Outdoor adventures are big business in America, it’s official. According to the US Department of Commerce, the outdoors recreation industry contributed $1.1 trillion to the US economy in 2022. And no, that wasn’t down to just three people buying limited edition Nike Alphafly Nexts.
The Department of Commerce’s latest assessment reveals that last year, outdoors recreation put more back into the US economy than oil and gas extraction and mining combined, while being responsible for 2.2% of total gross domestic product (GDP). The sector also generated five million jobs or 3.2% of total national employment (which reminds us, yes, you can get paid to go hiking with these jobs).
