Johnston County Visitors Spent 7.2% More in 2025

Statewide, visitor spending in 2025 reached $37.2 billion, and tourism employment totaled 230,997. In Johnston County, visitors spent $337.30 million, which is a 7.2% increase over 2024 spending. These statistics come from the “Economic Impact of Travel on North Carolina Counties 2025,” an annual report released by Visit North Carolina. It can be accessed via their partner-facing site here.

“Tourism continues to have a meaningful economic impact in Johnston County. Not only is that proved out in our increased spending numbers, but even more impressive: direct tourism employment grew 5.3% in 2025. JoCo now directly supports 2,180 tourism jobs,” said Aaron Mullins, President & CEO of the Johnston County Visitors Bureau.



What does $337.30 million in visitor spending mean for Johnston County?

• Visitors to the county spend approximately $924,110 a day in local businesses such as hotels, retail and outlet shopping, attractions, dining, and travel services.

• Visitor spending generated $13.98m in state taxes and $10.65m in local taxes, which provide county services and reduce the tax burden by approximately $97 on every household in the county.

• Room tax collection paid by visitors is the sole source of operating funds for the Visitors Bureau’s marketing campaigns; no local county property taxes fund the bureau.

• 2,180 people are employed in the tourism sector, accounting for a total personal income of $89.51m.

Johnston County’s 7.2% year-over-year visitor spending growth outpaced other counties that make up the Triangle region, as reported in the study. Wake County grew 2.4%, Durham County grew 0.9%, and Orange County declined 0.5%. In addition, Johnston County also made gains across each of the five reported tourism spending categories. 



Mullins continued, “Food and beverage continues to be a leading spend category for us, reinforcing just how important our culinary scene is to the visitor economy. From our barbecue traditions and agricultural experiences to local restaurants, bakeries, breweries, and cocktail lounges, food gives us an incredible opportunity to tell JoCo’s story and encourage visitors to explore more. At the same time, lodging has reached $70 million in direct visitor spending, showing that more travelers are not just passing through Johnston County; they’re choosing to stay and spend here.”

Based on tourism industry segments, visitors spent in the following categories: (millions)

**The Visit North Carolina report excludes retail outlet spending, related sales tax from retail, and jobs at Carolina Premium Outlets, as the research is not customized for Johnston County.

To learn more about tourism in Johnston County, the Visitors Bureau provides additional information on the website, www.johnstoncountync.org/about. Residents and community leaders are encouraged to sign up for our monthly partner-facing newsletter, “Tourism Does That”, here.