Fishing is a favorite pastime of visitors to The Lakes.
Fishing is a favorite pastime of visitors to The Lakes.
When it comes to the outdoor recreation economy, Montana is at the top of the list.
The state came in at number one in a recent U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis report. It touted that Montana leads in gross domestic product (GDP) concerning the size of the state’s outdoor recreation economy as a portion of the GDP.
Montana also came in second to Hawaii as 5.1% of Montana’s GDP is connected to the state’s outdoor recreation economy. This is in large part due to boating and fishing, which bring in an average of $20.9 billion a year. Montana also features 34 million acres of public land for those activities.
According to the report, the outdoor recreation economy takes up $427.2 billion of the national GDP, which represents a 3.9% increase, compared to the 2.4% boost the economy has seen in general. On top of that, salaries and employment saw a quicker growth rate for the outdoor recreation economy than the national economy.
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