This report compiles and presents the most recent and comprehensive available information on the economic contribution of general aviation. It draws on national economic studies, state aviation and transportation department reports, federal datasets, industry resources, and information provided by state aviation officials. Its purpose is to provide a national overview of general aviation’s economic and public benefits while also presenting the best available information for each state.
For purposes of this report, general aviation includes civil aviation operations other than scheduled commercial airline service and military aviation. It encompasses personal and recreational flying, business aviation, flight training, agricultural aviation, air medical service, air taxi, and other on-demand Part 135 operations. The economic contribution figures also include general aviation aircraft manufacturing, maintenance, support services, and related supply-chain activity.
A wide variety of resources were used, including federal statistics available through the Federal Aviation Administration’s data services. These include the U.S. Civil Airmen Statistics, the Aircraft Registry, and the FAA Facility Dashboard for certificated repair stations and approved pilot schools.
Industry sources include AC-U-KWIK, the National Association of State Aviation Officials, the National Business Aviation Association, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, and the University Aviation Association. The report also draws on information provided by contacts in state aeronautics, aviation, and transportation departments around the country.
Many states have conducted economic impact studies, some more recently than others. For those states without a recent available report, various resources were used to compile the information. State aviation officials were invited to review the information presented for their states and to identify more current or appropriate sources.
State studies vary substantially in age, scope, definitions, geographic coverage, and economic methodology. Their findings are therefore useful for understanding aviation within an individual state, but they should not be aggregated or treated as directly comparable across states.
A state-sponsored study is generally used when it is sufficiently recent and provides statewide figures applicable to the airport or aviation activity being described. Where no suitable recent state study is available, the PricewaterhouseCoopers study, Contribution of General Aviation to the US Economy in 2023 (released February 2025), is used. It supersedes the prior edition, Contribution of General Aviation to the US Economy in 2018, which is cited in some earlier materials. The 2023 study also provides state-by-state contribution tables, which serve as the reference for states without a recent economic impact study of their own.
Throughout the state pages, figures for public-use general aviation airports, pilots, and registered aircraft are drawn primarily from FAA data from July 2026. For airport counts, the initial FAA-based dataset includes public-use facilities that are not classified as large-, medium-, small-, or non-hub primary airports. Heliports and seaplane bases are excluded.
Because state aviation systems and classification practices differ, each state aviation director was invited to review the FAA-based count and identify the facilities that the state considers part of its public-use general aviation airport system. The final figures therefore reflect both a consistent national starting point and state-specific knowledge of how aviation infrastructure is classified and counted.
Registered aircraft counts are drawn from the FAA Aircraft Registry; the FAA separately estimates the active general aviation fleet, which numbered 214,222 aircraft in 2023. Collegiate aviation programs are attributed to the University Aviation Association’s 2026 Collegiate Aviation Guide. Fixed-base operator counts are drawn from AC-U-KWIK. Economic figures are attributed to the state or national study from which they are drawn.
Although terminology and modeling approaches vary among sources, the PwC national study and state aviation economic impact studies—including those using the IMPLAN input-output methodology commonly employed in studies commissioned by state transportation departments—generally distinguish among direct aviation activity, supply-chain activity, household spending supported by aviation-related income, and visitor spending associated with general aviation. The PwC 2023 study describes these as four types of economic contribution—direct, indirect, induced, and enabled:
Individual state studies may use different terminology or classify visitor spending differently. Figures drawn from those studies are presented according to the definitions and methodology used by the originating source.
The report also draws on interviews, agency materials, and publicly available program information to illustrate how general aviation supports businesses, public services, workforce development, emergency response, and emerging aviation technologies in particular states. These examples provide context for the quantitative findings.
AC-U-KWIK. AC-U-KWIK Directory.
Air Medical Operators Association. “About Us.” Available from https://www.airmedicaloperators.com/about-us/.
Association of Air Medical Services. “Air Medical Transport Volume Estimates.” Available from https://aams.org.
Carr, B. G., Bowman, A. J., Wolff, C. S., et al. Disparities in Access to Trauma Care in the United States: A Population-Based Analysis. Injury, Vol. 48, Issue 2. 2017, pp. 332–38. Available from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.injury.2017.01.008.
Federal Aviation Administration. 2025 U.S. Civil Airmen Statistics. U.S. Department of Transportation. Washington, DC, 2026. Available from https://www.faa.gov/data_research/aviation_data_statistics/civil_airmen_statistics.
Federal Aviation Administration. Aircraft Registration Database. U.S. Department of Transportation. Washington, DC.
Federal Aviation Administration. Airport Data and Information Portal (ADIP). U.S. Department of Transportation. Washington, DC.
Federal Aviation Administration. Facility Dashboard. U.S. Department of Transportation. Washington, DC.
National Agricultural Aviation Association. “Industry Facts, Environmental Benefits and FAQs.” Available from https://www.agaviation.org/about/about-ag-aviation/industry-facts-faqs/.
National Business Aviation Association and General Aviation Manufacturers Association. The Real World of Business Aviation: A 2018 Survey of Companies Using General Aviation Aircraft. Conducted by The Harris Poll. Washington, DC, 2018. Available from https://gama.aero/wp-content/uploads/NBAA_NPNG_2018_survey.pdf.
PricewaterhouseCoopers US Tax LLP. Contribution of General Aviation to the US Economy in 2023. Washington, DC, 2025. Available from https://gama.aero/wp-content/uploads/General-Aviations-Contribution-to-the-US-Economy_Final_021925.pdf.
University Aviation Association. 2026 Collegiate Aviation Guide. Memphis, TN, 2026.
U.S. Census Bureau. TIGER/Line Shapefiles: State Boundaries. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce.