NCAR Arts Vibrancy Index IV: Hotbeds of America’s Arts and Culture

July 2018

Zannie Giraud Voss and Glenn Voss, with Brooke Awtry and Jennifer Armstrong

Executive Summary

Like its predecessors, this fourth annual edition uses a set of data-informed indices to identify arts-vibrant communities across the nation.

Arts and cultural organizations in the U.S. are well-distributed across the country, serving communities both poor and affluent, rural and urban, not just on the coasts and not just in major metropolitan markets.[1] Between threats to eliminate federal arts funding and tax law changes that are expected to affect charitable giving, the current environmental turbulence and uncertainty make it more important than ever to acknowledge and celebrate the essential role that arts and culture play in making communities throughout the country more vibrant places to live and visit. Creativity is a desirable and necessary element for an innovative and thriving community. Aside from being an engine of job creation and economic growth, arts and culture contribute to social wellbeing[2] and are essential to creating more livable, safe, memorable, and connected communities.[3]

Leading communities and funders recognize the transformative power of arts and culture. For example, through its Public Art Challenge, Bloomberg Philanthropies “encourages mayors to partner with artists, elevating the value of including the creative sector when developing solutions to significant urban issues.”[4] ArtPlace America awarded 23 grants in 2017 to communities across the country for projects where arts and culture strategies play an integral role in strengthening the social, physical, and economic fabric of communities. The National Association of Counties acknowledges that “Counties invest in the arts as a means to improve their economies, enrich American cultural and intellectual life, build more aesthetically pleasing communities, promote lifelong learning, protect national heritage and historic preservation and help children succeed, to name a few.”[5]

In this report, we highlight and celebrate communities of every size and in every region that have cultivated higher levels of arts activity per person living in the community. We use the term “vibrancy” in keeping with Merriam-Webster’s definition of the word to mean “pulsating with life, vigor, or activity.”[6]

As in years past, we take an empirical approach to assessing a variety of factors that make up a community’s arts vibrancy, rather than base the list on popular vote or on our own opinion about locations. Our method involves measuring characteristics like the number of nonprofit arts and cultural organizations per capita in a community. Although this may appear to some like a counting exercise, there is more to it. There is meaning in the fact that, all else being equal, more arts and cultural organizations in a community translates to more availability of arts experiences for people to engage with in that community. It also means more variety. A community with 30 arts organizations most likely has a greater range of options than a community of comparable size with only three organizations, so a greater diversity of interests, preferences, and cultural expressions can be met. This is just one example of the 12 measures we use.

We readily admit that our measures of vibrancy say nothing about artistic quality, or who participates in the arts, or the value or depth of the experience with art for any individual or community, or the many artistic and cultural offerings by non-arts organizations such as parks, military bases, hospitals, and libraries. We will continue to add new rubrics and additional measures as they become available on a national scale in order to capture the most complete and unbiased assessment of arts vibrancy.

For now, we believe the metrics used in this report represent a solid attempt using the most reliable and geographically inclusive sources of data available.

To assess arts vibrancy across America, we incorporate multiple measures under three main rubrics: supply, demand, and public support for arts and culture on a per capita basis. We gauge supply as total arts providers, demand with measures of total nonprofit arts dollars in the community, and public support as state and federal arts funding. We use multiple measures since vibrancy can manifest in many ways.

Each community has its own story of what makes it unique and vibrant, so we share highlights to give a better understanding of the life, vigor, and activity that are reflected in the numbers. Local arts commissions, convention and visitor bureaus, and other agencies provided descriptions of their community’s characteristics. We offer our gratitude for their help.

Download the Full Arts Vibrancy Index [PDF]

This year’s key findings

Arts vibrancy is dynamic, not static. New communities made the list, and there is some reshuffling among communities that made the list in previous years.

More than one-quarter of the communities are entirely new to our lists this year, and four new states are represented: Florida, Nebraska, Ohio, and South Dakota.

Four small communities made the list for the first time – Hood River, OR; Durango, CO; Key West, FL; and Fredericksburg, TX. Edwards, CO, reappears from the 2016 report onto the small community list.
There are three new medium communities on the top-10 list -- Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA; Durham-Chapel Hill, NC; and Rapid City, SD – while Traverse City, MI, returns from the 2016 report.
Two new communities are on our top-20, large metropolitan area list: Oakland-Hayward-Berkeley, CA, and Cleveland-Elyria, OH.

Changes in the rankings occur for several reasons.First, a community’s arts and cultural scene may have experienced a big change – e.g., opening or closing of a large arts space.Second, because the measures are calculated on a per capita basis, it could be that population change was on a different trajectory than growth in arts and culture.Lastly, we have learned a lot over the past year about the role of distance, how concentration versus dispersion of arts organizations and people factors in, and the extent to which a community’s arts and cultural activity attracts or implicates its neighboring community members who commute as visitors or employees, for example.[7]This has led us to make some adjustments to our analyses.

This reshuffling still leaves every region of the country represented (see Figure 1 and Tables 1, 2 and 3). While large and medium metropolitan areas represent locations in all regions of the country, the list of small communities is dominated by those located in western (Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming) states.
Arts vibrancy continues to take many shapes and forms. Some communities have large, impressive nonprofit arts and cultural institutions, some have an explosion of smaller and mid-sized organizations and venues, some benefit from their close proximity and ties to another arts vibrant community, and others are artist magnets or tourist destinations. Numerous arts sectors flourish in some communities while a particular art form dominates in other cities.
Vibrancy in very large metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) takes two distinct forms. Some large MSAs feature a strong concentration of arts vibrancy in the urban core with less going on in outlying districts whereas others feature vibrancy that is dispersed throughout the metropolitan area.

Figure 1: Top 40 Arts-Vibrant Communities, by Location and Size

Table 1: Top 20 Arts-Vibrant Large Communities

(Metropolitan Areas or Metro Divisions with population over 1,000,000)

Rank	*MSA (= Metro Division)**	Region	2016 Population
1	San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, CA*	West	1,635,684
2	New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ*	Northeast	14,398,700
3	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV*	South	4,840,523
4	Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN	South	1,865,298
5	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	Midwest	3,551,036
6	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA*	West	10,137,915
7	Boston, MA*	Northeast	2,117,384
8	Silver Spring-Frederick-Rockville, MD*	South	1,291,454
9	Newark, NJ-PA*	Northeast	2,507,478
10	Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA*	West	2,937,590
11	Philadelphia, PA*	Northeast	2,131,274
12	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	West	2,424,955
13	Cambridge-Newton-Framingham, MA*	Northeast	2,368,792
14	New Orleans-Metairie, LA	South	1,268,883
15	Oakland-Hayward-Berkeley, CA*	West	2,782,831
16	Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, IL*	Midwest	9,512,999
17	Rochester, NY	Northeast	1,078,879
18	Austin-Round Rock, TX	South	2,056,405
19	Cleveland-Elyria, OH	Midwest	2,055,612
20	Pittsburgh, PA	Northeast	2,342,299

Table 2: Top 10 Arts-Vibrant Medium Communities

(Metropolitan Areas or Metro Divisions with population 100,000 to 1,000,000)

