Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Occupation: Artist

Is there any money in art? A new report from the National Endowment for the Arts provides the answer, and it is a resounding yes. Artists and Arts Workers in the United States, based on data from the 2005-2009 American Community Surveys and the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, examines the characteristics of artists and estimates their number by state and large metropolitan area. Some highlights...

Number of working artists in the United States: 2.1 million
Most common art occupation: designer (39% of artists)
Percent of artists with a bachelor's degree: 59%
Female share of artists: 46%
Median age of artists: 40
Percent of artists who are self-employed: 34%
Median earnings of full-time artists: $43,230

The median earnings of artists who work full-time range from a high of $63,111 for architects to a low of $26,875 for photographers. Fine artists earn a median of $33,982; writers and authors, $44,792; actors, $30,254; and musicians, $27,558. The report notes that New York and California have the most artists, but the per capita concentration is highest in Oregon and Vermont.

No comments: