Cycling boosted Northwest Arkansas by $159M in 2022

Cycling made a $159 million economic impact in NWA last year, up 16% from $137 million in 2017.

• The Walton Family Foundation published its first study on the topic in 2018.

Driving the news: Tom Walton cited the new numbers at a Little Rock Rotary Club meeting last week from a yet-to-be-released economic impact study.

By the numbers: $100 million was generated from cycling-related businesses, while $59 million came from cycling-related tourism.

• The industry generated 1,300 jobs and about $10 million in state and local taxes, Walton said.

Zoom out: All outdoor recreation accounted for 2.4% of Arkansas' GDP in 2021, or $3.5 billion.

• Nearly 40,000 jobs — about 3.1% of the state's total — are tied to outdoor recreation, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The bottom line: While cycling remains far behind boating, fishing and hunting, it added more than $21 million in value to the state's total GDP in 2021.