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National parks’ economic impact

Tue Sep 08, 2026 · 09:32 PM EDT

From: USAFacts <info@usafacts.org>
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Many people spent the unofficial end of summer at one of the US's many national parks. But while a camping trip can be an opportunity to unplug, [national park visitors](usafacts.org/articles/how-do-national-…tion1_text) don’t just take in the scenery — they spend money, and that spending flows into the towns and counties near each park. In 2024, 332 million visitors spent a record high in those nearby communities, supporting jobs and local businesses beyond the park gates.

Adjusted for inflation, 2024’s $29.0 billion was the highest visitor spending total in more than a decade of data, surpassing the previous high of $27.2 billion in 2023.

Visitors spent the most at/around Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2024: $2.0 billion. The Golden Gate National Recreation Area garnered the second-most spending, $1.7 billion, and Blue Ridge Parkway garnered $1.5 billion. Spending at the rest of the top 10 ranged from $612.0 million to $905.3 million.

[Top 10 national parks by visitor spending](usafacts.org/articles/how-do-national-…ion1_chart)

Lodging was the largest visitor expense, accounting for 38.3% ($11.1 billion) of 2024 spending. Restaurants were next, at an estimated $5.7 billion. Spending on gas, recreation, transportation, and retail each drew $2.2 billion to $2.6 billion. Groceries generated $1.9 billion and camping generated $610 million.

National park visitor spending helped sustain 340,100 jobs and $18.8 billion in wages, with California accounting for the most jobs (35,683) and North Carolina second (25,824). About 60% of those jobs were for businesses that serve visitors directly. The remaining 40% were secondary effect jobs created by the local economy. For example, a local tour guide (a direct job) spends money at a nearby restaurant, helping sustain a waitstaff position (a secondary effect job).

[See the data](usafacts.org/articles/how-do-national-…on1_button)

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How safe are e-bikes? The data can’t say.

E-bikes and e-scooters are growing in popularity. But when a local teen died while riding one, USAFacts analyst [Amber turned to data to compare](usafacts.org/articles/analyst-notes/ju…tion2_text) the safety and risks of powered bikes versus non-powered. She found that no single government dataset had answers. Different agencies track injuries and deaths differently, and the numbers don’t agree.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates that 855,000 people were injured badly enough from e-bikes, e-scooters, or motorized skateboards (also called hoverboards) to visit the ER from 2020 to 2025. However, in 2025, there were about 19 e-scooter injuries for every 1 from an unpowered scooter.

[ER visits for bike, scooter, and skateboard injuries](usafacts.org/articles/analyst-notes/ju…ion2_chart)

But this data didn’t provide a sense of how many people use these modes of transportation. Are e-scooter riders actually 19 times more likely to get injured while riding than people on unpowered scooters? Or were there just more people using them? So, our analyst kept digging.

There are also issues with data on deaths. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the CPSC have published their own counts of fatalities involving these micromobility devices (the NTSB in 2022; the CPSC has published one annually since 2020). The latest CPSC data counted 272 deaths between 2023 and 2024, a 17-fold increase from 2017 and 2018, when data collection started. The NTSB found that, even working from the same sources, its numbers didn’t fully match those in the CPSC’s report.

Much of this comes down to how various agencies label these devices. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration categorizes e-scooter fatalities under “personal conveyance,” a catch-all that also includes wheelchairs and toy wagons. Meanwhile, it considers e-bikes to be bicycles, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers them motorcycles. See more of what our analyst uncovered in this edition of [Analyst Notes](usafacts.org/articles/analyst-notes/ju…tion2_text).

[See the data](usafacts.org/articles/analyst-notes/ju…on2_button)

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Data behind the news

Oil prices neared $100 on Tuesday. What could that mean for your next stop at the gas station? Here are [Just the Facts](usafacts.org/just-the-facts/oil-prices…=dbtn_text).

Yesterday was Labor Day, a holiday rooted in the late 19th century when labor activists pushed for federal recognition of workers’ contributions. The [National Labor Relations Board](usafacts.org/explainers/what-does-the-…=dbtn_text), established in 1935, is tasked with safeguarding employees’ rights to unionize and investigating unfair labor practices.

Wordle who? [Take the fact quiz](usafacts.org/weekly-fact-quiz/?utm_content=dbtn_text) and preserve your weekly streak.

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One last fact

[Americans drink 48.6% less milk than in 1975](usafacts.org/articles/are-americans-mo…fact_chart)

[Milk production](usafacts.org/articles/are-americans-mo…tfact_text) in the US has doubled since 1975, but people drink nearly half as much milk as back then. Yet, people are drinking 48.6% less milk now than they did back then.

Where’s the other half of the milk going? Yogurt! (And other dairy products!) Today, people eat more than seven times the amount of yogurt than they did in 1975.

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