DEATH VALLEY, CA – Death Valley National Park’s visitors spent $104 million in surrounding Nevada and California communities in 2021, according to a new National Park Service (NPS) report. The ripple effects of that direct spending boosted the local economy by $135 million and supported 1,228 jobs.

“I’m excited that protecting this special desert is also good business,” said Superintendent Mike Reynolds. “Each year Congress appropriates about $10 million in taxpayer dollars to operate and protect Death Valley National Park. And then visitors spend over ten times that in the local economy.”

Tourism dollars also benefit local government budgets. Inyo County received $2.9 million in transient occupancy tax (TOT) in 2019. Over 90% of this revenue was generated by Inyo County’s District 5, which includes Death Valley. (Bishop is an incorporated city, so TOT collected there does not go to the County.)

About 1.1 million people visited the park in 2021, which was about two-thirds the park’s pre-COVID visitation of 1.7 million. Similarly, the $104 million in visitor spending in 2021 was about two-thirds the park’s all-time high of $147 million in 2019.

The peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis was conducted by economists at the National Park Service and the U.S. Geological Survey. An interactive summary and the full report are available at nps.gov/subjects/socialscience/vse.htm.