Birdwatching was a widespread wildlife activity in the United States in 2022. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service counted 96 million residents age 16 and older as birders, while a related national survey recorded 91.1 million people observing wild birds around the home and 42.6 million taking bird-observation trips away from home.
Contents
- Participation at a glance
- Birding at home and away
- Time spent watching birds
- Who birds
- Education, income, and race
- Urban, suburban, and nonmetropolitan participation
- Birdwatching and the economy
Participation at a glance
The 2022 Birding in the United States report estimated that birders represented 37% of the U.S. population age 16 and older. That is the broadest participation measure in the supplied national figures: it includes people who watched birds in different settings, rather than limiting the activity to organized trips or particular destinations.
The same report separated birding into two practical settings. An estimated 91 million people, or 35% of the population age 16 and older, birded around the home. A further 43 million people, or 16%, took birding trips at least one mile from home. These categories describe the scale of both everyday observation and travel-based birding.
The 2022 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation reported similar but not identical counts: 91.1 million people observed wild birds around the home, and 42.6 million took trips away from home to observe wild birds. The differences in the rounded totals reflect the distinct survey presentations and definitions. They should be read as related national measures, not added together as separate populations.
Source: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 2022 Birding in the United States; 2022 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation.
Birding at home and away
Birding close to home was the more common form of participation in 2022. The 91 million around-the-home birders were more than twice the 43 million people who took trips of at least one mile. In percentage terms, the difference was 35% versus 16% of the population age 16 and older.
| 2022 measure | People | Share of population age 16+ |
|---|---|---|
| All birders | 96 million | 37% |
| Around-the-home birders | 91 million | 35% |
| Birding trips at least one mile from home | 43 million | 16% |
| Wild-bird observation around the home | 91.1 million | Not stated in the supplied measure |
| Trips away from home to observe wild birds | 42.6 million | Not stated in the supplied measure |
These figures place local observation at the center of American birding participation. Watching birds around a residence can be part of a daily routine, while an away-from-home trip represents a more destination-oriented form of the activity. The statistics do not identify particular states, counties, habitats, or species, so they cannot be used to rank local birding sites.
The one-mile threshold is important when interpreting the travel figure. “Away from home” in the national survey and “one mile or more from home” in the Birding in the United States report are closely related descriptions, but the published counts should remain attached to their original source labels. Neither measure says how far people traveled beyond that threshold.
Source: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 2022 Birding in the United States; 2022 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation.
Time spent watching birds
Birding participation involved substantial time during 2022. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service reported that birders averaged 78 days of birding and observed birds for 7.5 billion days in total. The total-days figure conveys the activity’s broad reach: birdwatching was not limited to occasional holiday outings.
The setting-specific averages show a different rhythm. Around-the-home birders averaged 67 days of birding, while away-from-home birders averaged 34 days. These averages are not interchangeable with the overall 78-day figure because the groups and measures are defined separately in the report. They also should not be used to infer a typical number of hours per outing; no hourly measure is provided here.
| Time measure | 2022 result |
|---|---|
| Average days for birders | 78 days |
| Average days for around-the-home birders | 67 days |
| Average days for away-from-home birders | 34 days |
| Total bird-observation days | 7.5 billion days |
The contrast between the setting-specific averages is consistent with the idea that home-based birding can be repeated frequently, whereas trips away from home may occur less often. That interpretation describes the pattern in the reported averages; it does not establish why participants birded at those frequencies.
Source: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 2022 Birding in the United States.
Who birds
The 2022 demographic counts show participation across every listed age group. Birders age 65 and older formed the largest reported age category, at 23,096,000 people. The next-largest category was ages 55 to 64, at 18,910,000. The two smallest listed groups were ages 16 to 17, at 2,745,000, and ages 18 to 24, at 8,080,000.
The middle age categories were also substantial: 14,181,000 birders were ages 25 to 34; 14,687,000 were ages 35 to 44; and 14,384,000 were ages 45 to 54. Together, the reported figures show that birding participation extended across young adulthood, midlife, and older adulthood.
Participation by gender was reported in both counts and percentages. The survey counted 47,223,975 female birders, 47,485,475 male birders, and 1,285,452 other-gender birders. In participation-rate terms, women accounted for 36%, men for 38%, and other-gender adults for 35%.
The setting-specific gender composition was close to balanced but not identical. Around-the-home birders were reported as 49% female, 49% male, and 1% other gender. Away-from-home birders were 48% female, 51% male, and 2% other gender. Percentages may not total exactly 100% because of rounding.
Source: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 2022 Birding in the United States.
Education, income, and race
The education breakdown provides another view of the population counted as birders in 2022. The largest listed education category was some college, with 29,376,000 birders. It was followed by high school degree holders, at 27,829,000, and people with a bachelor’s degree, at 21,035,000. The report counted 13,363,000 birders with graduate-school education and 3,622,000 with less than a high school education.
Income categories also included millions of birders at every listed level. The largest reported group was households earning $50,000 to $74,999, with 17,053,000 birders. Other large categories included $100,000 to $149,999, with 12,835,000; $75,000 to $99,999, with 12,390,000; and $35,000 to $49,999, with 12,381,000.
The remaining listed income counts were 10,006,000 for $25,000 to $34,999; 8,371,000 for $15,000 to $24,999; 6,622,000 for below $10,000; 5,166,000 for $150,000 to $199,999; 4,635,000 for $200,000 or more; and 4,552,000 for $10,000 to $14,999. These are counts of birders in each household-income category, not income averages or spending estimates.
The supplied racial and ethnic categories counted 73,395,000 White birders, 15,341,000 Hispanic birders, 9,315,000 African American birders, and 5,062,000 Asian American birders. The categories are reproduced as reported and are not mutually interpreted here beyond their published counts.
Source: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 2022 Birding in the United States.
Urban, suburban, and nonmetropolitan participation
Birders appeared across the four metropolitan-size categories reported for 2022. The largest listed group lived in metropolitan areas with 1,000,000 or more people, where the count was 41,748,000 birders. The 250,000-to-999,999 metro category included 17,700,000 birders, and the 50,000-to-249,999 category included 8,648,000.
Outside a metropolitan statistical area, the report counted 28,044,000 birders. This is a large group in its own right and shows that the national birding population was not confined to major urban centers. The figures are geographic participation counts, not rates: the supplied data does not provide the total population within each metro category, so it cannot establish which category had the highest participation percentage.
| Residence category | Birders in 2022 |
|---|---|
| Metro area of 1,000,000 or more | 41,748,000 |
| Metro area of 250,000–999,999 | 17,700,000 |
| Metro area of 50,000–249,999 | 8,648,000 |
| Outside an MSA | 28,044,000 |
For readers interested in local history and heritage, this geographic spread is a useful reminder that birdwatching can connect communities with nearby landscapes as well as with larger travel destinations. The statistics themselves do not identify specific heritage sites or explain how birding relates to them, so any local interpretation requires additional evidence.
Source: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 2022 Birding in the United States.
Birdwatching and the economy
Birdwatching was associated with substantial economic activity in 2022. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service reported $107.6 billion in spending on birding activities. Of that amount, trip-related spending was $14 billion, while equipment and land spending was $93 billion. These categories distinguish expenditures connected with travel from spending on equipment and land.
The activity also generated reported tax revenue at three levels of government: $7 billion in county tax revenue, $9 billion in state tax revenue, and $22 billion in federal tax revenue. Birding supported 1.4 million jobs and generated $90.2 billion in labor income.
The reported total economic output was $279 billion. Economic output, labor income, jobs, tax revenue, and participant spending are different measures and should not be added together. Each describes a separate dimension of the activity’s economic footprint.
| Economic measure | 2022 result |
|---|---|
| Total birding spending | $107.6 billion |
| Trip-related spending | $14 billion |
| Equipment and land spending | $93 billion |
| County tax revenue | $7 billion |
| State tax revenue | $9 billion |
| Federal tax revenue | $22 billion |
| Jobs supported | 1.4 million |
| Labor income | $90.2 billion |
| Total economic output | $279 billion |
Taken together, these measures show that birdwatching was counted not only as a recreational practice but also as an activity with employment, spending, and public-revenue effects. The figures describe the United States in 2022. They do not provide a local economic estimate for a particular town, county, historic landscape, or birding destination.
Source: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Birdwatching in America.