Utah’s great outdoors is not just about powder days and desert sunsets. It is also a serious moneymaker. In 2024, the state’s outdoor recreation economy generated $9.75 billion in value added, a modest bump from the year before, while supporting about 75,000 jobs and roughly $4.6 billion in wages. Those dollars ripple out to ski areas, marinas, RV parks, outfitters, and the hotels and restaurants that keep visitors fed and housed. State leaders say recent spending on trails, boat ramps, and grant programs is helping push that prosperity beyond the Wasatch Front and into smaller towns that depend heavily on visitor traffic.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, outdoor recreation made up 3.3 percent of Utah’s GDP in 2024, with the sector’s value added rising 2.6 percent from 2023. The federal release comes with detailed state-by-state tables and industry breakdowns that back up those statewide totals and give officials a clearer picture of what is driving the growth.
“A 2.6% increase in Utah’s outdoor economy reflects the state’s continued investment in outdoor recreation infrastructure,” Jason Curry, director of the Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation, said in a release via Utah Business. The Division, created by the Legislature in 2022, has been steering grants, trail crews, and boating projects to improve access and safety in all 29 counties.
Where The Dollars Flow
The BEA figures show that conventional and supporting activities together account for roughly $7.9 billion of Utah’s outdoor economy. Snow activities contribute about $598 million, boating and fishing come in around $563 million, and RVing adds roughly $403 million. Those industry-level totals help explain why relatively small investments in trails, ramps, and lodging can deliver outsized impacts in rural communities that anchor these activities.
Local Investments And Grants
State officials point to the Division’s grant programs and its statewide trail crew works as the on-the-ground tools that convert those big statewide numbers into local jobs and tax revenue. The Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation’s 2026 annual report documents more than $46 million awarded to hundreds of projects, along with thousands of crew hours spent maintaining trails, ramps, and other recreation infrastructure. For a closer look at where the money is going and what is getting fixed, see the Division’s annual report.
Nationally, outdoor recreation generated roughly $1.3 trillion in gross output and supported about 5.2 million jobs in 2024, a reminder that Utah’s growth is part of a much larger, if slightly cooling, industry. Coverage has noted that expansion has slowed in some corners of the sector, prompting calls to keep infrastructure dollars flowing and to shore up access protections on public lands. The Colorado Sun pulled together the national context following the BEA release.
Officials say the new BEA numbers will help determine where future grants and maintenance funding land as Utah works to balance visitation, stewardship, and local economic growth. For a county-by-county breakdown of funded projects and upcoming priorities, see the Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation’s annual report.
