County tourism statistics at a glance
County tourism is easier to understand when you look at spending, jobs, and tax revenue together. The figures below show how a handful of counties turned visitor demand into large economic effects in 2024 and, in one case, how that trend evolved over multiple years.
Table of contents
- What county tourism statistics measure
- Visitor spending and economic impact
- Jobs, payroll, and workforce support
- Tax revenue and public value
- County-by-county comparison
- What the 2024 figures say about county tourism
What county tourism statistics measure
County tourism statistics usually combine three things: how much visitors spend, how many jobs visitor demand supports, and how much tax revenue tourism generates. That mix matters because it shows tourism as both a consumer market and a local economic engine.
The dataset here includes counties from several states and regions, but the most comparable numbers are the 2024 spending, job, and tax-revenue figures. Where the source text gives a county-specific note, that label is kept visible in parentheses so the provenance stays attached to the fact.
Visitor spending and economic impact
Visitor spending is the clearest first indicator of county tourism scale. It tells you how much money travelers put into lodging, food, attractions, transportation, and related local businesses.
Dane County is a useful benchmark because it shows both raw volume and broader economic effect. It welcomed 9.2 million visitors in 2024, and those visitors produced $1.55 billion in direct spending and a $2.65 billion tourism economic impact (Dane County press release on 2024 tourism spending). That same release says tourism spending rose 3.8% year over year in 2024, which signals steady growth rather than a one-off spike.
Milwaukee County sits in a larger-dollar category. Its direct visitor spending totaled $2.439 billion in 2024, and its total tourism economic impact reached $4.321 billion (Milwaukee County press release on 2024 tourism impact). The county accounted for 16% of all tourism spending in Wisconsin in 2024, which makes it an outsize contributor within the state’s visitor economy (Milwaukee County press release on 2024 tourism impact).
Dare County shows how a smaller county can still produce big tourism output. Visitor spending surpassed $2.1 billion in 2024, and that level placed the county #4 among North Carolina’s 100 counties for visitor spending (Dare County Tourism did-you-know page). That ranking matters because it puts the county’s performance in a statewide context rather than just a local one.
San Bernardino County demonstrates the upper end of county-scale tourism spending. Visitor spending totaled $6.69 billion in 2024, making it one of the largest totals in the dataset (San Bernardino County Community Indicators tourism page). The same source says visitor spending rose 63% nominally over the last 15 years through 2024 and 15% in real terms after inflation adjustment over the same period, which suggests long-run expansion even after price changes are removed (San Bernardino County Community Indicators tourism page).
A compact comparison helps put the different counties side by side.
| County | 2024 visitor spending | Other reported tourism scale metric | Source label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dane County | $1.55 billion direct spending | $2.65 billion economic impact | Dane County press release on 2024 tourism spending |
| Milwaukee County | $2.439 billion direct spending | $4.321 billion total economic impact | Milwaukee County press release on 2024 tourism impact |
| Dare County | More than $2.1 billion | #4 among North Carolina’s 100 counties for visitor spending | Dare County Tourism did-you-know page |
| San Bernardino County | $6.69 billion | 63% nominal growth over 15 years | San Bernardino County Community Indicators tourism page |
| York County | $296.8 million | Visitor spending total reported for 2024 | York County visitor spending release |
| Henrico County | More than $1.9 billion | Fifth-highest county in Virginia for visitor spending | Henrico County visitor spending release |
| Orange County, Virginia | More than $57.6 million | 6% increase versus 2023 | Orange County, Virginia visitor spending release |
The spread in that table shows why county tourism statistics should never be read as a single national average. A county with a few billion dollars in annual visitor spending is operating at a very different scale from a county with tens or hundreds of millions, even when both can still see meaningful local impacts.
Jobs, payroll, and workforce support
Tourism is not only about spending totals. It also supports employment across hotels, restaurants, attractions, transportation, retail, and the many service businesses that absorb visitor demand.
Milwaukee County reported that tourism and hospitality supported 28,091 full-time jobs in 2024 (Milwaukee County press release on 2024 tourism impact). That job count gives the spending figure real labor-market weight because it shows how many households are linked to the visitor economy.
Dane County added 500 new hospitality jobs in 2024, and its hospitality workforce exceeded 19,300 people (Dane County press release on 2024 tourism spending). Those figures matter because they show both growth and scale inside a single county labor market.
Dare County’s tourism employment share stands out even more sharply. Tourism supported 12,260 jobs, and tourism accounted for 45.5% of all jobs in the county (Dare County Tourism did-you-know page). That means tourism is not just a sector in Dare County; it is a major part of the county’s employment structure.
San Bernardino County again appears at a larger scale. It had 61,160 tourism-related jobs in 2024 (San Bernardino County Community Indicators tourism page). That number shows how tourism can function as a broad regional employment pillar rather than a niche visitor industry.
County reports in other places show the same pattern at smaller dollar levels. Onslow County created an estimated 2,464 tourism jobs in 2024, while its visitor spending hit a record level that year (Onslow County Visitor Spending Reaches Record Levels release). York County tourism supported 1,870 local jobs in 2024 (York County visitor spending release). Walker County tourism demand supported 450 jobs in 2024, compared with 386 jobs in 2023, which indicates the labor impact rose alongside spending (Walker County tourism growth release; Walker County tourism spending release).
