The US states with the highest earning hotel businesses

Vermont business Magazine A new study has revealed the states where hotel businesses are making the most revenue each year.

As the hospitality industry continues to boom, with the US market currently valued at a staggering $93.07B, new data reveals which US states have the highest earning hotel businesses; making the most annual revenue.

HotelTechReport analyzed industry data for each US state, finding that Hawaii hotel businesses make the most revenue overall, with each business raking in $25,811,058 on average per year. Vermont was 12th at $3.4 million.

In Hawaii, there are just 277 hotel businesses, in comparison to California which has 11 times more.

The 10 states with the highest earning hotel businesses

Geography

Number of hotel businesses

Total number of hotel employees

Number of hotel businesses as percentage of total businesses

Revenue per hotel business ($)

Hawaii

277

4,067

0.55%

25,811,058

District of Columbia

119

15,158

0.49%

21,617,731

New York

2,314

87,725

0.34%

6,259,171

Florida

3,485

179,522

0.41%

5,978,995

Massachusetts

794

30,106

0.28%

5,576,243

California

5,825

228,964

0.35%

5,166,619

Illinois

1,471

50,537

0.36%

4,424,841

Nevada

439

18,199

0.43%

4,378,326

Arizona

1,082

44,384

0.55%

4,352,384

Maryland

689

21,569

0.38%

3,875,148

Colorado

1,354

48,346

0.57%

3,791,210

Despite having the fewest hotel businesses out of all 50 states, the District of Columbia takes second place when it comes to annual revenue, with each booming business making $21,617,731 per year on average.

New York takes third place, however, due to the high number of hotel businesses in the state (2,314) each individual business makes more than three times less revenue ($6,259,171) than those in Hawaii or DC.

Florida and Massachusetts take the next two spots, with business here making similar amounts of revenue. However, when considering the number of hotel businesses in relation to the number of total businesses in the states, Florida has much more (0.41% compared to 0.28%).

California hotel businesses make just over $5M in revenue, with this state employing the most hotel staff. 228,964 people currently work for hotel businesses in the state, which is phenomenal when compared to Delaware which has the lowest number, with 4,023 employees overall.

Each hotel business in Illinois, Nevada, Arizona is generating over $4M per year in revenue, whilst those in Maryland each generate $3,875,148 on average.

In which states do hotel businesses make the least revenue?

Geography

Number of hotel businesses

Total number of hotel employees

Number of hotel businesses as percentage of total businesses

Revenue per hotel business ($)

Mississippi

689

9,806

0.88%

1,067,190

Arkansas

718

10,601

0.73%

1,120,060

South Dakota

442

6,574

1.17%

1,147,817

Kansas

624

10,147

0.67%

1,274,149

Iowa

751

12,763

0.69%

1,288,691

North Dakota

306

5,267

0.92%

1,300,853

Oklahoma

864

13,444

0.72%

1,399,120

Nebraska

455

7,365

0.58%

1,463,352

West Virginia

317

7,182

0.57%

1,541,628

Montana

515

9,559

0.90%

1,546,082

Hotel businesses in Mississippi make the least revenue each year overall, with each business making $1,067,190. Interestingly, this state has a higher proportion of hotel businesses than any other state in the top 10, making up 0.88% of all total businesses.

North Dakota also makes the least amount of revenue ($1,300,853) and has the second lowest number of hotel staff overall, with just 5,267 people working for the 306 hotel businesses in the state. In proportion to the total number of businesses, however, the percentage of hotels is fairly high (0.92%) when compared to Massachusetts which has the lowest proportion (0.28%).

A spokesperson from HotelTechReport commented on the findings: “As the US hotel market continues to skyrocket, it’s interesting to see the industry’s footprint in each state, and the differences across the country, from revenue through to number of employees. Hawaii is a very popular destination with some of the world’s most luxurious resorts, so it’s fascinating to see the financial impact of the hotels in the state, which is even more impressive when compared to other major tourist destinations like New York and Florida.”

The study was conducted by HotelTechReport, a site that allows users to review, compare and evaluate top hotel management software providers.

The full breakdown

  • Wyoming has the highest number of hotel businesses as a percentage of total businesses, with 1.33%

  • Massachusetts (0.28%) Connecticut (0.28%) and Rhode Island (0.32%) have the lowest number of hotel businesses as a percentage of total businesses

  • Alongside California, Florida (179,522) and Texas (125,553) have the most hotel employees

  • District of Columbia (119), Rhode Island (143) and Delaware (181) have the lowest number of hotel businesses.

You can see the data for each state below:

Geography

Number of hotel businesses

Total number of hotel employees

Number of hotel businesses as percentage of total businesses

Revenue per hotel business ($)

Hawaii

277

40,067

0.55%

25,811,058

District of Columbia

119

15,158

0.49%

21,617,731

New York

2,314

87,725

0.34%

6,259,171

Florida

3,485

179,522

0.41%

5,978,995

Massachusetts

794

30,106

0.28%

5,576,243

California

5,825

228,964

0.35%

5,166,619

Illinois

1,471

50,537

0.36%

4,424,841

Nevada

439

18,199

0.43%

4,378,326

Arizona

1,082

44,384

0.55%

4,352,384

Maryland

689

21,569

0.38%

3,875,148

Colorado

1,354

48,346

0.57%

3,791,210

Vermont

230

11,565

0.79%

3,444,248

Washington

1,195

35,753

0.43%

3,239,408

Utah

600

21,447

0.47%

3,187,090

Pennsylvania

1,463

51,606

0.38%

3,150,476

Virginia

1,540

45,967

0.50%

3,109,348

Louisiana

912

22,564

0.62%

2,910,773

South Carolina

1,110

30,532

0.68%

2,898,925

Alaska

281

5,672

1.16%

2,796,569

Tennessee

1,417

35,632

0.72%

2,600,584

New Jersey

1,067

24,553

0.34%

2,549,206

Georgia

2,081

45,961

0.58%

2,417,830

Texas

5,515

125,553

0.70%

2,339,932

Missouri

1,076

24,905

0.47%

2,335,441

Minnesota

931

25,645

0.48%

2,234,323

Oregon

974

22,385

0.56%

2,203,448

North Carolina

1,839

43,325

0.55%

2,198,276

Idaho

363

10,375

0.43%

2,158,722

Ohio

1,416

34,298

0.44%

2,116,667

Wyoming

384

7,686

1.33%

2,102,995

Michigan

1,350

34,180

0.48%

2,074,101

New Hampshire

326

8,075

0.53%

2,054,549

Maine

477

8,572

0.79%

1,961,549

Indiana

1,010

19,112

0.55%

1,875,090

Wisconsin

1,136

28,509

0.59%

1,873,733

Kentucky

750

14,556

0.55%

1,761,199

New Mexico

648

15,343

0.95%

1,737,432

Montana

515

9,559

0.90%

1,546,082

West Virginia

317

7,182

0.57%

1,541,628

Nebraska

455

7,365

0.58%

1,463,352

Oklahoma

864

13,444

0.72%

1,399,120

North Dakota

306

5,267

0.92%

1,300,853

Iowa

751

12,763

0.69%

1,288,691

Kansas

624

10,147

0.67%

1,274,149

South Dakota

442

6,574

1.17%

1,147,817

Arkansas

718

10,601

0.73%

1,120,060

Mississippi

689

9,806

0.88%

1,067,190

Alabama

886

17,348

0.62%

N/A

Delaware

181

4,023

0.47%

N/A

Rhode Island

143

4,481

0.32%

N/A

Connecticut

375

10,568

0.28%

N/A

2020 – 2017 County Business Patterns Economic Census