Rank	*MSA (= Metro Division)**	Region	2016 Population
1	Santa Fe, NM	West	148,651
2	Pittsfield, MA	Northeast	126,903
3	San Rafael, CA*	West	260,651
4	Traverse City, MI	Midwest	148,684
5	Asheville, NC	South	452,319
6	Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA	Midwest	924,129
7	Durham-Chapel Hill, NC	South	559,535
8	Rapid City, SD	Midwest	145,661
9	Burlington-South Burlington, VT	Northeast	217,365
10	Missoula, MT	West	116,130

Table 3: Top 10 Arts-Vibrant Small Communities (Micropolitan Areas)
Rank		Region	2016 Population
1	Edwards, CO	West	53,989
2	Jackson, WY-ID	West	34,151
3	Summit Park, UT	West	40,307
4	Hood River, OR	West	23,232
5	Durango, CO	West	55,623
6	Key West, FL	South	79,077
7	Bennington, VT	Northeast	36,191
8	Oneonta, NY	Northeast	60,097
9	Juneau, AK	West	32,468
10	Fredericksburg, TX	South	26,521

Introduction

Arts and cultural organizations are inextricably linked to their communities. The National Center for Arts Research (NCAR) recognizes this and combines data from nonprofit arts and cultural organizations with data for the communities in which they reside.[i] By linking the two, we can identify factors that affect the health and sustainability of arts organizations. We know from our research that each of the factors from the ecosystem included in this report has an influence on a variety of financial, operating, and attendance outcomes for arts and cultural organizations. We share our findings regarding the operating and community characteristics that drive performance – and how they affect performance – in our NCAR reports.

Arts and culture also play a vital role in a city’s livability and its social cohesion. The Arts Vibrancy Index (AVI) can help arts leaders, businesses, government agencies, funders, and engaged citizens understand the overall intensity and capacity of the community’s arts and culture sector. Past AVI reports have helped communities get the recognition they deserve from their mayors, city council members, and state legislators for their previously under-appreciated arts activity. Communities can benchmark themselves against an aspirational set of communities and understand what sets them apart by examining the underlying dimensions of demand, supply, and public support for arts and culture. This granular detail provides insights as to why two cities that seem very different on the surface might be close to one another in the ranking.

From 2010 to 2016, Americans for the Arts’ National Arts Index tracked the aggregate vitality of the nation’s arts and culture. There are recent, valuable frameworks such as the Cultural Asset Index and the interactive tool GeoLoom that chronicle a neighborhood’s cultural resources. There are published rankings that assess the strength of arts and culture as part of a larger look at a city’s attractiveness and livability, and others that focus on the arts and cultural sector’s role as part of creative placemaking. We share some metrics with these other studies and tools but, in keeping with NCAR’s mission, our ranking focuses solely on arts and culture with heavy emphasis on the nonprofit sector.

Our measures are drawn from a review of the existing literature on arts and culture indicators and from NCAR’s Model of the Arts & Culture Ecosystem (see Figure 2), which features a complex and interdependent set of relationships among: 1) artists and arts organizations; 2) their communities; and 3) government funding that influences the production and consumption of arts and culture.

Figure 2: Modeling the Arts & Culture Ecosystem

When we look at factors that affect the performance of arts and cultural organizations in our NCAR Reports, we include socioeconomic and demographic characteristics and other leisure activities like professional sports teams, cinemas, and zoos. But we intentionally leave them out here so that the AVI focuses as purely as possible on arts and cultural activity. It would be unfair, for example, to penalize in the ranking a community that is relatively low on per capita income but very strong on arts providers, or to elevate a community that has lots of professional sports teams and restaurants but few artists or arts organizations.

Key Definitions

Our measures are aggregated across the 12 arts and cultural sectors that are included in NCAR’s research and KIPI Dashboard: Arts Alliances and Service Organizations, Arts Education, Art Museums, Community, Dance, Music, Opera, Performing Arts Center, Symphony Orchestra, Theater, Other Museum, and Multidisciplinary Performing Arts.[ii] Some sectors combine arts and cultural disciplines with similar characteristics.[iii]

Communities are defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as MSAs, or Micro- and Metropolitan Statistical Areas. As described on the OMB website:

“Metropolitan Statistical Areas have at least one urbanized area of 50,000 or more population, plus adjacent territory that has a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured by commuting ties. Micropolitan Statistical Areas have at least one urban cluster of at least 10,000 but less than 50,000 population, plus adjacent territory that has a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured by commuting ties. Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas are delineated in terms of whole counties (or equivalent entities)... If specified criteria are met, a Metropolitan Statistical Area containing a single core with a population of 2.5 million or more may be subdivided to form smaller groupings of counties referred to as Metropolitan Divisions.”[8]

Focusing on MSAs captures the network of suburbs that rise up around a city or town rather than considering them separately. Where the OMB breaks down very large MSAs into Metropolitan Divisions, we do the same. Metropolitan Divisions function as distinct social, economic, and cultural areas within the larger MSA,[9] kind of like MSAs within MSAs. Some of these are fairly compact and may make intuitive sense to analyze together, like Boston and Cambridge. Others, like the Metropolitan Divisions that make up the Chicago or Washington, DC, MSAs, are spread across large distances and numerous states. To keep consistent across all analyses, we go with Metropolitan Divisions where they exist and note the comparisons with MSAs and with other Metropolitan Divisions for the same MSA. In total, there are 953 unique MSAs and Metro Divisions in the U.S.

Although all measures are calculated on a per capita basis, we break cities into three size categories rather than compare cities of vastly different size: Large Metropolitan Statistical Areas (and Metro Divisions) with populations over 1,000,000; Medium Metropolitan Statistical Areas (and Metro Divisions) with populations of 100,000 to 1 million; and Small Micropolitan Statistical Areas, which are counties whose urban core has between 10,000 and 50,000 people. Taking a per-capita approach, and capturing the activity of MSAs rather than cities (i.e., urban cores only), sometimes leads to surprising results.

Metrics and Measures

Our intention is to provide information about metrics that are meaningful and consequential, and to stimulate a conversation about how cities vary in their arts vibrancy and what forms vibrancy can take. Arts Providers are a gauge of supply and include the number of independent artists, arts and culture employees, nonprofit arts and cultural organizations, and arts, culture, and entertainment firms in the community. Arts Dollars represent a gauge of demand for nonprofit arts and cultural programming, including earned revenue from program activities, contributed revenue supporting the arts, total compensation to artists and staff, and total expenses. Government grant activity is a gauge of public support for arts and culture, captured as the number of state and federal grants and total government grant dollars in the community.

Table 4 shows what we measured and how we weighted each area. We weight Arts Providers and Arts Dollars more heavily than Government Support because of their critical importance to arts vibrancy, since they are indicators of supply and demand.

