Last updated on: 5/17/2013 | Author: ProCon.org

Economic Impact of Golf: State by State

The chart below shows the economic impact of golf in 31 states based on data from WeAreGolf.com (no data are available for the other 19 states or Washington, DC). The highest numbers for each category are highlighted in green, and the lowest in red. Florida has the most golf facilities with 1,128 courses, while Hawaii has the least with 83 courses. California has the highest total economic output, totaling $15.1 billion per year.

 

State   Number of Golf Facilities Direct Economic Output1 Total Economic Output2 Total Jobs Total Wage Income
Alabama   252 $808 M $1.5 B 21,221 $459 M
 
Arizona   338 $2.1 B $3.4 B 53,957 $1.4 B
 
California   926 $6.9 B $15.1 B 159,992 $4.8 B
 
Colorado   239 $560 M $1.7 B 10,913 $177 M
 
Connecticut   185 $638 M $1.1 B 11,570 $337 M
 
Florida   1,128 $7.5 B $13.8 B 167,377 $4.7 B
 
Georgia   401 $2.4 B $5.1 B 56,922 $1.5 B
 
Hawaii   83 $1.4 B $2.5 B 30,187 $854 M
 
Illinois   683 $2.1 B $4.8 B 50,466 $1.5 B
 
Indiana   430 $909.6 M $1.7 B 21,000 $530.7 M
 
Iowa   415 $429 M $770 M 10,396 $231 M
 
Kentucky   280 $370 M $710.4 M 11,000 $218.7 M
 
Louisiana   165 $446 M $810 M 11,129 $275 M
 
Maryland   189 $727.2 M $1.3 B 14,700 $408 M
 
Massachusetts   375 $1.4 B $2.8 B 29,630 $857 M
 
Michigan   865 $2.2 B $4.2 B 56,977 $1.4 B
 
Minnesota   508 $1.2 B $2.4 B 34,653 $777 M
 
Missouri   352 $888.6 M $1.7 B 21,000 $485.1 M
 
New Jersey   298 $1.4 B $2.9 B 27,700 $857.5 M
 
New Mexico   76 $481 M $985 M 20,800 $432 M
 
New York   818 $2.9 B $5.3 B 56,594 $1.6 B
 
North Carolina   558 $2.6 B $5.3 B 68,667 $1.7 B
 
Ohio   738 $2.4 B $4.8 B 68,120 $1.5 B
 
Oklahoma   213 $280.5 M $545.6 M 10,600 $166 M
 
Oregon   190 $1.2 B $2.5 B 27,168 $704 M
 
Pennsylvania   699 $1.1 B $2.3 B 48,900 $700 M
 
South Carolina   375 $1.4 B $2.3 B 30,938 $713 M
 
Texas   907 $3.4 B $7.4 B 98,859 $2.4 B
 
Virginia   334 $1.6 B $3.1 B 40,189 $948 M
 
Washington   280 $1.2 B $2.5 B 29,318 $796 M
 
Wisconsin   499 $1.2 B $2.4 B 38,431 $772 M
Total   13,799 $47.6 B $106.9 B 1,339,374 $34.2 B

 

1. Direct Economic Output is defined as the size of the golf industry cluster (Golf Faculty Operations, Golf Course Capital Investments, Golfer Supplies, Tournaments & Associations, Real Estate, Hospitality/Tourism) within the state economy in terms of revenues.

 

 

2. Total Economic Output is defined as the direct economic output combined with the indirect economic output (includes revenue generated from the purchase of goods and services from other companies by golf course facilities and the companies that provide goods and services to the golf industry) as well as the induced economic output (includes economic impact from employees directly employed by the golf sector who will spend much of their income in the region thereby creating more spending and more jobs in the local economy.
           

Source: WE ARE GOLF, “The Economic Impact of Golf: State by State,” WeAreGolf.org, Mar. 21, 2012
Note: All but five studies were conducted by SRI International, a nonprofit research institute, from 2005-2010. AZ, CO, NM, PA, and SC commissioned their own studies between 2002 and 2007.

 

 

 
 

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