Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account, U.S. and States, 2021

Outdoor recreation makes positive impacts on our Nation’s economy every year. Here are the statistics:

“The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released statistics today measuring the outdoor recreation economy for the nation, all 50 states, and the District of Columbia. The new U.S. data show that the outdoor recreation economy accounted for 1.9 percent ($454.0 billion) of current-dollar gross domestic product (GDP) for the nation in 2021 (national table 3). At the state level, value added for outdoor recreation as a share of state GDP ranged from 4.8 percent in Hawaii to 1.3 percent in New York and Connecticut. The share was 0.9 percent in the District of Columbia.

Inflation-adjusted (“real”) GDP for the outdoor recreation economy increased 18.9 percent in 2021, compared with a 5.9 percent increase for the overall U.S. economy, reflecting a rebound in outdoor recreation after the decrease of 21.6 percent in 2020. Real gross output for the outdoor recreation economy increased 21.7 percent, while outdoor recreation compensation increased 16.2 percent and employment increased 13.1 percent.

Across all 50 states and the District of Columbia outdoor recreation employment increased in 2021, ranging from 23.4 percent in Hawaii to 6.9 percent in Michigan.

Outdoor recreation by activity

Outdoor recreation activities fall into three general categories: conventional activities (such as bicycling, boating, hiking, and hunting), other activities (such as gardening and outdoor concerts), and supporting activities (such as construction, travel and tourism, local trips, and government expenditures).

In 2021, conventional outdoor recreation accounted for 35.1 percent of U.S. outdoor recreation value added, compared with 40.1 percent in 2020. Other outdoor recreation accounted for 17.6 percent of value added in 2021, compared with 17.5 percent in 2020. Supporting activities accounted for the remaining 47.3 percent of value added in 2021, compared with 42.4 percent in 2020. Supporting activities, particularly travel and tourism-related activities, rebounded in 2021 as COVID–19 restrictions eased and consumers traveled more and increased spending on transportation, hotels, and restaurants.

Additional highlights for value added by activity for 2021 are as follows:

• Boating/fishing was the largest conventional activity for the nation at $27.3 billion in current-dollar value added and was the largest conventional activity in 27 states and the District of Columbia. The largest contributors were Florida ($4.0 billion), California ($2.3 billion), and Texas ($2.0 billion) (state table 2).
• RVing was the second-largest conventional activity for the nation at $25.1 billion in current-dollar value added and was the largest conventional activity in 15 states. The largest contributors were Indiana ($5.4 billion), Texas ($2.2 billion), and California ($2.0 billion).
• Hunting/shooting/trapping was the third-largest conventional activity for the nation at $10.8 billion in current-dollar value added and was the largest conventional activity in two states. The largest contributors were Texas ($1.2 billion), California ($763.8 million), and Georgia ($555.2 million).
• Snow activities for the nation was $5.2 billion in current-dollar value added and was the largest conventional activity in four states. The largest contributors were Colorado ($1.3 billion), Utah ($519.4 million), and California ($505.7 million).”

The full article and graphs can be found here. 

Photo Credit: Original Author

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