America's 'booming' Christmas tree business: By the numbers

The economy may still be floundering. But the Christmas tree business is booming. According to new study by research firm IBISWorld, Americans will spend an estimated $3.4 billion on Christmas trees this year, the highest amount since 2007. Here, a brief guide, by the numbers, to this "booming" holiday business:

25 million

Real Christmas trees Americans will buy this year, according to IBISWorld's forecast

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$800 million

Estimated retail cost of those trees

10 million

Artificial trees Americans will buy this holiday season

$2.6 billion

Estimated retail cost of those artificial trees

$3.4 billion

Total estimated Christmas tree spending this year

3.1

Estimated increase, in percent, from last year's Christmas tree spending

$3.51 billion

Amount Americans spent on Christmas trees in 2007

$3.14 billion

Amount Americans spent on Christmas trees in 2008, when the global financial meltdown took a huge bite out of this seasonal industry

80

Percent of all artificial trees that are manufactured in China

6 to 9

Number of years an average family uses an artificial tree before throwing it away

7

Number of years it takes, on average, to grow a typical Christmas tree

More than 100,000

People who are employed either part-time or full-time in the Christmas tree industry

Sources: Bloomberg, Mental Floss, National Christmas Tree Association, Valley Breeze, Washington Post