Table 4: Index Components (all per capita measures) ^{^[iv]}

Metric	Measures	Description	Weight
Arts Providers		County and ZIP code Business Pattern data collected and disseminated by the US Census Bureau. Arts and cultural organization data aggregated from IRS 990s.	45%
	Independent artists	Freelance artists primarily engaged in performing in artistic productions, in creating artistic and cultural works or productions, or in providing technical expertise necessary for these productions, aggregated at the zip code level
	Arts and culture employees	Number of people employed by the museum, historical site, theater, dance, music, opera, and other performing arts sectors, as salaried employees or independent contractors, aggregated at the county level
	Arts and cultural organizations	Number of nonprofit organizations in the museum, arts education, community, dance, music, opera, performing arts center, orchestra, theater, multidisciplinary performing arts, or arts alliance and service organization sectors, aggregated at the zip code level
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	Number of arts, culture, and entertainment firms, weighted for size and aggregated at the zip code level. Includes museums, theaters, dance companies, opera companies, music groups and performers, music producers and presenters, fine arts schools, and recording, motion picture, and video production companies
Arts Dollars		Data aggregated from IRS 990s, DataArts’ Cultural Data Profile, and Theatre Communications Group	45%
	Program revenue	All revenue earned due to people participating in the activities of nonprofit arts and cultural organizations
	Contributed revenue	All revenue from contributions to nonprofit arts and cultural organizations (includes public funding)
	Total expenses	All expenses of nonprofit arts and cultural organizations
	Total compensation	All payment to staff and artists by nonprofit cultural organizations
Government Support		Data collected and disseminated by the National Endowment for the Arts, Institute of Museum and Library Services, and National Assembly of State Arts Agencies	10%
	State arts dollars	All state arts dollar funding in the community
	State arts grants	Number of state arts grants awarded in the community
	Federal arts dollars	All NEA and IMLS dollar funding in the community
	Federal arts grants	Number of NEA and IMLS grants awarded in the community

Want to see your area’s scores in full?

We provide scores for every county’s Arts Providers, Arts Dollars, Government Support, Socioeconomic, and Other Leisure characteristics on NCAR’s website, with sub-scores on every item that makes up each of these 5 areas. This way, when you read in the NCAR report about the community characteristics that drive a particular performance measure, you can also see your community’s relative strength on these measures. For example, since high levels of state and federal support in the overall community are linked with higher levels of contributions from individuals for the organizations in that community, you may want to know where your county stands relative to others on its level of state and federal support.

On the Heat Map we report at the county level rather than MSA level because some counties fall outside of an MSA (i.e., they have no community with a population of at least 10,000 people) and we want to be as inclusive as possible in the information we make available. Opportunities for participation in arts and culture exist for the 6.6% of Americans who live in the small towns and rural areas that fall outside of an MSA, and they deserve to be recognized.[10] Numerous MSAs consist of several counties, so it could be that your county’s scores are higher (or lower) than your MSA’s scores depending on where the concentration of arts activity occurs in your community. If you’d like to see the counties affiliated with each MSA listed in this report, you can go to the Heat Map, select “Other Maps” and activate “Top Counties in the U.S.” to see these counties’ individual scores.

Rather than focus on overall rankings for counties on the Heat Map, we share scores for the component parts described above on a scale from 0-100 with 100 being highest. The scores are akin to percentiles – i.e., if your county has a score of 56, it means it did better than 56% of communities on that measure.

Because there are 953 unique MSAs and Metro Divisions, any ranking between 1 and 95 still puts that community in the top 10% of cities on that measure, and a ranking of 96-190 means the community is in the top 20^th percentile, etc. Being ranked in the top 10 roughly means being in the top 1%.

Rankings are ordinal measures – i.e., who came 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, etc. – which provides uniformity but no information about the degree of difference between the raw measures. This is an important distinction to keep in mind. For example, the community ranked 1^st on independent artists might feature a population that is 10% independent artists while the population in the 2^nd place community has only 5% independent artists and the 3^rd place community has 4.9% independent artists. The degree of difference between cities 1 and 2 is much bigger than the difference between cities 2 and 3, and yet the ranking makes them appear to be evenly spread apart. This is why the overall arts vibrancy ranking is not an average of the rankings on the three component metrics and the three component metrics are not an average of the rankings on their underlying measures. We don’t average rankings, we average raw scores.

The top 20 communities with a population of 1,000,000 or more

Here you will find details and profiles on the top 20 arts-vibrant communities with population of 1,000,000 or more. The rankings on the metrics and measures range from a high of 1 to a low of 953 since there are 953 unique MSAs and Metro Divisions. We offer insights into each community’s arts and cultural scene and report rankings for Arts Providers, Arts Dollars, and Government Support, as well as the rankings of the underlying measures. Subtle distinctions often emerge that illuminate particular strengths. Again, we weight Arts Providers and Arts Dollars at 45% each and Government Support at 10%.

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV and Silver Spring-Frederick-Rockville, MD – the two Metro Divisions that make up the larger Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, MSA – made the list for a fourth year in a row.By contrast, Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, IL, was the only one of four Metro Divisions of the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI, MSA, to make the list each of the past four years.Chicago appears to have high arts vibrancy in the urban core that is not prevalent in the surrounding areas.

#1 San Francisco – Redwood City - South San Francisco, CA (pop. 1,635,684)

Arts Providers		3^rd
	Independent artists	83^rd
	Arts and culture employees	4^th
	Arts and culture organizations	5^th
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	4^th
Arts Dollars		7^th
	Program revenue	10^th
	Contributed revenue	17^th
	Total expenses	7^th
	Total compensation	6^th
Government Support		12^th
	State arts dollars	206^th
	State arts grants	187^th
	Federal arts dollars	11^th
	Federal arts grants	3^rd

The San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, CA, Metro Division’s arts and cultural landscape enjoys strong representation by organizations of every size and sector. Many arts and cultural organizations are clustered in neighborhoods: SOMA, Civic Center, Union Square, Potrero Hill/Dogpatch, and the Mission. San Francisco’s ballet, symphony, and opera are highly regarded, tour regularly around the world, and are among the highest-budget organizations in the community. Museums range from the Exploratorium to the Cable Car Museum to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. In 2016, San Francisco celebrated the reopening of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, which is now the largest contemporary art museum in the country. The City is home to over 1,000 murals, and thousands of public artworks, which were funded by the City’s Art Enrichment Ordinance. The Ordinance requires that 2% of gross construction costs of civic building projects be allocated for permanent public art, ultimately helping enrich and beautify public spaces throughout the city, from the airport to the zoo. Many employees of tech companies direct their giving to the arts. San Francisco has an active and thriving “alternative/counter culture” arts community as well. Many are active in the annual Burning Man event. The San Francisco Arts Commission is the city agency that champions the arts as essential to daily life by investing in a vibrant arts community, enlivening the urban environment and shaping innovative cultural policy. Grants for the Arts/Hotel Tax Fund is a city department that funds arts organizations and supports an arts promotion position within the city’s destination marketing organization. On a per capita basis, San Francisco is in the top 1% on Arts Providers and Arts Dollars overall. It is ranked 4^th in the country on number of arts and culture employees and 6^th on total compensation paid to arts and culture employees. It ranks 3^rd on federal arts grants and 4^th on arts, culture, and entertainment firms.

