The 5 best beaches in America for family vacations

With spring break under way and summer vacation fast approaching, many American families are finding themselves dreaming of days at the beach.

While there’s a certain simplicity associated with a beach trip – all you really need are towels, sunscreen, and a bathing suit – ocean tourism is big business for many American cities.

Nearly 2.5 million people work in fields connected to seaside tourism and recreation, taking in $65.6 billion in annual wages. More Americans are employed in this sector than in construction and telecommunications combined, according to the NOAA Office for Coastal Management.

While this figure is already significant, when expanding to the leisure and hospitality industries – including the oceanfront hotels and restaurants that travelers flock to – the number of Americans who owe their employment to beach vacationers grows even more. The leisure and hospitality industries in ocean communities employ nearly 6.9 million people and add $427 billion to the gross domestic product annually, according to NOAA.

It should come as no surprise that California and Florida benefit the most from ocean tourism – pulling in $26 billion and $22 billion respectively each year. New York has the third largest beach travel economy, with 359,000 residents employed in the ocean tourism and recreation industry. Fourth place Hawaii pulls in $9 billion annually and fifth place Illinois makes $4 billion on visits to its Great Lakes.

With two oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Great Lakes to choose from, it can be hard for families to decide where they’ll spend their vacation days. U.S. News & World Report recently ranked the best family beach vacations in the United States. The rankings were based on factors including “safe waters, kid-friendly attractions, dining options, spacious accommodations and multigenerational appeal.”

Click through to see which beaches provide the best vacations for American families.