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 FacilitiesDirect Economic Output1Total Economic Output2Total JobsTotal Wage Income
Alabama 252$808 M$1.5 B21,221$459 M
 
Arizona 338$2.1 B$3.4 B53,957$1.4 B
 
California 926$6.9 B$15.1 B159,992$4.8 B
 
Colorado 239$560 M$1.7 B10,913$177 M
 
Connecticut 185$638 M$1.1 B11,570$337 M
 
Florida 1,128$7.5 B$13.8 B167,377$4.7 B
 
Georgia 401$2.4 B$5.1 B56,922$1.5 B
 
Hawaii 83$1.4 B$2.5 B30,187$854 M
 
Illinois 683$2.1 B$4.8 B50,466$1.5 B
 
Indiana 430$909.6 M$1.7 B21,000$530.7 M
 
Iowa 415$429 M$770 M10,396$231 M
 
Kentucky 280$370 M$710.4 M11,000$218.7 M
 
Louisiana  165$446 M$810 M11,129$275 M
 
Maryland 189$727.2 M$1.3 B14,700$408 M
 
Massachusetts 375$1.4 B$2.8 B29,630$857 M
 
Michigan 865$2.2 B$4.2 B56,977$1.4 B
 
Minnesota 508$1.2 B$2.4 B34,653$777 M
 
Missouri 352$888.6 M$1.7 B21,000$485.1 M
 
New Jersey 298$1.4 B$2.9 B27,700$857.5 M
 
New Mexico 76$481 M$985 M20,800$432 M
 
New York 818$2.9 B$5.3 B56,594$1.6 B
 
North Carolina 558$2.6 B$5.3 B68,667$1.7 B
 
Ohio 738$2.4 B$4.8 B68,120$1.5 B
 
Oklahoma 213$280.5 M$545.6 M10,600$166 M
 
Oregon 190$1.2 B$2.5 B27,168$704 M
 
Pennsylvania 699$1.1 B$2.3 B48,900$700 M
 
South Carolina 375$1.4 B$2.3 B30,938$713 M
 
Texas 907$3.4 B$7.4 B98,859$2.4 B
 
Virginia 334$1.6 B$3.1 B40,189$948 M
 
Washington 280$1.2 B$2.5 B29,318$796 M
 
Wisconsin 499$1.2 B$2.4 B38,431$772 M
Total 13,799$47.6 B$106.9 B1,339,374$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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