Here is a compact job-and-payroll comparison for the counties where the source text provides both kinds of labor-related detail.
| County | Jobs supported | Payroll or workforce note | Source label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee County | 28,091 full-time jobs | Tourism and hospitality supported jobs in 2024 | Milwaukee County press release on 2024 tourism impact |
| Dane County | 500 new hospitality jobs | Hospitality workforce exceeded 19,300 people | Dane County press release on 2024 tourism spending |
| Dare County | 12,260 jobs | Tourism accounted for 45.5% of all jobs | Dare County Tourism did-you-know page |
| San Bernardino County | 61,160 tourism-related jobs | Jobs figure reported for 2024 | San Bernardino County Community Indicators tourism page |
| Onslow County | 2,464 tourism jobs | Payroll of $94.85 million in 2024 | Onslow County Visitor Spending Reaches Record Levels release |
| York County | 1,870 local jobs | Jobs figure reported for 2024 | York County visitor spending release |
| Walker County | 450 jobs | Up from 386 jobs in 2023 | Walker County tourism growth release; Walker County tourism spending release |
That table makes the labor pattern easy to see. In counties with higher visitor spending, the employment footprint tends to be broader as well, but the ratio of spending to jobs still varies by destination mix, seasonality, and the kinds of businesses visitors use.
Tax revenue and public value
Tourism statistics become especially interesting when they show public revenue, not just private revenue. Visitor spending can flow into tax collections that help fund services for residents, which is why county tourism organizations often emphasize tax relief value and local tax return.
Milwaukee County said tourism generated $242.2 million in state and local tax revenue in 2024 (Milwaukee County press release on 2024 tourism impact). That figure is large enough to show that tourism is not only a spending story but also a fiscal one.
Dare County reported more than $147.1 million in state and local tax revenue from visitor spending, and it said residents received a tax relief value of $3,860.46 per resident from tourism in 2024 (Dare County Tourism did-you-know page). That per-resident figure is one of the clearest examples in the dataset of how tourism is framed as a household-level benefit.
San Bernardino County reported $488 million in tourism-related tax receipts in 2024, up from $312 million in 2010 (San Bernardino County Community Indicators tourism page). That longer time frame is useful because it shows a rising tax contribution over time rather than a single-year snapshot.
Onslow County generated $14.75 million in local tax revenue in 2024, while Walker County generated $3.6 million in state and local tax revenue in 2024 (Onslow County Visitor Spending Reaches Record Levels release; Walker County tourism growth release). York County’s tourism-related tax revenue reached $14.7 million in 2024 (York County visitor spending release). Henrico County’s release did not give a tax figure in the source block here, but it did report more than $1.9 billion in visitor spending and noted that Henrico remained the fifth-highest county in Virginia for visitor spending in 2024 (Henrico County visitor spending release).
County-by-county comparison
The biggest value in a county tourism dataset is often comparative reading. Once the figures are lined up, a few patterns become obvious.
High-spending counties
Some counties operate at billion-dollar visitor-spending scale. That group includes San Bernardino County at $6.69 billion, Milwaukee County at $2.439 billion in direct visitor spending, Henrico County at more than $1.9 billion, and Dane County at $1.55 billion in direct spending (San Bernardino County Community Indicators tourism page; Milwaukee County press release on 2024 tourism impact; Henrico County visitor spending release; Dane County press release on 2024 tourism spending).
Those counties are not interchangeable. San Bernardino County’s tax receipts and 61,160 tourism-related jobs point to a massive regional footprint, while Milwaukee County’s 16% share of Wisconsin tourism spending shows how one county can anchor a state-level market (San Bernardino County Community Indicators tourism page; Milwaukee County press release on 2024 tourism impact).
Smaller counties with high dependence
Other counties show a smaller absolute number but a very high dependence on tourism. Dare County is the clearest example in this dataset because tourism accounted for 45.5% of all jobs and supported 12,260 jobs overall (Dare County Tourism did-you-know page). That means tourism is deeply embedded in the county economy, even if its visitor-spending total is lower than the largest urban counties.
Walker County also illustrates how fast county tourism can move year over year. Visitor spending increased from $43.6 million in 2023 to $51.9 million in 2024, a rise of 19.1% in the source release, and tourism demand supported 450 jobs in 2024 compared with 386 in 2023 (Walker County tourism growth release; Walker County tourism spending release). The county’s tax revenue rose from $3.1 million in 2023 to $3.6 million in 2024, which keeps the visitor economy visibly tied to public revenue (Walker County tourism growth release; Walker County tourism spending release).
Middle-tier counties with meaningful momentum
York County, Orange County, and Onslow County sit in a middle range that still matters locally. York County posted $296.8 million in visitor spending and 1,870 local jobs in 2024, with $14.7 million in tourism-related tax revenue (York County visitor spending release). Orange County, Virginia exceeded $57.6 million in visitor spending and grew 6% compared with 2023, while visitor-facing industries across Virginia supported over 224,000 jobs in 2024 (Orange County, Virginia visitor spending release). Onslow County hit a record level of visitor spending in 2024, with 2,464 tourism jobs, $14.75 million in local tax revenue, and a $94.85 million payroll (Onslow County Visitor Spending Reaches Record Levels release).
What the 2024 figures say about county tourism
The 2024 numbers point to a few broad takeaways. First, county tourism can scale from tens of millions into billions, so a county’s visitor economy has to be read in context rather than against a single benchmark. Second, jobs often grow alongside spending, but not always at the same pace, which is why payroll and workforce figures add important texture. Third, tax revenue is a central part of the story because it shows how tourism translates into public value.
The dataset also shows that source labels matter. A county press release, an indicator dashboard, and a tourism organization fact sheet can all report slightly different kinds of tourism metrics, so keeping the source label visible helps the reader understand exactly what each number represents.
If you want the cleanest reading of county tourism statistics, start with three questions. How much do visitors spend. How many jobs does that spending support. And how much public revenue comes back from the visitor economy. The counties in this dataset answer those questions in different ways, but the overall pattern is consistent: tourism can be a major local economic driver, a steady source of jobs, and a meaningful contributor to county and state tax bases.