#2 New York - Jersey City - White Plains, NY-NJ (pop. 14,398,700)

Arts Providers		1^st
	Independent artists	4^th
	Arts and culture employees	8^th
	Arts and culture organizations	29^th
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	2^nd
Arts Dollars		12^th
	Program revenue	17^th
	Contributed revenue	29^th
	Total expenses	12^th
	Total compensation	10^th
Government Support		7^th
	State arts dollars	13^th
	State arts grants	63^rd
	Federal arts dollars	13^th
	Federal arts grants	4^th

The New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ, Metro Division spans the five boroughs of New York City as well as six counties in New Jersey and three Hudson Valley counties. The diversity of options dispersed throughout New York City’s five boroughs makes the Metro Division unique. Almost every genre of art imaginable can be found, ranging from small, local organizations to large, internationally known icons such as the Whitney Museum, Carnegie Hall, Alvin Ailey, MoMA, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic, American Museum of Natural History, and Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Not surprisingly, New York is ranked 1^st in the country on overall Arts Providers per capita. Every measure of both Arts Providers and Arts Dollars was in the top 3% or better. It is worth pointing out that our Arts Dollars measures do not include for-profit galleries or Broadway theaters, but three of our four Arts Provider measures do. The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs has significant impact through its dedicated support and strengthening of the city’s vibrant cultural life. There are numerous clusters of arts and cultural activity such as the Chelsea and Lower East Side gallery districts, the Downtown Brooklyn Cultural District, Museum Mile on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, which collectively represent a range of performing and visual arts activity. New York’s historical and future role in the arts is captured by the World Cities Culture Forum: “New York’s neighborhoods have played a revolutionary role in many different art forms and genres. These include Yiddish theatre in the Lower East Side, hip hop and graffiti in the Bronx, pop art and punk rock in the East Village, the jazz and literature of the Harlem Renaissance, and the continued evolution of the Broadway theatre district – now enlivened by the new cultural hybridity of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hip-hop/rap musical Hamilton...The Mayor has committed to building 1,500 units of affordable living and working space for artists and 500 work spaces for artists over the next decade, to be available at below-market rates.” [11]

#3 Washington – Arlington - Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV (pop. 4,840,523)

Arts Providers		17^th
	Independent artists	139^th
	Arts and culture employees	9^th
	Arts and culture organizations	42^nd
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	28^th
Arts Dollars		1^st
	Program revenue	3^rd
	Contributed revenue	1^st
	Total expenses	1^st
	Total compensation	1^st
Government Support		19^th
	State arts dollars	127^th
	State arts grants	250^th
	Federal arts dollars	16^th
	Federal arts grants	8^th

The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, Metropolitan Division covers the District of Columbia and surrounding counties, including Prince George’s County in Maryland, and Fairfax and Arlington counties and the city of Alexandria in Virginia. Home to many world-class museums and a dynamic performing arts scene, the Washington, DC region ranked 1^st overall in Arts Dollars and in the top 4 cities on each of the sub-measures: contributed revenue, program revenue, total compensation, and total expenses. Although there are many small and mid-size arts and cultural organizations in every arts and culture sector, DC is especially rich in large organizations: the National Gallery of Art, Corcoran Gallery of Art, The Phillips Collection, the many Smithsonian Institution Museums, the Renwick Gallery, Shakespeare Theater Company, Ford’s Theater, The National Theatre, the Warner Theatre, and Arena Stage. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts houses the Washington National Opera, National Symphony Orchestra and Suzanne Farrell Ballet in addition to offering its own programming, and its artistic constituents are many. Both Virginia’s Wolf Trap Center for the Performing Arts and Maryland’s Strathmore and Clarice Smith Center for the Performing Arts are large contributors to the region’s art scene. The DC Metro Division is a thriving hub of arts activity that is home to several of the nation’s arts service organizations, including Americans for the Arts, Chorus America, and Dance/USA. Being the nation’s capital, it has an international population and a plethora of organizations that promote cultural and ethnic awareness. The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH) provides grants, professional opportunities, education enrichment, and other programs and services to individuals and organizations in all communities within the District of Columbia. It is joined by the Arlington Commission for the Arts, the Alexandria Commission on the Arts, the Prince George’s Arts and Humanities Council, and the Arts Council of Fairfax County in granting funds and supporting programs that benefit the arts in the greater DC metropolitan area. Although Washington, DC, is not a state, District of Columbia funding is reported as state funding through the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies.

#4 Nashville-Davidson – Murfreesboro - Franklin, TN (pop. 1,865,298)

Arts Providers		4^th
	Independent artists	9^th
	Arts and culture employees	5^th
	Arts and culture organizations	116^th
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	5^th
Arts Dollars		20^th
	Program revenue	27^th
	Contributed revenue	45^th
	Total expenses	15^th
	Total compensation	16^th
Government Support		24^th
	State arts dollars	29^th
	State arts grants	38^th
	Federal arts dollars	69^th
	Federal arts grants	48^th

Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN, has long been known for its expansive music scene, but the emergence of world-class visual arts and fashion has put Nashville – Music City – on the map as an artistic and culturally rich destination. Nashville claims to have the largest concentration of songwriters in the world, with a strong presence of Americana-focused artisans and artists. There is robust public support for the arts at the local level, and individual philanthropists have helped propel growth of some of the larger cultural institutions in the last decade. Metro Arts is the arts and cultural division of the city of Nashville. It grants over $2.7 million annually to projects that strengthen the creative workforce, increase creative and cultural participation, and establish vibrant, creative neighborhoods. To attract and nurture emerging artists in all genres, Nashville leaders recently pooled funds to create Periscope, a six-week artist boot camp that provides artists with pre-IPO startup training, and Learning Lab, a public program that trains local artists to work with community partners on civic and social practice projects. The city is home to a variety of different, diverse artists and creators who contribute to neighborhood economies and create an exciting, authentic, creative city. Nashville is in the top 3% of all MSAs on the overall Arts Dollars, Arts Providers and Government Support measures, with particular strength in arts, culture, and entertainment firms per capita and the local employment that they provide.

#5 Minneapolis – St. Paul – Bloomington, MN-WI (pop. 3,551,036)

Arts Providers		8^th
	Independent artists	64^th
	Arts and culture employees	14^th
	Arts and culture organizations	43^rd
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	11^th
Arts Dollars		6^th
	Program revenue	7^th
	Contributed revenue	14^th
	Total expenses	8^th
	Total compensation	7^th
Government Support		2^nd
	State arts dollars	2^nd
	State arts grants	42^nd
	Federal arts dollars	7^th
	Federal arts grants	6^th

The Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI, MSA has a vibrant literary and publishing scene, strong theaters, foundations, and support for individual artists, a great orchestra as well as support for Native American voices. It ranks 2^nd in Government Support and for state arts dollars per capita. Minneapolis-St. Paul also ranks 7^th on total compensation to those working in arts and cultural organizations, as well as in program revenue. The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Weisman Art Museum, and The Museum of Russian Art anchor the visual arts scene. The area’s dynamic theater scene includes companies such as Illusion, Jungle, Mixed Blood, Penumbra, Mu Performing Arts, Bedlam, Red Eye, Theater Latté Da, In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre, Lundstrum Performing Arts, and the Children’s Theatre Company. The Guthrie Theater, the area’s largest theater company, occupies a three-stage complex overlooking the Mississippi River. The Minnesota Orchestra and Minnesota Opera are based in Minneapolis and the Science Museum of Minnesota and Minnesota Children’s Museum are in St. Paul. Home to Minnesota Fringe Festival, the largest non-juried performing arts festival in the U.S, Minneapolis has the largest literary and book center in the country, Open Book. There are numerous community-based organizations that focus on cultural and ethnic awareness and folk arts. ArtPlace America has helped to fund “Irrigate,” a three-year community development initiative created through the partnership between Springboard for the Arts, City of Saint Paul, and Twin Cities Local Initiatives Support Corporation. Irrigate happened as a response to the disruptive construction of a new rail line through the urban core, concerning many business owners in the area. The initiative supports artists in the area as problem solvers, connecting and engaging the community through art to still bring people to the businesses affected and creating beauty in the construction chaos.

