News Brief: Nationwide Study Reveals Significant Economic Impact of the Arts

Every five years, Americans for the Arts (AFTA) puts together a study called Arts & Economic Prosperity to quantify the impact of the arts on communities across the nation. Recently, the organization released the results of its most recent study (AEP6) – the sixth of its kind – which reports on findings on 373 regions from across all 50 states and Puerto Rico from extensive data collection, including Westchester County.

The numbers illustrate that, nationwide in 2022, the arts creates jobs, stimulates economic activity, generates tax revenue, improves quality of life, and connects cultures and communities. In fact, the study found that nonprofit arts and culture organizations and their audiences generated $151.7 billion in economic activity— $73.3 billion in spending by arts organizations, which leveraged an additional $78.4 billion in event-related spending by their audiences. That economic activity also supported 2.6 million jobs, with $101 billion in personal income to residents, and generated $29.1 billion in tax revenue.

When asked about the arts in their community, 86% of Americans say that “arts and culture are important to their community’s quality of life and livability.” Additionally, 63% of Americans say that “the arts help them to better understand other cultures in their community.”

The expenditure and attendance data reported in AEP6 was collected from 16,399 arts and culture organizations and the event-related spending information was collected from 224,667 of their attendees. During this time, ArtsWestchester partnered with AFTA to conduct surveys that captured this data from a diverse and representative sample of arts and cultural activities in Westchester County.

Along with the nationwide report, there is a separate report based on the data that was gathered in Westchester, which will be reported in the coming weeks.

For more, visit AEP6.AmericansForTheArts.org.