NEA: Artists Important to Arizona's Economy, Culture

What do we know about the 2.1 million artists in the United States’ and Arizona’s labor force? To help answer that question, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) today released “Equal Opportunity Data Mining: National Statistics about Working Artists.” This new online research tool offers 70 searchable tables with figures on working artists by state and metropolitan area, by demographic information (including race and ethnicity, age, gender, and disability status), and by residence and workplace. The public is welcome to investigate the tables, a map of state-level rankings, and links to original sources.

“Artists represent just 1.4 percent of the labor force, but they have an outsized role as entrepreneurs and innovators who contribute to the vitality of the communities where they live and work,” said NEA Acting Chairman Joan Shigekawa. “These data add further detail and nuance to our understanding of the profile of American artists.”

This first in a series of online Arts Data Profiles tallies artists at the state and metro levels, and breaks out key demographic characteristics. 

This new research resource gives statistical profiles of Americans who reported an artist occupation as their primary job, whether full-time, part-time, or self-employed. The dataset looks at artists in 11 distinct occupations, including actors; announcers; architects; art directors, fine artists, and animators; dancers and choreographers; designers; entertainers and performers; musicians; photographers; producers and directors; and writers and authors. Some tables offer data on employed artists in particular, while other tables measure all artists in the workforce, both employed and looking for work.

The graph below shows the number and demographics of artists in Arizona. 

For more NEA information about artists in America, visit http://arts.gov/research/EEO/index.html

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