#6 Los Angeles – Long Beach – Glendale, CA (pop. 10,137,915)

Arts Providers		2^nd
	Independent artists	1^st
	Arts and culture employees	12^th
	Arts and culture organizations	249^th
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	1^st
Arts Dollars		57^th
	Program revenue	69^th
	Contributed revenue	74^th
	Total expenses	61^st
	Total compensation	43^rd
Government Support		208^th
	State arts dollars	584^th
	State arts grants	617^th
	Federal arts dollars	108^th
	Federal arts grants	71^st

The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA, Metro Division’s signature film and recording industries, outstanding arts schools, enviable year-round climate, inexpensive options for work space, and welcoming attitude toward nonconformists have been magnets for visual and performing artists looking to push creative boundaries for nearly a century. Today, Los Angeles boasts more artists and more arts, culture, and entertainment firms per capita than any community in the U.S. The City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs has nearly two dozen theaters and cultural centers spread throughout the community in addition to providing funding and a variety of programs. The L.A. County Arts Commission funds, among other initiatives, free concerts at venues throughout L.A. County as part of the annual Free Concerts in Public Sites Program. The City of Los Angeles mandates that one percent of the total cost of all construction, improvements, or renovation projects undertaken by the City be set aside for public art projects.

The vast wealth and subsequent generosity of early entrepreneurs have resulted in Los Angeles becoming home to some of the world’s most important art museums and collections, such as the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Hammer Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Norton Simon Museum, The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, and most recently, The Broad Museum. Independent art galleries with offerings for every art lover can be found all over the city. For the performing arts, Los Angeles is home to the world-renowned Music Center, one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States, with its acclaimed buildings and world-class resident companies: Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Master Chorale, and Los Angeles Opera. The Hollywood Bowl is the largest performing arts amphitheater in the world. One of the most renowned of these companies, the L.A. Philharmonic, is celebrating its 100^th season this year, and celebrating with a free, day-long festival, L.A. Phil 100: Celebrate L.A.! These iconic institutions live in harmony with the Geffen Playhouse, Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, the L.A. Chamber Orchestra, and hundreds of smaller professional theater companies, dance companies, and music ensembles.

#7 Boston, MA (pop. 2,117,384)

Arts Providers		16^th
	Independent artists	210^th
	Arts and culture employees	11^th
	Arts and culture organizations	25^th
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	13^th
Arts Dollars		9^th
	Program revenue	5^th
	Contributed revenue	26^th
	Total expenses	9^th
	Total compensation	8^th
Government Support		10^th
	State arts dollars	69^th
	State arts grants	49^th
	Federal arts dollars	12^th
	Federal arts grants	7^th

The Boston, MA, Metro Division’s arts community thrives on innovation and collaboration amongst organizations in the city’s arts sector and between arts organizations and neighboring communities and other industries. From small organizations like The Record Company and Company One to mid-sized, award-winning organizations like the Huntington Theatre Company, to icons such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston has a wide variety of arts programming and venues. ArtsBoston serves 175 arts and cultural organizations with research and audience-building programs. Now and There brings art out into the community, exhibiting public art in common gathering places. Iconic cultural institutions can be found all over the city, such as the Institute of Contemporary Art, the Children's Museum, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Boston’s Percent for Art Program allocates 1% of the City's annual capital borrowing budget to the commissioning of public art. Boston organizations rank in the top 1% for per capita program revenue, total expenses, and total compensation paid to those working in arts and culture.

#8 Silver Spring – Frederick – Rockville, MD (pop. 1,291,454)

Arts Providers		26^th
	Independent artists	127^th
	Arts and culture employees	34^th
	Arts and culture organizations	46^th
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	17^th
Arts Dollars		5^th
	Program revenue	15^th
	Contributed revenue	5^th
	Total expenses	3^rd
	Total compensation	4^th
Government Support		20^th
	State arts dollars	23^rd
	State arts grants	199^th
	Federal arts dollars	40^th
	Federal arts grants	24^th

The Silver Spring-Frederick-Rockville, MD, Metro Division, which encompasses Montgomery County and Frederick County, is part of the greater Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area. Being partly inside the Capital Beltway, its arts and culture vibrancy benefits from being a close suburb of D.C., as evidenced by its 5^th and 3^rd place rankings on contributed revenue and total expenses, respectively, as well as its 4^th place ranking on compensation to arts and culture employees. In addition to close social and economic ties to D.C.’s arts and cultural offerings, Silver Spring is home to the American Film Institute’s AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, as well as several entertainment, musical, and ethnic festivals. The most notable of these festivals are AFI DOCS and the Silver Spring Jazz Festival. Montgomery County’s Silver Spring, Bethesda and Wheaton Arts & Entertainment Districts include venues for live music, theater, independent films, visual arts, dance, and more. Other notable area organizations include Strathmore, Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts and Culture, BlackRock Center for the Arts, Washington International Piano Festival, the Olney Theatre Center, Round House Theatre, and Imagination Stage. In Rockville, there is a civic ballet, civic chorus, and civic concert band. VisArts in Rockville provides arts education classes and camp programs, as well as gallery space for local artists. In the Frederick Arts and Entertainment District you will find the Delaplaine Arts Center, Griffin Art Center, Weinberg Center for the Arts, the annual Frederick Festival of the Arts and a vibrant independent artist scene in Downtown Frederick. This combined area has more than two dozen arts education organizations and two dozen dance companies. The Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County and the Frederick Arts Council foster environments where the arts may flourish through grant making, professional development, and capacity-building support programs.

#9 Newark, NJ – PA (pop. 2,507,478)

Arts Providers		15^th
	Independent artists	36^th
	Arts and culture employees	30^th
	Arts and culture organizations	121^st
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	7^th
Arts Dollars		38^th
	Program revenue	41^st
	Contributed revenue	62^nd
	Total expenses	34^th
	Total compensation	21^st
Government Support		14^th
	State arts dollars	10^th
	State arts grants	185^th
	Federal arts dollars	37^th
	Federal arts grants	20^th

The Newark, NJ-PA, Metro Division spans six counties in New Jersey and Pike County, PA, and is part of the larger New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, MSA.

