The Economic Impact of
Hunters and Hunter
Appreciation Events in West
Texas Counties
Texas leads the nation in the number of hunters and in hunting-related spending. 1
Hunting is an important part of Texas culture. The opportunity to enjoy nature and wildlife,
spend time with family and friends, and perhaps harvest a trophy animal attracts hunters
from across the state and US to rural counties in particular.
In 2010, nine counties participated in a study
analyzing the monetary value associated with the
events and the economic impacts of huntingrelated expenditures of hunters at the events. 2 Table
1 summarizes average hunting-related expenditures
reported in the eight counties where hunters were
surveyed at local appreciation events. The host
county is the county in which the hunter was
surveyed. Categorical responses reflect spending in
the host county. The overall total includes huntingrelated expenditures in regions other than the host
county. Average expenditures varied widely among
counties, ranging from $575.88 to $1,561.81. In most counties, hunting fees (i.e., leases,
guided hunts) made up the largest share of expenses. These fees ranged from 18.3 percent
to 82.2 percent of average spending in the host county.
Table 1. Summary statistics for average spending in host county by all hunters.
Category
Minimum
Maximum
County Average
$181.50
$1,284.14
$529.72
Hunt fees
$46.30
$200.38
$100.60
Food service
$98.99
$350.67
$185.34
Auto expenses
-$133.43
$36.06
Lodging
$21.72
$263.32
$134.19
Retail
$28.44
$213.80
$83.54
Miscellaneous
$575.88
$1,561.81
$1,069.44
Host county total*
$883.73
$1,855.27
$1,397.13
Overall total
% of spending in
54.2%
87.9%
76.2%
host county
*Minimum and maximum totals represent the minimum and maximum of the county-level totals and thus do
not equal the sums of the category minimums or maximums. Category averages do not sum to average total
due to rounding.
Table 2 shows the average reported spending of hunters in the study counties. The
average visiting hunter spent $1,069.15 annually or $292.17 more than a resident hunter in
the host county. The average non-local hunter spent an additional $322.10 outside the host
county (i.e., in other counties or states), for a total average annual hunting expenditure of
$1,391.25. The average local hunter spent only $935.95 on hunting annually, including
$158.97 outside their county of residence.
Table 2. Average spending by local, non-local, and all hunters.
Category
Spending by All
Spending by
Hunters*
Non- Local
Hunt fees
$520.58
$664.75
Food service
$84.14
$75.65
Auto expenses
$151.31
$159.51
Lodging
$22.36
$26.13
Retail
$113.70
$79.26
Miscellaneous
$59.26
$63.86
Host county total*
$951.34
$1,069.15
Overall total
$1,207.69
$1,391.25
% of spending in
78.8%
76.8%
host county
Spending by
Local Hunters
$307.20
$96.70
$139.16
$16.77
$164.69
$52.46
$776.98
$935.95
83.0%
* The average spending of all respondents does not equal average spending in Table 3, which includes the
average spending among equally-weighted counties. This discrepancy is due to different survey sample sizes
in each county. For example, the largest sample had the second-lowest level of reported spending.
However, direct spending by hunters is not the only benefit to the local economy. A
hunter’s direct expenditure at a local store, café, or hotel is multiplied as firms purchase
inputs (indirect effect) and pay employees who also make regional purchases (induced
effect). The total effect on employment, labor income, value added (contribution to gross
domestic product), and output in the county is greater than the initial dollar spent. Of
course, some of the original expenditure leaks out of the regional economy, for example as
inventory is imported from other regions, employees commute from other regions, and
businesses and households pay state and federal taxes.
Each county experienced its own economic impact from hunters introducing new
money into local economies. Impacts from non-local hunters attending appreciation
events ranged from $272,500 in gross sales and 2.3 full- and part-time jobs to $2.3 million in
gross sales and 17.2 jobs, depending upon the number of non-resident hunters and their
spending patterns, in addition to an economic contribution from spending by resident
hunters. Across the region, most survey respondents were Texas residents. Thus, while
hunters introduced new money to individual counties, they may have redirected their
spending from other Texas activities, for example, purchasing hunting gear instead of
fishing tackle.
Hunters (both local and non-local) at the surveyed appreciation events made $6.2
million in direct purchases, supporting 49.1 direct jobs, $2.2 million in value added (GDP),
and $1.3 million in labor income (Table 3). These expenditures contributed a total of 97.6
jobs and $12.6 million in gross sales across the entire Texas economy, including a $6.0 million
contribution to value added and $3.4 million in labor income. 3 Labor income is a subset of
value added, which is part of output, so these measures cannot be summed. Of course,
these figures represent only the economic contributions of hunters attending the game
dinner. Hunting expenditures and economic contributions by all hunters over the year are
even larger.
Table 3. Economic contribution to the Texas economy by hunters at surveyed events.
Direct Spending
Total Economic Contribution
Employment
49.1
97.6
Labor Income
$1,344,700
$3,407,300
Value Added
$2,156,900
$5,971,300
Output
$6,183,700
$12,624,400
The survey’s 668 respondents included residents of Arizona, Florida, Kentucky,
Louisiana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and Virginia, but 97.9 percent were residents of 93
Texas counties (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Survey respondents by Texas counties.
The average hunter reported hunting 22.4 days over the year. Most survey respondents
(45.8%) visited hunting land as a guest or family member, 40.9% owned their hunting land,
39.7% leased hunting land, and 8.7% hunted public lands.4
The average hunting party
included 5.8 people. The most
popular reason for hunting in the
surveyed counties was spending
time with family and friends
(61.4% of survey respondents).
Enjoying the rural atmosphere
(33.5%)
and
seeing
vast
quantities of wildlife (32.2%) were
other popular reasons for hunting
in the county. The opportunity to
harvest a trophy animal was an
important
consideration
for
21.6% of respondents.
Reasons for Hunting in West Texas
70.0%
60.0%
Time with family and
friends
50.0%
Enjoy rural atmosphere
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
See vas quantities of
wildlife
Harvest a trophy animal
Other
0.0%
Hunting season also gives rural communities an opportunity to display their Texas
hospitality. Throughout the month of November, communities and counties welcome hunters
by hosting hunter appreciation events, often dinners. The average survey respondent travelled
125 miles to attend a dinner. In addition to food and fellowship, the events often include an
opportunity to win a number of raffle prizes. Some include educational or vendor booths,
auctions, and/or music. The proceeds of several dinners support local scholarship funds and
local organizations. These events are the product of substantial volunteer support and business
sponsorships.
Participation, costs, and sponsorships varied widely among the five events for which
information was provided (Table 1). 5 The value of raffle prizes, most of which are donated
goods and services, also varied among the events (Table 2).
Table 4. Summary statistics of hunter appreciation events.
Minimum
Maximum
Attendance
400
1,650
# Volunteers
10
200
Costs*
Food & drink
Entertainment
Advertising & program
Facility rent/utilities
Total Costs
Revenues**
Ticket/entry fees***
Raffle sales
Average
874
69
$0
$0
$235
$0
$235
$4,967
$1,500
$1,950
$4,000
$12,417
$1,970
$460
$1,132
$800
$4,862
$0
$2,500
$8,250
$27,905
$4,604
$17,840
Minimum
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$1,220
Maximum
$20,000
$6,500
$7,500
$7,000
$450
$250
$34,450
*Some counties did not report costs covered by in-kind donations.
**Some events also had revenues from sponsorships, vendor fees, games, and/or live and
silent auctions. Sponsorship revenue tended to cover costs of the dinner or raffle prizes
and could result in double counting of economic activity. Other activities were limited to
a single event and may not be generalized across the region.
***Most entry fees also included the price of the dinner. Some events had separate food
or alcohol revenues.
Table 5. Raffle prize values.
Prize Category
Guns/ammunition
Hunting supplies
Hunting trips
Four-wheeler/ATV
Dining certificates
Other gift certificates
Total
Average
$10,010
$2,024
$1,560
$1,400
$100
$80
$15,174
U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau.
2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation. FHW/06-NAT. Arlington, VA.
2 Counties surveying hunter appreciation event organizers included Concho, Gillespie, McCulloch, Sterling, and
Uvalde. Counties surveying hunters about hunting motivations and spending patterns included Coleman, Concho,
Edwards, McCulloch, Runnels, Sterling, Sutton and Uvalde.
3 Economic contributes estimated using IMPLAN, Minnesota IMPLAN Group, 2010, Hudson, WI.
4 Land use results reflect the responses of hunters at surveyed appreciation events and may not be representative
of all regional hunters, particularly those with large leases or guided hunts who do not attend appreciation events.
5 Calculating the economic contribution of the appreciation events is not advisable due to possible substitution
between local events as well as a large share of non-local supply purchases in the rural counties.
1
Rebekka Dudensing, Vance Christie, Chad Coburn, J. Bryson Dalrymple, D.
Luther Dunlap, Marty Gibbs, Pascual Hernandez, Michael Palmer, G. Sam
Silvers, Descom Spiller, Marvin Ensor, and Daniel Hanselka.
June 2011
CED 11-13