Fishing and hunting drive Texas' economy

A ranking of states in categories including total number of hunters and anglers, spending by sportsmen, jobs supported, taxes generated, number of days spent hunting and fishing and the most traveled to states by hunters and anglers has been released for the first time.

Nationally, Texas is at the top of the pack. It is No. 1 in total hunters and anglers (2.6 million), money spent ($6.6 billion), jobs supported (106,000) and tax revenue generated ($1.3 billion). Florida lands the trophy for the No. 2 spot.

The new state-by-state rankings were compiled to complement a national report, "Hunting and Fishing: Bright Stars of the American Economy ~ A force as big as all outdoors," which spotlights the immense impact hunters and anglers have on the economy at the national and state level, as well as a constituency.

What states have the most hunters and anglers? Texas is No. 1 (2.6 million), Florida No. 2 (two million), California No. 3 (1.7 million), Ohio No. 4 (1.48 million) and Pennsylvania No. 5 (1.41 million).

What states are the big spenders? Texas is No. 1 ($6.6 billion), Florida No.2 ($4.8 billion), California No. 3 ($3.6 billion), Pennsylvania No. 4 ($3.5 billion) and Minnesota No. 5 ($3.4 billion).

This spending supports jobs. Texas is No. 1 (106,000 jobs), Florida No. 2 (85,000), Wisconsin No. 3 (57,000), Minnesota No. 4 (55,000) and California No. 5 (53,000).

However, when it comes to who spends the most time in the field and woods, Pennsylvanians beat out Texans, spending 16 million days hunting compared to the 13.4 million that Texans spend.

Leaving a wide wake, Florida is out in front for the number of days spent on the water (41.5 million), compared to the No. 2 state, Texas, with 38.9 million days. Not surprisingly, Florida is also the No. 1 destination state for fishing, with North Carolina showing up at No. 2.

When it comes to the most traveled to state for hunting, Georgia is No. 1, followed by Colorado in the No. 2 spot.

Compared to other sectors, hunters' and anglers' impact on the state's economy becomes more tangible: Sportsmen support more than twice as many jobs in Texas as Dell Computer Corp., Lockheed Martin, Electronic Data Systems and Dow Chemical Co. combined (106,000 jobs vs. 49,000).