America's Outdoor Recreation Economy
Outdoor recreation added $696.7B to the U.S. economy in 2024 — nearly $1.3T in gross output. Explore the value added, employment, and growth trends from 2012 to 2024.
Conventional Outdoor Recreation: Value Added (2024)
| 1 | Boating and fishing | -0.3% | $38.38B |
| 2 | RVing | -1.2% | $27.45B |
| 3 | Hunting, shooting, and trapping | +16.5% | $16.50B |
| 4 | Motorcycling and ATVing | +1.8% | $11.38B |
| 5 | Climbing, hiking, and tent camping | +6.5% | $7.75B |
| 6 | Snow activities | +0.2% | $7.64B |
| 7 | Equestrian | +0.3% | $7.27B |
| 8 | Bicycling | +3.4% | $3.67B |
| 9 | Recreational flying | +5.2% | $2.30B |
Other Outdoor Recreation: Value Added (2024)
| 1 | Game areas (includes golfing and tennis) | +3.5% | $28.14B |
| 2 | Guided tours and outfitted travel | +9.4% | $26.10B |
| 3 | Amusement parks and water parks | +3.1% | $21.75B |
| 4 | Festivals, sporting events, and concerts | +5.7% | $18.38B |
| 5 | Productive activities (includes gardening) | +6.1% | $15.79B |
| 6 | Other outdoor recreation activities | -0.5% | $10.96B |
| 7 | Field sports | +15.2% | $6.49B |
| 8 | Multi-use apparel and accessories (other) | +2.5% | $4.98B |
Industry Composition: Value Added (2024)
Which industries capture outdoor recreation spending — from accommodation and retail to manufacturing and government.
Top Industries by Value Added (2024)
| 1 | Arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation, and food services | +4.7% | $174.43B |
| 2 | Retail trade | +1.3% | $169.06B |
| 3 | Manufacturing | -0.9% | $91.34B |
| 4 | Transportation and warehousing | +9.2% | $85.85B |
| 5 | Wholesale trade | +4.5% | $62.10B |
| 6 | Government | +7.7% | $32.05B |
| 7 | Finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing | +7.2% | $25.53B |
| 8 | Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting | +7.9% | $14.71B |
| 9 | Construction | +10.2% | $13.03B |
| 10 | Professional and business services | +6.8% | $11.79B |
Value Added vs Gross Output
Gross Output ($1.26T in 2024) measures total economic output including intermediate inputs. Value Added ($696.7B) measures contribution to GDP. The difference represents intermediate inputs purchased from other industries.
Nominal vs Real Value Added
Nominal values reflect current dollars. Real values are adjusted for inflation using 2017 as the base year.
The $696.7B value added figure is nominal. Adjusted for inflation, it's closer to $540B. From 2017–2024, nominal value added grew 54% — but real value added grew only 20%. Roughly two-thirds of the reported growth is inflation, not real economic expansion. Lift tickets cost more. Hotel rooms cost more. The industry is raising prices faster than it's growing participation.
Growth Rate: Outdoor Recreation vs US GDP
In 2024, outdoor recreation grew 2.7% compared with 2.8% for the US economy. First time slower than GDP since pre-pandemic.
2024 marks the first time outdoor recreation has grown slower than the broader U.S. economy since before the pandemic. A 2.7% growth rate isn't a crisis — but the post-pandemic boom story is over. For the last few years the narrative has been 'outdoor recreation is booming, outpacing the economy, an economic force.' What we're seeing now is convergence with GDP growth. The deceleration has been precipitous and predictable.
Market Share Evolution by Category
Core outdoor recreation has declined from 51.6% to 48.5% of value added (2012–2024) as supporting services have grown from 48.4% to 51.5% — crossing over to become the larger share.
Supporting activities — travel, lodging, food, and shopping — now account for 51.5% of outdoor recreation value added. The outdoor economy is fundamentally a travel and hospitality economy: people don't just hike, they eat, shop, and stay somewhere.
Value Added by State (2024)
Each state's contribution to the national outdoor recreation economy. Larger blocks represent higher value added.