Image: Albert Bierstadt, The Rocky Mountains, Lander’s Peak, 1863 via Wikipedia
America’s lively art scene is not just a source of aesthetic enjoyment but it is contributing to the national economy in a massive way– more than agriculture, transportation or warehousing.
A study by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) revealed this month that the arts contributed $763.6 billion to the U.S. economy – 4.2 % of the GDP.
The arts industries employ a huge number of workers – 4.9 million all over the country, with earnings of more than $370 billion.
The impact of U.S. arts production and creativity is not just domestically. According to the report, the arts exported $20 billion more than imported, providing a positive trade balance.
Image: John James Audubon – The AMICA Library/Wikipedia
The study, carried out by the BEA and NEA, the Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account (ACSPA) tracks the annual economic impact of arts and cultural production from 35 industries, both commercial and nonprofit, the NEA said on its website.
The Endowment notes that the ACPSA reports on economic measures—value-added to gross domestic product (GDP) as well as employment and compensation.
“For the first time, the report also includes the arts impact on state economies as contributions to gross state product (GSP).”
The numbers cited in the report are from 2015, the most recent reporting year.
“The robust data present in the Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account show through hard evidence how and where arts and culture contribute value to the economies of communities throughout the nation,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu.
“The data confirm that the arts play a meaningful role in our daily lives, including through the jobs we have, the products we purchase, and the experiences we share.”
The study finds that the arts added four times more to the U.S. economy than the agricultural sector and $200 billion more than transportation or warehousing.
Significantly, the arts recorded a $20 billion trade surplus, leading with movies and TV programs and jewelry.
Among the fastest-growing industries within the ACPSA are web streaming and web publishing, performing arts presenting, design, and architectural services, the Endowment says.
Another interesting finding reveals that the tax-exempt performing arts organizations (those producing art and those presenting the art of others) contributed $9 billion to the U.S. economy and employed 90,000 workers, who earned $5.6 billion in total compensation.
The date also tells that consumers spent $31.6 billion on admissions to performing arts events, $1 billion more than projected.
Here are some other key findings as described by the National Endowment for the Arts:
“As a percentage of GSP, Montana leads the country in musical instrument manufacturing, Nevada is at the top for performing arts companies, and Louisiana follows only California and New York as the premiere state for movie production.
Graphic design in Illinois contributed $589.5 million to GSP, 69 percent above the national rate.
Architectural services in Massachusetts added $804.6 million, 73 percent greater than the national rate.
Industrial design in Michigan added $429 million, 9 times the national rate.
Jewelry manufacturing in Rhode Island contributed $224 million, 33 times the national rate.
Art‐related printing in Wisconsin contributed $530.9 million to the state’s economy, four times greater than the national rate.
In a research brief looking at rural states, North Carolina and Tennessee had the largest rural arts economies with value-added from rural areas in both states totaling more than $13 billion.
In a research brief about the fastest-growing arts economies, Washington State and Utah topped the list with average annual growth rates over five percent between 2012 and 2015.”
