How Summer Camp Became a $3.5 Billion Industry
Keeping kids busy once school ends—and getting them away from screens!—has renewed interest in a business that’s so much bigger than just cabins and canoes.
Summer camp has historically been a time for kids to put down books or step away from screens and head outside. “It fulfills a nostalgic desire for a simpler life,” says Marc Honigfeld, who owns and operates Trail’s End Camp in Pennsylvania with his wife, Rona. But these idyllic experiences don’t come cheap. According to the American Camp Association, US sleepaway camps for the 2023 season will average about $450; day camps typically cost around $180 but can be pricier. Arlene Streisand, who has worked as a consultant to connect families with the perfect summer camp for more than 30 years, says parents will pay anything from $3,500 for a two-week stint to $14,000 for a full summer at a high-end camp.
All those tuition payments add up to make this industry worth about $3.5 billion, a number that’s been increasing steadily since the pandemic-related losses of 2020. In the US, the industry serves about 26 million campers annually, the equivalent of more than 30% of the total US population of school-age kids. Inflation has made camp more expensive than ever, but as long as the majority of schools end in June, summer camp will endure.