CHEYENNE (WNE) — A new National Park Service report shows that 4.5 million visitors to Yellowstone National Park in 2023 spent $623 million in communities near the park.That spending supported 8,560 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $828 million.

“I’m so proud that our parks and the stories we tell make a lasting impact on more than 300 million visitors a year,” said National Park Service Director Chuck Sams in a news release. “And I’m just as proud to see those visitors making positive impacts of their own, by supporting local economies and jobs in every state in the country.”

The National Park Service report, 2023 National Park Visitor Spending Effects, finds that 325.5 million visitors spent $26.4 billion in communities near national parks. This spending supported 415,400 jobs, provided $19.4 billion in labor income and $55.6 billion in economic output to the U.S. economy.

The lodging sector had the highest direct contributions, with $9.9 billion in economic output and 89,200 jobs. Restaurants received the next greatest direct contributions, with $5.2 billion in economic output and 68,600 jobs.