Trophy and Awards Research

Data studies on where awards come from, who gives them and when people shop for them. Every figure has a public source and a date.

MX Trophies makes custom awards for races, leagues, schools and companies. This section collects the data we use to understand that work: trade records for imported trophies and statuettes; high school sports participation by state and sport; when people search for trophies and plaques; and trophy and awards industry statistics.

Each study names its sources and the period they cover, explains its method and limits, and offers the table behind it as a CSV you can reuse with a credit.

Studies and statistics

  • Study

    Trophy and Statuette Imports by Country, 2019 to 2026

    75.7% from China

    China’s share of US imports of base-metal statuettes and ornaments, the customs category for metal trophies and cups, in 2025. Duties on the category went from 0.0% of value in 2024 to 17.3%.

    U.S. Census Bureau trade data, January 2019 to September 2026

  • Study

    High School Sports Participation by State, 2015-16 to 2025-26

    843 in Iowa

    High school sports participation entries per 1,000 residents aged 14 to 17 in 2025-26, the highest of any state. Nevada reported 274, the lowest; the US rate was 487.

    NFHS surveys and Census Bureau estimates, 2015-16 and 2025-26

  • Study

    Trophy and Plaque Search Seasonality, 2021 to 2025

    43% higher in May

    US Google search interest in trophies in May compared with September, the quietest month. Of the 10 busiest weeks from 2021 to 2025, 9 fell between mid-April and the end of May.

    Google Trends, weekly, January 2021 to December 2025

  • Statistics

    Trophy and Awards Industry Statistics

    7,750 engravers

    Imports, duties, high school sports, search seasonality and BLS jobs and wages in one sourced list. Etchers and engravers earned a median $43,310 in May 2025.

    Census, NFHS, Google Trends and BLS data

How we work

We use public data from government agencies, national organizations and Google Trends, download it, and compute every number with a script, so each figure can be traced back to its source table. A second script fetches the headline figures again from a different table or query and checks that they match before a page is published.

Where a source cannot support a finding, we leave the finding out rather than stretch the data. Industry statistics that mix many products are labeled as such.

Sources used in this section

Using our research

Journalists, researchers and event organizers are welcome to quote these studies and reuse the CSV files under CC BY 4.0, with a credit to MX Trophies and a link to the study.

Questions about the data, or about the awards themselves: contact us. To start an order, request a quote.

Racer in a helmet raising both arms as gold confetti falls under stage lights
MX Trophies

Awards designed and built in Carson City, Nevada

Tell us about your event, the awards you need and your logo, and we will design them and send a proof before anything is produced.

Request a Quote