided is helpful!

Best regards,
Bobbie7

I dont trust the Harris website. They poll for 4 days in august with
people 18+. I am certain more people watch TV than read. Popular
sports like basketball, football or soccer weren't listed but bowling,
sunbathing and knitting was. Traveling and golf are the result of
skewed results in wealthier demographics. A common error of calling
homes in working hours.

Wiki, anyone can edit. Such a general theme and target may not be
reliable to whatever your goals from the data may be.

Hi

It's impossible not to come across a list that isn't biased in some
way or another. Afer all, it has to collect data, and what some people
say are their hobbies aren't necessarily what they do.

For example, many people put Reading or Travelling on their resume/CV.
Whereas they may spend more time than travelling each year Smoking or
Drinking wine.

And so many hobbies record themselves as "amongst the world's most
popular hobbies" that there can't be any official source. Examples:

Stamp Collecting
- http://store.doverpublications.com/048644113x.html

Collecting Postcards
- http://www.kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=3230459&nav=J7Nr

Genealogy
- http://genealogy.about.com/library/lessons/blintro1a.htm

Bird Watching
- http://www.abcbirds.org/iba/press_releases.htm

Metal Detecting
- http://gometaldetecting.com/tips-beach.htm

Model Railroading
- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0760311811/002-9804198-0360850?v=glance&n=283155

Freshwater Aquarium
- http://www.fireflybooks.com/Publicity/books/75444.html

Gardening
- http://www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/environment/greening_gardening.htm

... and so on!!!

I'd suggest you find one source (eg Harris) and just refer to it as a reference.

I end this response with a reference to someone who has tried to find
the most popular hobbies in North America:

http://www.infobaseventures.com/blog/2004/03/29.html

I hope the information is useful

Ratty

That is probably the best answer available, but I have to wonder if
people who sleep or relax as a hobby do it differently from the rest
of us, ditto about those for whom spending time with family and kids
is a hobby.

The Harris one dates back to 2001. I think the top hobby is probably Internet.
If you dwell down to how people use internet that would probably draw
a surprising picture. According to Harris again:
http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=433
The proportions of those online who use the Internet "very often" or
"often" for the most common activities are, in descending order of
use:

Sending or receiving email (67%) 
Doing research for work or school (45%) 
Getting information about products and services (41%) 
Getting information about hobbies or special interests (36%) 
Checking news, weather, etc. (40%) 
Surfing the web to explore new and different sites (32%) 
Shopping online (22%) 
Obtaining information on local amusements and activities (19%) 
Paying bills (18%) 
Downloading or playing games (18%) 
Financial management and investing (15%) 
Making travel plans or arrangements (15%) 
Obtaining information about health or disease (15%) 

This list does not include downloading/viewing adult material, I do
not think it was in the survey and would not reflect the reality in
results even it was. I think it is probably among the top 3
considering the size of the industry.