Golf employment spans two different measurements: the wider U.S. golf economy and payroll jobs at golf courses and country clubs. The figures below separate those scopes, identify the measurement period, and distinguish estimates from observed BLS series.
Key Golf Employment Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- In the 2023 report, approximately 1.65 million U.S. jobs were associated with the golf economy, including direct, indirect, and induced effects.
- In the 2023 report, the broader U.S. golf economy had a reported $226.5 billion economic impact.
- In 2023, golf’s direct U.S. economic impact was nearly $102 billion.
- The 2023 report said direct economic impact was 20% above the $84 billion figure from 2016.
- In January 2024, 402.7 thousand U.S. golf-course and country-club payroll employees were recorded seasonally adjusted.
- In February 2024, seasonally adjusted payroll employment reached 409.9 thousand at U.S. golf courses and country clubs.
- In March 2024, seasonally adjusted payroll employment was 405.8 thousand at U.S. golf courses and country clubs.
- In April 2024, seasonally adjusted payroll employment was 401.2 thousand at U.S. golf courses and country clubs.
- In May 2024, seasonally adjusted payroll employment was 401.8 thousand at U.S. golf courses and country clubs.
- In June 2024, seasonally adjusted payroll employment was 410.9 thousand at U.S. golf courses and country clubs.
- In July 2024, seasonally adjusted payroll employment was 402.4 thousand at U.S. golf courses and country clubs.
- In August 2024, seasonally adjusted payroll employment was 409.3 thousand at U.S. golf courses and country clubs.
- In May 2024, not-seasonally-adjusted employment was 440.3 thousand at U.S. golf courses and country clubs.
- In August 2024, not-seasonally-adjusted employment was 532.8 thousand at U.S. golf courses and country clubs.
- In April 2024, women held 133.7 thousand seasonally adjusted golf-course and country-club payroll jobs in the United States.
- In September 2024, women held 135.6 thousand seasonally adjusted golf-course and country-club payroll jobs in the United States.
- In April 2024, nonsupervisory golf-course and country-club employment was 444.4 thousand in the United States.
- In December 2024, nonsupervisory golf-course and country-club employment was 312.4 thousand in the United States.
- In January 2023, average hourly earnings were $23.70 in U.S. golf courses and country clubs.
- In December 2017, Florida had 48,670 golf-course and country-club employees, the state figure reported in the BLS snapshot.
Contents
- Golf employment statistics: the national job footprint
- Monthly golf-course employment trends
- Women in golf employment statistics
- Nonsupervisory golf jobs and seasonal staffing
- Golf employment earnings and job quality measures
- Golf employment statistics by state and location quotient
Golf Employment Statistics: The National Job Footprint
The National Golf Foundation’s 2023 report uses an economic-impact framework rather than a narrow payroll count. It estimates approximately 1.65 million U.S. jobs when direct, indirect, and induced effects are included, so the figure covers activity supported throughout the golf economy.
The same report places the broader golf economy’s impact at $226.5 billion. Its direct economic impact was nearly $102 billion, reported as 20% above the $84 billion figure from 2016; the comparison is between study editions and definitions, not a payroll time series. Golf Economic Impact Report – 2023
These measures should not be added to BLS payroll employment. BLS CES NAICS 71391 measures payroll employment at golf courses and country clubs, not every job supported by golf-related manufacturing, retail, tourism, real estate, or charitable activity.
For scale, the BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages covered 11.9 million establishments, 153.1 million employed workers, and $11.1 trillion in wages across all UI/UCFE-covered industries in the United States. Those are all-industry benchmarks, not golf-specific totals. Employment and Wages Online Annual Averages, 2023
Monthly Golf-Course Employment Trends
The BLS CES seasonally adjusted series for NAICS 71391 shows payroll employment clustered around 400 thousand from January through August 2024. Seasonal adjustment is important because it is designed to make monthly comparisons more useful by accounting for recurring patterns.
| Month in 2024 | Seasonally adjusted employees |
|---|---|
| January | 402.7 thousand |
| February | 409.9 thousand |
| March | 405.8 thousand |
| April | 401.2 thousand |
| May | 401.8 thousand |
| June | 410.9 thousand |
| July | 402.4 thousand |
| August | 409.3 thousand |
January through May figures come from Table B-1a, February 2024; June through August figures come from Table B-1a, August 2024. The unit is thousands of employees, and the geography is the United States.
