Economic Impact of Golf: State by State - Golf

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.

More Sports Debates
Should College Athletes Be Paid?
Should Fighting Be Allowed in Hockey?
Should Performance Enhancing Drugs (Such as Steroids) Be Accepted in Sports?