Just a quick train ride away from New York, with more affordable housing options, Newark is a desirable place for artists to live, as evidenced by the ranking on independent artists per capita in the top 4% of communities. The city is in the midst of creating a cultural plan, “Newark Creates,” under the auspices of Newark Arts, a nonprofit that “powers the arts” to transform lives of those who live in, work in, and visit Newark. The Newark Arts Education Roundtable comprises over 50 partners in a cross-sector collaborative to ensure all schoolchildren receive high quality, sequential arts education. Cultural anchor institutions include the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark Museum, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Newark Public Library, and NPR-affiliated jazz station WBGO-FM. The city is home to Audible.com, which has worked with over 20,000 actors during the past 5 years, providing significant income to actors in the tri-state area. A major new anchor is the 50,000 sq. ft. Express Newark, a Rutgers University-Newark “collaboratory” in a renovated former department store. The center engages community, artists, faculty, and staff to collaborate, experiment, and innovate in printmaking, photography, painting, video, and more. Local and international artists have created the country’s 2nd longest mural, the 1.39-mile Gateways to Newark: Portraits project.

Striking structures and artwork by architect Sir David Adjaye and myriad artists encircle PSEG’s new Fairmount Heights Electric Switching Station. Artists have blanketed all five wards of the city with culturally rich murals. Newark Art’s Open Doors Citywide Festival showcases a burgeoning arts scene, including Aljira - A Center for Contemporary Art, Artfront Galleries, Barat Foundation, Gallery Aferro, Gateway Project Spaces, GlassRoots, Index Art Gallery, Newark Print Shop, Newark School of the Arts, NJIT’s College of Architecture and Design, Paul Robeson Galleries, and more. The GRAMMY Museum Experience recently opened at Prudential Center, one of the nation’s top sports and entertainment arenas. Festivals abound, including the Portugal Day Parade that attracts over 750,000 revelers; the 50,000-person Lincoln Park Festival; the biennial Dodge Poetry Festival, the largest poetry event in North America; the James Moody Jazz Festival; the Newark International Film Festival; and the Newark Black Film Festival. Artist housing has expanded with the opening of The Willows at Symphony Hall near historic Newark Symphony Hall, with more live-work spaces slated for the South and Central wards.

#10 Seattle – Bellevue – Everett, WA (pop. 2,937,590)

Arts Providers		21^st
	Independent artists	76^th
	Arts and culture employees	42^nd
	Arts and culture organizations	82^nd
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	12^th
Arts Dollars		23^rd
	Program revenue	16^th
	Contributed revenue	35^th
	Total expenses	28^th
	Total compensation	30^th
Government Support		104^th
	State arts dollars	541^st
	State arts grants	354^th
	Federal arts dollars	35^th
	Federal arts grants	22^nd

In the Seattle, WA, MSA, art is viewed as essential and it is integrated into daily life. Whether as artist-designed manhole covers and public art for new construction, or the Seattle Department of Transportation’s official “Art Plan,” bringing beauty and art to the streets of Seattle is high priority for city officials. It has large, established institutions that tend to be clustered in two neighborhoods: Downtown and the Seattle Center. It has a large ecosystem of smaller arts organizations in every genre, in just about every neighborhood, and three official arts and cultural districts: Capitol Hill, Central Area, and Uptown. Seattle boasts more than 140 producing theater companies. It has been recognized nationally and internationally for leadership and innovation in theater, music, glass art, and literary arts, is one of only a handful of U.S. cities to have a top-tier symphony, ballet, and opera, and was recently designated a City of Literature in UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network. The City’s Office of Arts & Culture is a cabinet-level department that is supported by a dedicated revenue stream and, at the county level, 4Culture provides critical funding for arts, public art, heritage and historic preservation. Seattle citizens use art and culture to preserve the environment as well, through festivals and art installations dedicated to appreciating and saving Seattle’s natural beauty. Innovative organizations like Shunpike provide emerging, independent artists and small arts organizations support in the form of critical services, resources, and opportunities to create success. Seattle is ranked in the top 3% of communities on both Arts Providers and Arts Dollars, and all of its sub-measures in these two areas are well within the top 10% of all cities.

#11 Philadelphia, PA (pop. 2,131,274)

Arts Providers		43^rd
	Independent artists	317^th
	Arts and culture employees	67^th
	Arts and culture organizations	48^th
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	21^st
Arts Dollars		10^th
	Program revenue	18^th
	Contributed revenue	18^th
	Total expenses	10^th
	Total compensation	9^th
Government Support		18^th
	State arts dollars	68^th
	State arts grants	229^th
	Federal arts dollars	28^th
	Federal arts grants	9^th

Both history and the arts pervade the Philadelphia, PA, Metro Division. Each arts and cultural sector is well-represented with a multitude of organizations, and there are world-renowned hallmarks such as the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In addition to the concentrations of organizations on the Avenue of the Arts, the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, and the Independence Historic District, Philly is home to more than a dozen outstanding educational institutions that offer advanced training in arts and culture, including The Curtis Institute, the Academy of Vocal Arts, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and The Moore College of Art and Design. There is a wealth of history and science museums, from The Franklin Institute science museum to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology to the National Constitution Center and the Museum of the American Revolution. Opera Philadelphia and FringeArts both host outstanding festivals each September. Philly has three major performing arts centers: the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, the Kimmel Center, and the Mann Center for the Performing Arts. Dance and theater companies abound. Many of Philadelphia’s arts and culture nonprofits were founded over 100 years ago, pointing to a long history of support. Today, the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance provides solid support in advocacy and audience engagement, to ensure ongoing support for the arts. Philadelphia is home to DataArts, formerly the Cultural Data Project, a national organization that brings the language and leverage of data to the business of culture. Philly ranks 10^th in Arts Dollars and scores in the top 2% of cities on all Arts Dollar measures. It is 9^th in the number of federal arts grants per capita.

#12 Portland – Vancouver – Hillsboro, OR – WA (pop. 2,424,955)

Arts Providers		18^th
	Independent artists	52^nd
	Arts and culture employees	40^th
	Arts and culture organizations	60^th
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	14^th
Arts Dollars		52^nd
	Program revenue	44^th
	Contributed revenue	87^th
	Total expenses	60^th
	Total compensation	36^th
Government Support		53^rd
	State arts dollars	202^nd
	State arts grants	195^th
	Federal arts dollars	50^th
	Federal arts grants	35^th

The Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA, MSA supports a young, yet vibrant arts community. The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) receives funding from a variety of public and private partners to serve artists, arts organizations, schools, and residents throughout Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties, which are part of the MSA. In order to bolster support for the arts community, voters took action in 2012, passing an annual $35 income tax to support certified art and music teachers in every Portland elementary school, to provide operating support for over 45 arts organizations, and to create an arts access fund for grants to underserved populations. The metro area has a diverse artistic landscape that showcases artistic strength in many genres. Arts and culture institutions include the Portland Art Museum, Portland Center Stage, and Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, as well as mid- and small-size offerings in all disciplines. Portland’5 Centers for the Arts has five venues that bring over 1,000 music, theater, dance, and lecture performances to Portland each year, and Oregon Symphony, Portland Opera, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Oregon Children’s Theatre, and Portland Youth Philharmonic are all resident companies. Portland is home to several eclectic, neighborhood-based arts districts. The Portland Cultural District covers 12 city blocks. In the Alberta Arts District, you can find the Alberta Rose Theatre, reopened after 20 years and reemerging as one of the premier spots to hear acoustic music, see art house film, and enjoy live performances. New and creative talent enjoys the city because of its natural environment, relative affordability, liberal reputation, and passion for all things creative.

