Artists by County

1.6 million artists are at work in the United States, according to the USDA's Economic Research Service. Artists include not only painters and sculptors but also designers, actors, producers, directors, athletes, dancers, musicians, and entertainers. Artists account for 1.1 percent of the nation's workers.

• Of the nation's 3,143 counties, more than 90 percent have at least one working artist. Only 290 counties have no artists.
• San Juan County, Colorado, has a higher percentage of artists in its workforce than any other county—6.5 percent. The county is sparsely populated, with 460 employed residents, which is why its 30 artists account for such a large share. 
• Los Angeles County has more artists than any other. The 121,620 artists who live in the county account for 2.7 percent of its workforce. New York County (Manhattan) has a smaller number of artists (44,765), but they are a larger share (5.3 percent) of its workforce.

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service, Creative Class County Codes

Live Arts Attendance Falls—Maybe

Are the live arts in decline, or is the latest survey by the National Endowment for the Arts simply picking up on changes in arts preferences? The 2012 survey of arts participation reveals what may be a worrisome decline in attendance at live arts events, or it may reveal nothing more than shifting tastes.

Only 33 percent of adults attended at least one live arts performance in 2012, reports the NEA. This figure—the lowest ever recorded—was down from 35 percent in 2008 and a high of 41 percent in 1992. But the NEA counts only attendance at performances of classical music, opera, jazz, ballet, musical and non-musical plays, and visits to art museums and galleries. Rock concerts do not count, for example, and as musical tastes have shifted over the decades this omission may be wrongly skewing participation rates downward. Newly added to the survey in 2012 is a question about attendance at any live music performance. Over time, the answer to that question will help determine whether the live arts are in decline or preferences are simply shifting. Thirty-two percent of adults reported attending any live music event in 2012, with the percentage peaking at 41 percent among 18-to-24-year-olds.

Not all arts audiences are small or shrinking. The percentage of adults who went out to a movie grew from 53 to 59 percent between 2008 and 2012. The percentage who read at least one book for personal interest held steady at about 54 percent. Fully 71 percent of adults consumed art through electronic media such as television, radio, or the Internet.

Source: National Endowment for the Arts, How a Nation Engages with Art

Are We Having Fun Yet?

Number of Americans who participate in selected leisure activities on an average day...

190,701,000 watch television
  57,231,000 read for personal interest
    3,311,000 attend a movie
    2,691,000 do arts and crafts
    2,647,000 attend a sports event
    1,411,000 attend performing arts event
       546,000 write for personal interest
       540,000 vist museums, zoos, art galleries, or gardens

Note: Performing arts include concerts, musicals, ballet, theater, dance, jazz bars, and comedy clubs.
Source: National Endowment for the Arts, An Average Day in the Arts: State Participation Patterns from the American Time Use Survey for 2006-2010

Who Has a Tattoo?

One in five Americans aged 18 or older has a tattoo, according to a Harris poll. This figure is up substantially from the 14 percent with a tattoo in 2008. Not surprisingly, the young are more likely than the old to have a tattoo, with the percentage peaking among 30-to-39-year-olds. Here are the tattooed by age...

18-24: 22%
25-29: 30%
30-39: 38%
40-49: 27%
50-64: 11%
65-plus: 5%

Only 14 percent of people with a tattoo regret getting inked.
Source: Harris Interactive, One in Five U.S. Adults Now Has a Tattoo

Who Owns Art?

Twenty percent of adults own an original piece of art--such as a painting, drawing, sculpture, or print, according to the National Endowment for the Arts. Among those who own original art, about one-third bought a piece of art in the past year.

Ownership of original art is highest in the 55-to-64 age group (27 percent), among people with post-graduate education (45 percent), and among those with household incomes of $150,000 or more (also 45 percent).

Source: National Endowment for the Arts, Research Report #49, 2008 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

Music Preferences

Type of music American adults like best...

Classic rock: 26.6%
Country: 17.1%
Contemporary rock: 10.4%
Hymns/gospel: 8.4%
Classical: 8.0%
Jazz: 6.0%
Rap/hip-hop: 5.7%
Blues: 4.5%
Latin/Spanish salsa: 3.6%
Show tunes: 2.7%
Folk: 1.1%
Bluegrass: 1.0%
Opera: 0.7%

Source: National Endowment for the Arts, Research Report #49, 2008 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

Public Schools Still Make Room for Art

Despite the obsession in the educational establishment with the three Rs, the great majority of public elementary and secondary schools still offer instruction in music and the visual arts, according to a 2009-10 survey by the National Center for Education Statistics. Among elementary schools, 94 percent offer music and 83 percent offer visual art classes. Among secondary schools the figures are 91 and 89 percent, respectively. On board to teach these subjects at most schools are full-time art specialists.

Is Art in Decline?

The popularity of Glee and Dancing with the Stars has the folks over at the National Endowment for the Arts scratching their heads. Their five surveys of arts participation, taken over the past 30-some years, show a decline in arts participation. The surveys ask a representative sample of Americans whether they have attended any of the following events in the past year: a jazz or classical music concert, an opera, a musical, a play, a ballet, another dance performance, or an art museum. The latest survey, taken in 2008, found declines in attendance at every type of venue. The percentage who attended a classical music concert, for example, fell from 13 percent in the 1980s to 9 percent in 2008.

Rather than tsk-tsking over the failure of Americans to engage with the arts, the NEA concludes in a new report (Age and Arts Participation: A Case against Demographic Destiny) that times may be "a changing." Bravely, it even suggests that perhaps its own measures of arts participation are too narrow. As evidence, the NEA references the findings of another arts survey (see Philadelphia Cultural Engagement Index), one that defines arts participation much more broadly. The Philadelphia Cultural Engagement Index, fielded in 2009, found much higher participation in a variety of what may be viewed as "nontraditional" art experiences. According to the Philadelphia study, 81 percent of respondents listen to music on the radio at least weekly, 39 percent sing at least weekly, 28 percent watch television shows about dance at least weekly, 11 percent write in a journal or blog at least weekly, 50 percent read books for pleasure at least weekly, 38 percent watch programs about science or history on TV at least weekly, and 19 percent dance socially at night clubs or parties at least monthly.

These differing findings reveal an important truth about survey research: the answers you get are always determined by the questions you ask.