BUSINESS: State to State Survey - Statistical Data Included

According to the National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA), California had 2.9 million golfers in 1997, while Wisconsin had 739,000. In which state is golf more popular? Trick question? Not really, according to the NSGA. "A head count indicates how many people are doing something," says NSGA Vice President of Information and Research Thomas B. Doyle. "An index allows you to compare two groups by proportionally adjusting for population." California had an index of 98 for golf, while Wisconsin had an index of 134.

What does this all mean? "In plain English, people in Washington are 1.3 times more likely to be golfers as Californians," Doyle says. "Considering the variables that go into creating this index, it is amazing so many activities repeat on a year-to-year basis." These variables include changes in participation for each sport at a national and state level, as well as regional differences in weather and economic conditions that affect sports participation.

On the NSGA index, the national average for each sport 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. For example, Florida has 13.7 percent of the total participants in salt water fishing and 5.9 percent of the U.S. population. This yields an index of 232, indicating Florida residents are more than twice as likely (2.32 times, to be exact) to participate in salt water fishing as the national average.

In compiling this study, NSGA analyzed state-by-state participation for the following 34 activities:

Aerobics, Backpacking, Baseball, Basketball, Bicycling, Billiards, Boating, Bowling, Calisthenics, Camping, Darts, Exercise Walking, Fishing (fresh water), Fishing (salt water), Football (tackle), Golf, Hiking, In-Line Skating, Mountain Biking, Roller Skating, Running, Skiing (downhill), Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Step Aerobics, Table Tennis, Target Shooting, Tennis, Volleyball, Water Skiing, Working Out at Clubs.

The following has been extracted from the results of the 1997 NSGA survey of top state indexes per sport:

Aerobic Exercise            1. Utah                  237
                            2. Idaho                 181
                            3. Vermont               139
                            4. West Virginia         131
                            5. California            129

Calisthenics                1. Utah                  331
                            2. Iowa                  221
                            3. West Virginia         212
                            3. Wyoming               212
                            5. North Dakota          205

Exercise Walking            1. Vermont               169
                            2. Idaho                 167
                            3. Wyoming               151
                            4. Utah                  147
                            5. West Virginia         144

Exercise with Equipment     1. Utah                  169
                            2. West Virginia         159
                            3. Idaho                 139
                            4. Nevada                130
                            5. Michigan              127

SPORT                       STATE                   INDEX

Running/Jogging             1. Wyoming               252
                            2. Utah                  181
                            3. Idaho                 175
                            4. South Dakota          163
                            5. Nebraska              160

Step Aerobics               1. Utah                  291
                            2. Montana               231
                            3. Louisiana             167
                            4. New Jersey            158
                            5. Maryland              156

Swimming                    1. Wyoming               179
                            2. Utah                  178
                            3. Idaho                 169
                            4. Nebraska              144
                            5. West Virginia         137

Work Out at Clubs           1. Utah                  218
                            2. Montana               169
                            3. North Dakota          152
                            4. Arizona               147
                            5. California            140

COPYRIGHT 1999 Aerobics and Fitness Association of America
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group