Climate and Income Effects on U.S. Hockey Participation

Abstract

This paper examines youth hockey participation across U.S. states from 2009 to 2023 using USA Hockey data combined with state-level economic and climate measures. Fixed effects results show that colder climates strongly predict higher participation, while income plays an important enabling role. An interaction between income and winter temperature indicates that participation becomes more sensitive to income in warmer states, where access to indoor ice is required. Random forest models reinforce the strong predictive importance of winter temperature while highlighting the significance of income and rink infrastructure in explaining cross-state variation. Overall, the results show how economic resources can support participation beyond traditional hockey markets.