News Release

Tourism to Badlands National Park contributes $193,285,000 to local economy

Date: August 27, 2024
Contact: Aaron Kaye, 605-433-5243

INTERIOR, S.D. – A new National Park Service report shows that 1,046,400 visitors to Badlands National Park in 2023 spent $134,579,000 in communities near the park. That spending supported 1,916 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $193,285,000.

“I’m so proud that our parks and the stories we tell make a lasting impact on more than 300 million visitors a year,” National Park Service Director Chuck Sams said. “And I’m just as proud to see those visitors making positive impacts of their own, by supporting local economies and jobs in every state in the country.”

“Over a million visitors from around the world are drawn each year to the rugged beauty, cultural history, fossil record, and dark night skies of Badlands National Park,” said Deputy Superintendent Abby Aldrich. “This report emphasizes how the experiences visitors have here translate into thousands of local jobs and millions in economic benefit for nearby communities.”

The 2023 visitor spending analysis incorporates newly available survey data for Badlands National Park that was collected as part of new NPS socioeconomic monitoring. Previous spending estimates for Badlands National Park were calculated using generalized trip and spending data. The updated survey data finds that visitors are actually spending more time and money during their visit to Badlands compared to previous data. Overall, the 2023 visitor spending estimates more accurately reflect local visitor spending patterns as well as increases in visitation and associated costs. For more information visit our website.

The National Park Service report, 2023 National Park Visitor Spending Effects, finds that 325.5 million visitors spent $26.4 billion in communities near national parks. This spending supported 415,400 jobs, provided $19.4 billion in labor income and $55.6 billion in economic output to the U.S. economy. The lodging sector had the highest direct contributions with $9.9 billion in economic output and 89,200 jobs. The restaurants received the next greatest direct contributions with $5.2 billion in economic output and 68,600 jobs.

An interactive tool is available to explore visitor spending, jobs, labor income, and total economic contribution by sector for national, state and local economies. Users can also view year-by-year trend data. The interactive tool and report are available on the NPS website.

To learn more about national parks in South Dakota and how the National Park Service works with South Dakota communities to help preserve local history, conserve the environment, and provide outdoor recreation, go to nps.gov/state/sd.

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About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 430+ national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.