Texas ranked 18th among 49 states and the District of Columbia in a new ranking by the National Park Service of park visitors’ overall spending and economic contributions to state economies last year
In the Lone Star State’s national parks, visitors spent nearly $371 million in 2021. Park visitors in Texas numbered nearly 5.9 million, according to the analysis, and the resulting economic output was estimated at $578.5 million.
Nationwide, visitors to national parks numbered more than 297 million, which is 25% greater than the number of visitors in 2020. In addition, visitors spent $20.5 billion in communities bordering national parks, a sum that was 41% greater than the previous year’s spending, according to the National Park Service (NPS).
This spending by visitors to national parks also helped to support 322,600 jobs, according to the study. Direct impacts were most strongly felt in lodging and restaurants, NPS said.
In Texas, park visitors supported 5,412 jobs through their spending, resulting in a total labor income of $204.5 million, the study reported.
Delaware was not included in the analysis because it does not have NPS facilities that collect visitor data.
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National Park Visitor Spending by State
| Rank | State | 2021 Spending by National Park Visitors |
| 1 | California | $2,400,000,000 |
| 2 | North Carolina | $1,700,000,000 |
| 3 | Utah | $1,600,000,000 |
| 4 | Virginia | $1,300,000,000 |
| 5 | Arizona | $1,100,000,000 |
| 6 | Wyoming | $1,100,000,000 |
| 7 | Tennessee | $870,000,000 |
| 8 | Florida | $855,000,000 |
| 9 | Montana | $729,000,000 |
| 10 | Massachusetts | $721,000,000 |
| 11 | Alaska | $627,000,000 |
| 12 | District of Columbia | $601,000,000 |
| 13 | Colorado | $560,000,000 |
| 14 | Washington | $530,000,000 |
| 15 | Maine | $490,000,000 |
| 16 | New York | $452,000,000 |
| 17 | Hawaii | $438,000,000 |
| 18 | Texas | $371,000,000 |
| 19 | Georgia | $362,000,000 |
| 20 | South Dakota | $339,000,000 |
| 21 | Pennsylvania | $298,000,000 |
| 22 | Michigan | $294,000,000 |
| 23 | Nevada | $292,000,000 |
| 24 | Arkansas | $248,000,000 |
| 25 | Maryland | $247,000,000 |
| 26 | Mississippi | $224,000,000 |
| 27 | New Jersey | $212,000,000 |
| 28 | Missouri | $211,000,000 |
| 29 | Indiana | $170,000,000 |
| 30 | New Mexico | $156,000,000 |
| 31 | Kentucky | $133,000,000 |
| 32 | West Virginia | $109,000,000 |
| 33 | Oregon | $91,000,000 |
| 34 | Alabama | $74,800,000 |
| 35 | South Carolina | $69,300,000 |
| 36 | Wisconsin | $68,700,000 |
| 37 | Ohio | $65,700,000 |
| 38 | Minnesota | $62,000,000 |
| 39 | North Dakota | $57,900,000 |
| 40 | Idaho | $37,600,000 |
| 41 | Oklahoma | $29,700,000 |
| 42 | Nebraska | $26,100,000 |
| 43 | Louisiana | $18,800,000 |
| 44 | Iowa | $9,300,000 |
| 45 | Illinois | $6,100,000 |
| 46 | Kansas | $5,600,000 |
| 47 | Vermont | $3,100,000 |
| 48 | Connecticut | $2,100,000 |
| 49 | New Hampshire | $1,400,000 |
| 50 | Rhode Island | $1,300,000 |