#13 Cambridge – Newton – Framingham, MA (pop. 2,368,792)

Arts Providers		34^th
	Independent artists	221^st
	Arts and culture employees	64^th
	Arts and culture organizations	32^nd
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	19^th
Arts Dollars		22^nd
	Program revenue	23^rd
	Contributed revenue	42^nd
	Total expenses	22^nd
	Total compensation	18^th
Government Support		17^th
	State arts dollars	129^th
	State arts grants	70^th
	Federal arts dollars	20^th
	Federal arts grants	21^st

The Cambridge-Newton-Framingham, MA, Metro Division is located just across the Charles River from Boston. Its arts and cultural community is inseparable from the dynamism of its world-class universities, Harvard and MIT. Organizations like American Repertory Theatre, the Harvard Art Museums, Harvard Museum of Natural History, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Semitic Museum, List Visual Arts Center, and MIT Museum are all university-based. The City of Cambridge’s Percent-for-Art ensures that one percent of the construction costs on municipal capital investment is designated for use in developing site-responsive public artwork. This has resulted in the creation of more than 280 artworks in locations across the city. In fact, the City of Cambridge public art program represents the largest collection of contemporary public art in the New England region. In addition to exhibitions and educational programming presented in Gallery 344, Cambridge Arts stages high-profile events such as the Cambridge River Festival, featuring music, dance, theater, and visual art. The Cambridge Art Association has been committed for over 60 years to exhibiting and promoting the work of regional, New England artists. Merrimack Repertory Theatre and the Addison Gallery of American Art are well-respected organizations that reside in the Metro Division but outside of the density of Cambridge institutions. In addition, arts education organizations in Essex and Middlesex counties abound. This Metro Division is in the top 5% of communities in overall Arts Providers, Arts Dollars, and Government Support. It ranks in the top 3% on program revenue, total expenses, and total compensation on a per capita basis, and within the top 2% on arts, culture, and entertainment firms.

#14 New Orleans – Metairie, LA (pop. 1,268,883)

Arts Providers		39^th
	Independent artists	133^rd
	Arts and culture employees	57^th
	Arts and culture organizations	105^th
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	26^th
Arts Dollars		15^th
	Program revenue	20^th
	Contributed revenue	19^th
	Total expenses	14^th
	Total compensation	22^nd
Government Support		31^st
	State arts dollars	199^th
	State arts grants	179^th
	Federal arts dollars	22^nd
	Federal arts grants	18^th

The New Orleans-Metairie, LA, arts community is rooted in its multicultural history, with French, Spanish, African, Cajun/Acadian, and Caribbean influences, among others. This diversity, rich artistic and cultural traditions, and a post-Katrina wave of energy has turned New Orleans into something truly unique. It is the birthplace of jazz and continues to earn its reputation for prominence in jazz and funk with an abundance of musicians, an explosion of music clubs, the annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, the New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old U.S. Mint, and the plethora of jazz education available through entities such as the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation. New Orleans attracts artists from all over the world, but it is a city that favors its local artists. Local musicians, some of whom have multi-generational connections, often pull huge audiences from the Greater New Orleans community. The visual arts in New Orleans share the same mixture of cultural influences. There are galleries scattered throughout the city, with a small concentration in the Warehouse District and French Quarter. The city is home to the Contemporary Arts Center, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, World War II Museum, New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans Ballet Association, Junebug Productions, New Orleans Opera Association, Southern Rep, the McKenna Museum of African American Art, and The Louisiana Philharmonic. Arts Council New Orleans developed LUNA Fete in 2014, a week-long festival in which artists are commissioned to create public installations at night made with light and technology. The Council also hosts Arts Market New Orleans, an open-air artwork marketplace for New Orleans artists, and has over 400 art sites across the city. New Orleans is home to the National Performance Network, a national organization supporting artists in the creation and touring of contemporary performing and visual arts. New Orleans ranks 18^th on federal arts grants and in the top 4% of communities on overall Arts Providers, Arts Dollars, and Government Support.

#15 Oakland-Hayward-Berkeley, CA (pop. 2,782,831)

Arts Providers		31^st
	Independent artists	149^th
	Arts and culture employees	90^th
	Arts and culture organizations	47^th
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	16^th
Arts Dollars		50^th
	Program revenue	71^st
	Contributed revenue	55^th
	Total expenses	62^nd
	Total compensation	33^rd
Government Support		61^st
	State arts dollars	333^rd
	State arts grants	311^th
	Federal arts dollars	32^nd
	Federal arts grants	11^th

The Oakland-Hayward-Berkeley, CA, MSA is a growing hub of arts and culture. At the geographic center of the Bay, Oakland boasts over 30 art galleries and performing art venues, and invests in public art, including innovative light-based public art installations. Both Hayward and Berkeley have designated Art Districts located downtown, providing clusters of theater, music, dance and visual arts, including the Hayward Arts Council, Sun Gallery, and Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film and Archive (BAMPFA). Other notable arts and cultural organizations abound in this MSA, including the Oakland Museum of California, Oakland East Bay Symphony, Museum of Children’s Art, Tony and Grammy award-winning Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Aurora Theatre Company, Shotgun Players, Cal Performances and the Sawtooth Building. The area is also home to many arts-related festivals and events such as the Chocolate and Chalk Art event in Berkeley’s “Gourmet Ghetto,” Oakland Art Murmur galleries event, and Art & Soul. Berkeley in particular is known nationwide for its excellence in music; the California Jazz Conservatory is the only accredited jazz school in the nation, and also offers many live performances. This MSA ranks 11^th in federal arts grants per capita, and is in the top 2% of communities in number of arts, culture, and entertainment firms.

#16 Chicago – Naperville – Arlington Heights, IL (pop. 9,512,999)

Arts Providers		51^st
	Independent artists	123^rd
	Arts and culture employees	75^th
	Arts and culture organizations	145^th
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	31^st
Arts Dollars		21^st
	Program revenue	12^th
	Contributed revenue	58^th
	Total expenses	24^th
	Total compensation	17^th
Government Support		60^th
	State arts dollars	151^st
	State arts grants	124^th
	Federal arts dollars	83^rd
	Federal arts grants	46^th

The Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, IL, Metro Division has world-class arts and cultural organizations, from the Art Institute of Chicago and the Field Museum of Natural History to Hubbard Street Dance and The Joffrey Ballet to the National Museum of Mexican Art and Black Ensemble Theater. Chicago is home to over 250 professional theater companies, from non-union storefronts to an unprecedented five Tony Award-winning regional theatre companies: Steppenwolf Theatre Company and Victory Gardens Theater in Lincoln Park; the Goodman Theatre in the Loop; the Chicago Shakespeare Theater at Navy Pier; and Lookingglass Theatre Company on the Magnificent Mile. Broadway in Chicago, one of the largest commercial touring homes in the country, offers Broadway-style entertainment at five theaters. Chicago’s theater community spawned modern improvisational theater and includes the legendary The Second City. Classical offerings include the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago Opera Theater, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the Chicago Sinfonietta. Other live-music genres that are part of the cultural heritage include Chicago blues, Chicago soul, jazz, gospel, and Chicago house.

