The NSGA has released the latest edition of its state by state sports participation index. While the study does not give a comprehensive look at human-powered outdoor recreation, it does measure nearly every sport from aerobics to working out at a club and includes several activities pertinent to the Bicycle, Outdoor, and SnowSports industries.

NSGA’s Sports Participation index indicates how likely it would be for a person in a given state to participate in a specific sport or activity. In the NSGA Index, the national average for each sport or activity equals 100. The index is created by dividing a state’s percentage of participants in a particular activity by its percentage of the U.S. population and then multiplying by 100. See chart on page 2.

For example, North Dakota’s index for skiing is the highest in the country at 358. This means that a resident of North Dakota is a little more than three and a half times more likely to go skiing than the national average, and there are a larger percentage of people who ski in North Dakota than other states.

According to the NSGA, among the nation’s 11 largest states, Michigan has the highest number of activities with indexes over 100 with 24 different sports. These include: backpacking (115), bicycle riding (132), camping (140), paintball (114), skiing (downhill) (113), snowboarding (122), along with many others that are more pertinent to team sports.

North Carolina and California tied for second place, both registering 22 activities with indices over 100. Californians were the only people in the 11 largest states who are more likely to participate in all eight of the activities related to the Bicycle, Outdoor, and SnowSports markets: alpine skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, bicycle riding, hiking, camping, backpacking/wilderness camping, and paintball.

The NSGA provided BOSS with a list of the top-five sports for each state, and there were some interesting statistics and correlations drawn among the states. Washington and Utah seem to be two hot-spots for recreation. Washington listed snowboarding (274), alpine skiing (171), mountain biking (165), and backpacking/wilderness camping (158) as four of their top five activities. Utah listed mountain biking (375), hiking (302), alpine skiing (248), and snowboarding (237) as four of their top five.

Several states, mostly west of the Mississippi, listed three relevant activities in their top five, including California, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, and Vermont.
When the data is analyzed by activity rather than on a state-by state basis, Snowboarding has more states (15) listing it in their top five than any other activity. Montana is the most likely state to find a snowboarder with an index of 422, but was still the second most popular activity in the state after hunting.

The states with the strongest ski/snowboard economies included the expected such as California, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming, but there were a few surprises as well, like Kansas, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Mountain biking had the second highest number of states listing it in their top five activities with 13, and the highest single state index. Rhode Island residents said they are over six times more likely to go on a mountain bike ride than the national average.

Alpine skiing was not far behind mountain biking, with twelve states listing it in their top five. Colorado residents did not say that skiing was one of their favorite activities, but Arkansas, Ohio, New Jersey, and Maryland residents all listed the activity was in the top five. North Dakota showed the highest index for alpine skiing with a score of 358.

The states listing paintball as one of their top five activities were mainly in the south and in the west, with Montana again leading the way in this emerging sport with an index of 354. Utah and Vermont topped the charts for the hiking index with scores of 302 and 188 respectively. North Dakota is the most likely place to find someone who will backpack and wilderness camp while Idaho is the best place to find a vacation camper.

The complete survey provides some valuable insights into which states and regions support certain activities, and which states show a lack of participation and is available to NSGA members and non-members alike.