"Arts & Economic Prosperity III is our third study of the nonprofit arts and culture industry’s impact on the nation’s economy. Because of their rigor and reliability, results from the 1994 and 2002 studies have become the most frequently used statistics to demonstrate the value of arts and culture locally, statewide, and nationally. This new study is our largest ever, featuring findings from 156 study regions (116 cities and counties, 35 multicounty regions, and five states). Data was collected from an impressive 6,080 nonprofit arts and culture organizations and 94,478 of their attendees across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

By every measure, the results are impressive! Nationally, the nonprofit arts and culture industry generates $166.2 billion in economic activity annually—a 24 percent increase in just the past five years. That amount is greater than the Gross Domestic Product of most countries. This spending supports 5.7 million full-time jobs right here in the United States—an increase of 850,000 jobs since our 2002 study. What’s more, because arts and culture organizations are strongly rooted in their communities, these are jobs that necessarily remain local and cannot be shipped overseas.

Our industry also generates nearly $30 billion in revenue to local, state, and federal governments every year. By comparison, the three levels of government collectively spend less than $4 billion annually to support arts and culture—a spectacular 7:1 return on investment that would even thrill Wall Street veterans." [Introduction, by Robert L. Lynch, p.1]

This PDF of a power point presentation gives highlights of the report. You can also download the power point file.

Arts & Economic Prosperity III is our third study of the nonprofit arts and culture industry’s impact on the nation’s economy. Because of their rigor and reliability, results from the 1994 and 2002 studies have become the most frequently used statistics to demonstrate the value of arts and culture locally, statewide, and nationally. This new study is our largest ever, featuring findings from 156 study regions (116 cities and counties, 35 multicounty regions, and five states). Data was collected from an impressive 6,080 nonprofit arts and culture organizations and 94,478 of their attendees across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This PDF of a power point presentation gives highlights of the report. You can also download the power point file.