Great Lakes Statistics Hub

Region-Wide Statistics

ECONOMY

  • Total GDP: $3.1 trillion
  • Jobs created: 25.8 million
  • Wages provided: $1.3 trillion
  • Maritime jobs created: 311,000
  • Maritime wages provided : $8.8 billion

POPULATION IN WATERSHED

  • Overall: 35 million
  • United States: 23 million

SIZE

  • Surface area: 94,000 square miles
  • Volume: 6 quadrillion gallons
  • Coast size: 4,530 miles
  • Proportion of the world’s fresh surface water: 21%

FISHING

  • Total economic output: $4.9 billion
  • Total anglers: 1.4 million
  • Jobs created: 33,500
  • Wages provided: $1.8 billion
  • Federal, State, Provincial, & Local tax revenues: $718.4 million
  • Farming: $15 billion annually in livestock, dairy, grain and corn products

AGRICULTURE

  • Annual sale: $15 billion
  • Proportion of U.S dairy produced: 15%
  • Proportion of total U.S farm production: 7%
  • Key commodities: dairy, livestock, corn, grain

GLRI INVESTMENT

  • All time: $4 billion
  • FY24 Appropriation: $368 million

Lake-by-Lake Statistics

LAKE ERIE

Shoreline:872 mi
Width:241 mi
Length:57 mi
Average Depth:62 ft
Deepest Depth:210 ft
Surface Area:9,910 sq mi
Volume:116 cu mi
Watershed Population:10.5 million

LAKE ONTARIO

Shoreline:712 mi
Width:53 mi
Length:193 mi
Average Depth:283 ft
Deepest Depth:802 ft
Surface Area:7,340 sq mi
Volume:395 cu mi
Watershed Population:2.8 million

LAKE HURON

Shoreline:3827 mi
Width:183 mi
Length:206 mi
Average Depth:195 ft
Deepest Depth:750 ft
Surface Area:3,007 sq mi
Volume:850 cu mi
Watershed Population:1.5 million

LAKE MICHIGAN

Shoreline:1640 mI
Width:118 mi
Length:307 mi
Average Depth:279 ft
Deepest Depth:925 ft
Surface Area:22,300 sq mi
Volume:1180 cu mi
Watershed Population:12 million

LAKE SUPERIOR

Shoreline:2,726 mi
Width:160 mi
Length:350 mi
Average Depth:482 ft
Deepest Depth:1,333 ft
Surface Area:31,700 sq mi
Volume:2,900 cu mi
Watershed Population:425,548

SOURCES

Great Lakes-wide statistics:

Lake-specific statistics: