Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 (2017)

Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 (AEP5) is Americans for the Arts’ fifth economic impact study of the nation’s nonprofit arts and cultural organizations and their audiences.

Nationally, the nonprofit arts industry generated $166.3 billion of economic activity in 2015—$63.8 billion in spending by arts and cultural organizations and an additional $102.5 billion in event-related expenditures by their audiences.

This activity supported 4.6 million jobs and generated $27.5 billion in revenue to local, state, and federal governments (a yield well beyond their collective $5 billion in arts allocations). AEP5 is the most comprehensive study of its kind ever conducted. It provides detailed economic impact findings on 341 study regions representing all fifty states and the District of Columbia. Americans for the Arts gathered data from 14,439 organizations and 212,691 audience spending surveys and our project economist customized input-output models for each study region to ensure reliable and actionable localized results.

Mayors understand the connection between the arts industry and city revenues. Arts activity creates thousands of direct and indirect jobs and generates billions in government and business revenues. The arts also make our cities destinations for tourists, help attract and retain businesses, and play an important role in the economic revitalization of cities and the vibrancy of our neighborhoods.

_{Mick Cornett, Former Mayor – Oklahoma City; Past President – U.S. Conference of Mayors}

Research and report by:

• Americans for the Arts