The American for the Arts Action Fund is a national organization dedicated to supporting the arts in the America. The following information and charts come directly from their newsletter and their website. We believe the information is so important that we want to make you aware of it. – Side of Culture
Arts are big business—and a growth industry in the U.S.—according to the annual Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account report by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The nation’s arts and culture sector (nonprofit, commercial, education) was a $1.1 trillion industry in 2022 that supported 5.2 million jobs. That represents 4.3% of the nation’s economy—a larger share of GDP than powerhouse sectors such as Transportation, Construction, Education, and Agriculture. The nation’s arts economy continued to outperform the entire U.S. economy in 2022 (+4.8% vs. +1.9%).
This was an increase from 2021 data showing a $1.01 trillion dollar industry and 4.9 million jobs. Growth, however, was not sector-wide, with performing arts organizations and non-government museums among the arts industries that have yet to reach their pre-pandemic economic levels.
The nation’s arts and culture industries continue to be an export industry for the U.S., posting a $21.0 billion international trade surplus in 2022 (up from $15.5 billion in 2021).
Arts and culture also represent an important share of state economies: California (8.0%), Oregon (3.2%), and Idaho (2.4%). You can find your state’s Creative Economy Profile findings at bit.ly/CreativeEconomyProfilesNASAA. While the data are impressive, the very fact that BEA measures arts and culture production in the U.S. is itself an indication of the important role of the arts in building a healthy innovation economy and ensuring the nation’s global competitiveness.
Every year, the Arts Action Fund creates detailed data and narrative driven state factsheets that help tell the story of “Why the Arts Matter” in each state. We work with our state and district arts captains to make sure every state has the most updated economic, funding, and organizational information to promote the impact of the arts throughout our country’s diverse communities. These factsheets can be used as both an educational and advocacy tool, empowering arts advocates with a stronger case for the arts that they can bring to their political representatives at the state and local level. Each factsheet also comes with a social media graphic for you to share on your platforms! #WhyTheArtsMatter https://www.artsactionfund.org/StateFactsheets
All graphics and charts are provided by the American for the Arts Action Fund.
