Data Source:

Americans for the Arts

Scarborough Research

Analysis:

Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies

Data are from the Americans for the Arts Local Index. Arts Donation data represents the share of all households that donate to arts and culture organizations, including public broadcasting. 2011 data was collected in 2009-2011, and 2014 data was collected in 2012-2014 by Scarborough Research. Consumer Expenditure data represents a per capita estimate of dollars spent in 2015 by county residents on admissions to entertainment venues – theatres, concert halls, clubs, arenas, outdoor amphitheaters, and stadiums – as well as on products such as recorded media, photographic equipment, musical instruments, and reading materials. These estimates combine the most recent Consumer Expenditure Survey data with an annual modeling of spending patterns. Data for the share of adults attending movies was obtained by Scarborough Research through a survey. 2011 data were collected in 2009-2011, and 2014 data were collected in 2012-2014. Data includes those surveyed who saw a movie within the prior three months. The U.S. Average for the share of adults attending movies included approximately 500 counties. The number of employees in arts and culture industries is calculated using total employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) and data from the Americans for the Arts Local Index (which uses County Business Patterns data from the Census Bureau). Arts and culture industries included a set of 44 North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) codes selected by Americans for the Arts. In 2009, there were data available from the County Business Patterns on employees for 1,080 of the 3,143 American counties. In 2011 there were data available for 997 counties. And in 2013, there were data available for 923 counties. The Census Bureau does not report local employee data when the count in a locale is so low that an observer could identify the employees or employers – such as if there were only one musical instrument manufacturer in a county. This is part of the reason that there is no data reported for many counties.

2011 data were collected in 2009-2011, and 2014 data were collected in 2012-2014.

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