County employment concentration in the leisure and hospitality industry, September 2014

The leisure and hospitality industry includes hotels, amusement parks, casinos, restaurants, drinking places, tourist attractions, theaters, ski resorts, and ballparks. Employment in this industry is often concentrated near coastal areas, landmarks, and other places where people take vacations or have a night on the town. Some counties have a higher concentration of employment in this industry than other counties. We measure this concentration with the location quotient. A location quotient greater than one means the industry has a higher share of county employment than the national average.

Gilpin County, Colorado, located near Golden Gate Canyon State Park and the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, had the highest location quotient (7.8) for the leisure and hospitality industry among U.S. counties in September 2014.