Report puts general aviation's U.S. economic impact at $339.2B

General aviation supports roughly 1.33 million jobs and about $339.2 billion in U.S. economic activity, according to a report from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

The report is titled "The Impact of General Aviation on State and Local Economies." It was produced with the Alliance for Aviation Across America and the National Association of State Aviation Officials, and is meant as a communication resource for state aviation and transportation officials. It breaks out general aviation's economic impact by state, alongside a national total.

By those figures, general aviation generated $107.5 billion in labor income and contributed $178.1 billion to gross domestic product. More than 4,400 public-use airports are accessible to general aviation. Scheduled commercial airlines serve 549.

The numbers come from "Contribution of General Aviation to the U.S. Economy in 2023," published in February 2025 by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

California leads the states with $39.8 billion in general aviation economic impact, the report says.

Devin Osting, executive director of the Alliance for Aviation Across America, said in a news release that for many communities, general aviation airports are part of the wider transportation system, linking people and businesses to jobs, markets, health care and emergency services.