Department of Commerce Releases Outdoor Recreation Statistics

The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released statistics on September 20 showing the role that outdoor recreation – including boating and fishing – plays in each state’s economy.

An updated set of national outdoor recreation statistics was released at the same time. Both the national and state data cover 2012 through 2017.

The BEA rolled out the first set of national statistics last year. The statistics included data on gross output, essentially sales or receipts, for various outdoor recreation activities. Findings showed that the outdoor recreation economy accounted for 2.2 percent of current-dollar GDP in 2016, or $142 billion. This year, BEA is expanding its lineup of national data to include statistics measuring how much various outdoor activities contribute to the nation’s GDP, also known as the activities’ value added. Similar to last year, BEA also will release data showing the role that industries, such as manufacturing and retail trade, play in the national outdoor recreation economy.

For all 50 states and the District of Columbia, BEA is measuring outdoor activities’ value added, but not their gross output. Additionally, BEA is measuring value added, employment and compensation for industries that participate in outdoor recreation for the United States, all the states, and the District of Columbia.

Highlights from BEA’s new report on the outdoor recreation economy:

• Outdoor recreation accounts for 2.2 percent of U.S. GDP, generating $778 billion in gross economic output and supporting 5.2 million American jobs.
• In terms of gross economic output, boating/fishing, RVing, motorcycling/ATVing, hunting/shooting/trapping, and equestrian sports are the five largest conventional outdoor recreation activities.
• The top five states where outdoor recreation accounts for the largest percentage of each states’ total GDP are Hawaii, Montana, Maine, Vermont and Wyoming.
• The top five states where outdoor recreation accounts for the largest percentage of total U.S. GDP are California, Florida, Illinois, New York and Texas.