A few days ago I was fascinated to see something new on the BEA calendar: "Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account, U.S. and States, 2022." Wuzzat?
Sadly, it turns out to have nothing to do with recreation satellites. It's the "satellite account"—whatever that is—for outdoor recreation. Here are the most and least outdoorsy states in the country:
Hawaii leads the pack, followed by Vermont, Montana and Wyoming. The least outdoorsy is Washington DC, home of federal bureaucrats, followed by Connecticut and New York. In fairness, though, DC had the highest growth rate, so at least they're trying.
Here's where we spend our outdoor recreation dollars:
Surprised NJ is so low given the Jersey Shore, Pine Barrens, and Delaware Water Gap.
It's as a percent of the state's GDP (I think), so New Jersey's probably-relatively-high-GDP makes the percentage lower.
The only state on here that surprises me is West Virginia. Small GDP, but huge allocations to outdoor recreation. Or so I would have thought. Makes me wonder about the methodology of the measure as a whole.
Yeah, this isn't really a measure of actual outdoor activity, but rather how much money relative to the GDP of the state. Pretty sure there just aren't that many places to spend money on outdoor activities in D.C.
A bunch of the outdoor activities in DC are free, the national parks like The Mall, Roosevelt Island etc are free. There's lots of outdoor activities but maybe lower cost?
Perhaps most States are like this but I would say Long Island and Westchester are very outdoorsy. Upstate not so much since it is ice cold in the winter with very few good ski Mountains and buggy as hell in the summer. NYC lord knows how to measure it.
Figured Colorado would win.
I have to disagree about upstate NY. I live in the North Country (i.e., Adirondacks and surrounding areas), and outdoor recreation is huge around here. Lots of people own canoes -- me, for example -- or other boats. Fishing in the summer (including competitions) and snowmobiling in the winter aren't my thing, but they are very popular.
You're right about the bugs, though.
Upstate NY is so outdoorsy they held a Winter Olympics there once....
Prolly a big driver of the ranking of "percent of state GDP contributed by recreational spending," would be smaller GDP states states with big ticket recreational spending or manufacturing. So Indiana, where all the world's (I exaggerate) fishing and ski boats and RVs are manufactured. Maybe ATVs and dirt bikes too. Maybe a lotta VanLife people go to Montana and Idaho...
Cuz normal outdoor stuff in Montana, like buying a 20 gauge shotgun and blasting 2 dozen doves and pheasants outta the sky doesn't cost that much. Nor does camping or hiking anywhere.
Might be interesting to see the raw totals, instead of % of state GDP. Or to really see where all the people are going outdoors, to track cellphone locations away from major cities/roads, etc. I thought Colorado would be higher too, but I guess their total GDP is pretty high, and skiing doesn't cost enough compared to a Winnebago?
Maine should get honorable mention! Plaid shirts and LLBean
Spent half my life in Connecticut, but did my hiking, cycling and cross-country skiing on the cheap — an occasional new pair of boots, XC skis I bought used decades ago. One bicycle bought new. Some Greenwich hedge-fund dude generated more GDP in two minutes, probably ….
Does DC have an outdoors?
Yes silly goose. It's got a ton of greenspace for an American city of that size.
City greenspaces generally only barely qualify as "outdoors".
What's a satellite account? -- https://www.bea.gov/system/files/2021-07/whats-a-satellite-account-V6.pdf
So Hiking the Appalachian Trail doesn't count?
This is a measure of money, not time or number of people doing it. Look at Kevin's chart of the major items that contribute to a state's index. It's not hiking.
This is not a very good metric. It’s just where money is spent. Going to the beach, going for a hike on a trail, or spending a morning fishing doesn’t cost any money.
Outdoor value added as a percentage of state GDP
Montana ranks high. But what are you going to do there besides recreation? Mine, fell trees, or dig for coal?
Search for Bigfoot.