The not-seasonally-adjusted series presents a larger summer range because it retains seasonal movement. It reports 440.3 thousand employees in May 2024, 462.7 thousand in June, 524.8 thousand in July, and 532.8 thousand in August.
| Month in 2024 | Not-seasonally-adjusted employees |
|---|---|
| May | 440.3 thousand |
| June | 462.7 thousand |
| July | 524.8 thousand |
| August | 532.8 thousand |
These observations come from Table B-1b, September 2024. The two tables should not be treated as interchangeable monthly observations because one is seasonally adjusted and the other is not.
Women in Golf Employment Statistics
Women’s employment is reported separately in the BLS CES seasonally adjusted series. The main 2024 observations are:
- Women held 133.7 thousand golf-course and country-club payroll jobs in April 2024.
- Women held 129.0 thousand such jobs in May 2024.
- Women held 133.7 thousand in June 2024.
- Women held 135.1 thousand in July 2024.
- Women held 133.2 thousand in August 2024.
- Women held 135.6 thousand in September 2024.
The geography is the United States and the industry is NAICS 71391. These are payroll jobs, not a count of every occupation connected to golf. Table B-5a, June 2024
The same BLS table includes January, February, and March 2024 comparison columns labeled at 32.5 thousand, 31.6 thousand, and 32.4 thousand, respectively. Because the source identifies these as prior-period comparison columns, those labels should be retained rather than presented as ordinary current-month observations.
Nonsupervisory Golf Jobs and Seasonal Staffing
The BLS production and nonsupervisory series is not seasonally adjusted and gives a view of a large operational segment of golf-course and country-club employment. Reported U.S. observations were 280.3 thousand in January 2024, 444.4 thousand in April, 382.5 thousand in July, 359.4 thousand in October, and 312.4 thousand in December.
| Month in 2024 | Nonsupervisory employees |
|---|---|
| January | 280.3 thousand |
| April | 444.4 thousand |
| July | 382.5 thousand |
| October | 359.4 thousand |
| December | 312.4 thousand |
The source also reports 80.8 thousand nonsupervisory employees in skiing facilities, NAICS 71392, and 543.1 thousand in fitness and recreational sports centers, NAICS 71394, in December 2024. Those are comparison industries, not additional golf jobs. Table B-6b, December 2024
The seasonal pattern is a measurement feature to keep in mind when interpreting staffing. A nonsupervisory observation is not equivalent to total payroll employment, and the series’ not-seasonally-adjusted label means month-to-month changes can reflect regular seasonal hiring patterns.
Golf Employment Earnings and Job Quality Measures
The supplied BLS earnings observations describe monthly averages for golf courses and country clubs in the United States. They are not annual salaries or a complete measure of job quality.
| Month in 2023 | Average hourly earnings | Average weekly earnings |
|---|---|---|
| January | $23.70 | $644.64 |
| February | $24.27 | $655.29 |
| March | $24.25 | $647.48 |
The hourly figures were $23.70 in January, $24.27 in February, and $24.25 in March 2023. Average weekly earnings were $644.64, $655.29, and $647.48 for the same months, respectively.
The figures are monthly BLS CES earnings measures surfaced alongside the BLS employment-and-wages materials. They should be read as averages for the industry and month, with no unsupported conversion into annual compensation. Employment and Wages Online Annual Averages, 2023
Golf Employment Statistics by State and Location Quotient
A BLS QCEW snapshot for December 2017 recorded 306,782 employees across 11,088 U.S. golf-course and country-club establishments. It is older than the 2024 CES series and is not directly interchangeable with it.
| State | Employees, December 2017 | Location quotient, December 2017 |
|---|---|---|
| Florida | 48,670 | 2.66 |
| California | 34,656 | — |
| Texas | 22,745 | — |
| Pennsylvania | 13,975 | — |
| North Carolina | 12,496 | — |
| Hawaii | — | 2.50 |
| South Carolina | — | 2.10 |
| North Dakota | — | 0.32 |
| Vermont | — | 0.44 |
| West Virginia | — | 0.51 |
A location quotient compares the industry’s share of state employment with its national employment share. It is not a wage measure or a job-growth rate: values above 1 indicate a larger employment concentration than the national share, while the table’s reported values below 1 identify lower relative concentration.
The state employment and location-quotient figures come from Golf anyone? A look at golf courses and country clubs by state. The QCEW program covers workers reported under state UI and UCFE systems, and coverage exclusions and classification differences mean QCEW, CES, and NGF measures are not interchangeable.