Updated July 29, 2026
Camping and Outdoor Recreation Statistics: 2026
Current, citable figures on camping, outdoor participation, RVing, LGBTQ+ recreation, and Alabama's outdoor economy.
Key statistics
Each figure below is linked to its original source and includes the year the data describes. Use the stable heading links when citing a specific stat.
52M+
North American households camped in 2025.
KOA reports that camping participation exceeded pre-pandemic levels and represented a $66 billion economic footprint.
Source: KOA 2026 Camping & Outdoor Hospitality Report (2026)
2M+
New camping participants were added in 2024.
Camping was one of the gateway outdoor activities that each gained more than two million participants during the year.
Source: Outdoor Industry Association 2025 Outdoor Participation Trends Report executive summary (2025)
175.8M
Americans age six and older took part in outdoor recreation in 2023.
That represented 57.3% of the U.S. population age six and older, according to the report published in 2024.
Source: Outdoor Industry Association 2024 Outdoor Participation Trends Report (2024)
60%
Outdoor recreation participation among LGBTQ+ adults in 2023.
The Outdoor Industry Association identified LGBTQ+ adults as the most active adult cohort in its 2024 report.
Source: Outdoor Industry Association 2024 Outdoor Participation Trends Report (2024)
$696.7B
U.S. outdoor recreation value added in 2024.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimated that outdoor recreation contributed 2.4% of current-dollar U.S. GDP that year.
$27.5B
U.S. RVing value added in 2024.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis ranked RVing as the second-largest conventional outdoor recreation activity by current-dollar value added.
$7.3B
Alabama outdoor recreation value added in 2024.
That was 2.2% of Alabama's state GDP and supported 71,755 outdoor recreation jobs, based on the Bureau of Economic Analysis state tables.
$391M
Alabama RVing value added in 2024.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis counted RVing among the state's conventional outdoor recreation activities.
Methodology and sources
This page reports figures as published by the named source. “Value added” and employment figures use the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis outdoor recreation definitions; camping participation figures come from annual industry research. Data years differ because source releases follow different schedules.
- KOA 2026 Camping & Outdoor Hospitality Report (2026): North American camping households and camping's reported economic footprint.
- Outdoor Industry Association 2025 Outdoor Participation Trends Report executive summary (2025): participation growth in camping and other gateway outdoor activities.
- Outdoor Industry Association 2024 Outdoor Participation Trends Report (2024): U.S. outdoor participation and LGBTQ+ adult participation.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Outdoor Recreation Economic Statistics, U.S. and States, 2024 (Released March 5, 2026): U.S. and Alabama outdoor recreation, RVing, GDP, and employment measures.
Suggested citation: Farmcamp Glampground, “Camping and Outdoor Recreation Statistics: 2026,” updated July 29, 2026. https://farmcamp.it/camping-statistics
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