The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Zoombezi Bay and the Safari Golf Club generated $612.6 million in economic activity across Ohio in 2025, according to a study by Silverlode Consulting.
The number that matters more is the one underneath it: 4,703 Ohio jobs, supporting 3,124 households, with 99 percent of those jobs in the Columbus metro area.
The figures
- $612.6 million in total statewide economic activity
- 4,703 jobs supported, 99 percent of them in metro Columbus
- $194.9 million in labor income generated
- $38.9 million in state and local tax revenue, plus $41.3 million federal
- 2.2 million guests across the three properties
- $22.8 million reinvested in park improvements
- $775,000 in complimentary admission and experiences given to the community
The study used IMPLAN modeling, a standard tool for tracing how spending in one place ripples outward through suppliers and wages.
The out-of-state number is the interesting one
Of 1.7 million zoo visitors, drawn from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, 233,000 came from outside Ohio and spent $88.2 million locally. Across all three properties, 293,000 out-of-state visitors spent $102.5 million.
That is the distinction between an amenity and an export. Money an Ohioan spends at the zoo mostly moves around inside Ohio. Money a visitor from Michigan spends on a hotel room, dinner and gas on the way to the zoo is new money entering the state, and it lands on businesses that have nothing to do with animals.
“When guests choose to visit one of our parks, they create memories while supporting businesses, jobs, and communities throughout Ohio.”
Tom Schmid, president and CEO, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
“The Columbus Zoo is one of Ohio’s premier destinations… the organization’s substantial role in supporting jobs… helps keep Ohio’s economy strong.”
Steve Stivers, president, Ohio Chamber of Commerce
Why we are running the numbers
Economic impact studies are commissioned by the institution they flatter, and they should be read with that in mind. IMPLAN models estimate ripple effects rather than count receipts, and the multipliers are assumptions.
They are still worth reporting, because the argument they make is one zoos rarely get to make in public. A zoo asks a city for land, for bond money, for a tax levy. When that request comes up, the case against it is usually framed as animals versus roads and schools. A study like this is the zoo’s answer: 4,703 people work because this place exists, and $38.9 million comes back to Ohio governments every year.
Whether the multipliers are exactly right matters less than whether the order of magnitude is. On that, the visitor counts and the payroll are hard numbers, and they are large.
Quick answers
- How much economic activity does the Columbus Zoo generate?
$612.6 million across Ohio in 2025, counting the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Zoombezi Bay and the Safari Golf Club, according to a study by Silverlode Consulting using IMPLAN modeling.
- How many jobs does it support?
4,703 Ohio jobs supporting 3,124 households, with 99 percent of those jobs in the Columbus metro area, and $194.9 million in labor income.
- How much tax revenue does it produce?
$38.9 million in state and local tax revenue, plus $41.3 million federal.
- How much of the money comes from outside Ohio?
Of 1.7 million zoo visitors, drawn from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, 233,000 came from outside Ohio and spent $88.2 million locally. Across all three properties, 293,000 out-of-state visitors spent $102.5 million.