The city is the site of an influential hip-hop scene and it has launched new styles such as Chicago juke and footwork. Through the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), the city provides vital programs supporting the cultural landscape, from individual and organizational grants to capacity-building programs, residencies, and performance opportunities. DCASE is also known for its role producing a number of citywide music, cultural, and culinary festivals that are free and open to the public and draw international audiences. In addition, Chicago has other municipal and quasi-governmental agencies that each have a long tradition of advancing the arts across Chicago’s neighborhoods, including Chicago’s 80 neighborhood branch libraries and its 580 parks including cultural centers and arts residency programs. There are also many universities that contribute to Chicago’s arts scene, providing top education and training in the arts and media, and making Chicago a draw for young talent. Important works of outdoor public art abound, providing free access to works from the masters to contemporary street artists. The Chicago Cultural Alliance works to strengthen ethnic museums and cultural centers located across Chicago neighborhoods. There is strong local public and foundation arts support. Chicago also is the headquarters for numerous government advocacy and support agencies, including Arts Alliance Illinois, the Illinois Arts Council Agency, and Forefront, the only statewide membership organization in the country that includes nonprofits, grantmakers, public agencies, and its allies in one. The Chicago Metro Division ranks 12^th on program revenue and scores in the top 6% on every Arts Dollar measure.

#17 Rochester, NY (pop. 1,078,879)

Arts Providers		46^th
	Independent artists	332^nd
	Arts and culture employees	22^nd
	Arts and culture organizations	131^st
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	23^rd
Arts Dollars		44^th
	Program revenue	13^th
	Contributed revenue	107^th
	Total expenses	41^st
	Total compensation	54^th
Government Support		15^th
	State arts dollars	17^th
	State arts grants	146^th
	Federal arts dollars	18^th
	Federal arts grants	53^rd

Boasting almost 143 arts organizations, Rochester, NY, is a rich arts community just south of Lake Ontario. Over 100 years ago, George Eastman cultivated the arts in this community to establish a high quality of life that would attract top employees to work at his Eastman Kodak Company. Today, Rochester’s arts scene is thriving. Its reputation in dance is outstanding, being home to award-winning choreographers, a wealth of performances, top university dance programs, exciting festivals, and many nationally and internationally acclaimed companies such as The Rochester City Ballet. Additionally, with over two dozen theatrical companies and first-class venues such as Geva Theatre Center, Blackfriars Theatre, Push Physical Theatre and the Eastman Theatre, this is a city full of passionate theater professionals.

Rochester is home to many music organizations including Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival, Rochester Flute Association, fivebyfive, Pegasus Early Music, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Hochstein School of Music & Dance, Finger Lakes Choral Festival, and the Rochester Oratorio Society. Its strong arts scene is influenced by the presence of the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, one of the top music schools in the country. Museums and galleries also prove plentiful in Rochester, with the George Eastman Museum, National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House, Rochester Contemporary Art Center, and ARTISANworks. The Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester advocates for arts and culture throughout the region. The community continues to have new and expanding arts organizations, and the city prides itself on the variety and accessibility of their arts and culture scene. Many of the organizations engage in educational activities, extending arts and culture into the community through teaching artist programs. Rochester ranks 13^th in per capita program revenue earned from participation in the arts and cultural scene, and in the top 3% of communities on arts, culture, and entertainment firms as well as federal arts dollars.

#18 Austin – Round Rock, TX (pop. 2,056,405)

Arts Providers		32^nd
	Independent artists	74^th
	Arts and culture employees	83^rd
	Arts and culture organizations	93^rd
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	25^th
Arts Dollars		69^th
	Program revenue	48^th
	Contributed revenue	96^th
	Total expenses	77^th
	Total compensation	95^th
Government Support		16^th
	State arts dollars	142^nd
	State arts grants	29^th
	Federal arts dollars	33^rd
	Federal arts grants	15^th

While Austin – Round Rock, TX, may be well-known for its music and filmmaking scenes, it also has a robust, multifaceted arts scene marked by a collaborative “DIY ethos” that includes a cutting-edge theatre community, a burgeoning visual arts scene, and emerging art/tech intersections. Billed as the “Live Music Capital of the World,” Austin has more than 250 live venues that fill the city with music every night of the week and is a magnet for young musicians and audiences. Austin is also a festival town with long-running annual events such as Austin City Limits, South by Southwest, Austin Film Festival, Fusebox Festival, Texas Book Festival, and cultural celebrations like Dia de los Muertos.

Austin’s experimental theatre may be in part due to the widely regarded Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas (UT) with its focus on playwriting and screenwriting, as well as innovative productions by the Rude Mechs collective, The Vortex theater, and Spanish-speaking Proyecto Teatro. Museums like UT’s Blanton Museum of Art, one of the largest university art museums in the U.S., and The Contemporary Austin, Mexic-Arte Museum (the Official Mexican and Mexican American Museum in the Southwest), and the East Austin Studio Tour (E.A.S.T.), amongst others, have nurtured the rising visual arts scene. While Austin is home to the Long Center for the Performing Arts with its resident companies Austin Symphony Orchestra, Ballet Austin, and Austin Lyric Opera, Austin is also home to cultural facilities that serve as gathering places for the African American, Latinx, and Asian communities. Despite Austin being the 11^th largest city in the nation, the majority of arts organizations are small -- only 20 or so have budgets exceeding $1 million -- but the dynamism of the city’s arts organizations is reflected in the attraction of high numbers of state and federal government grants. The Cultural Arts Division of the City’s Economic Development Department provides leadership and management for Austin’s cultural arts programs and for the economic development of arts and cultural industries. They regularly partner with various organizations and communities on creative placemaking grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. Additionally, the large number of arts, culture, and entertainment firms and independent artists per capita leads to an Arts Providers score in the top 4% of all cities. With Austin’s strength also in technology, it is not surprising to learn Austin has achieved the distinction of being the first (and only) city in the U.S. to receive a “City of Media Arts” designation within UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network.

#19 Cleveland-Elyria, OH (pop. 2,055,612)

Arts Providers		88^th
	Independent artists	422^nd
	Arts and culture employees	63^rd
	Arts and culture organizations	89^th
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	64^th
Arts Dollars		11^th
	Program revenue	6^th
	Contributed revenue	24^th
	Total expenses	11^th
	Total compensation	11^th
Government Support		47^th
	State arts dollars	16^th
	State arts grants	157^th
	Federal arts dollars	103^rd
	Federal arts grants	85^th

Cuyahoga County and Cleveland-Elyria, OH, are home to a historic, nationally recognized arts and cultural community over a century old. Many of these long-standing arts and cultural treasures established a legacy during the city’s economic and industrial prime. Several of these anchor institutions include the Cleveland Museum of Art, The Cleveland Orchestra, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland Play House, the country’s oldest regional theatre, and Karamu House, the country’s oldest African American theatre. These anchor institutions are juxtaposed with high-quality, arts-based educational institutions, including Oberlin College, Baldwin Wallace University, Cleveland Institute of Music and Cleveland Institute of Art. Cleveland is lucky enough to house multiple thriving arts districts. Residents and visitors can access University Circle and Waterloo arts districts on the east side, Playhouse Square theater district centrally, and Gordon Square arts district on the west side.

Organizations and collectives throughout these districts include GroundWorks Dance Theater, Zygot Press, 12 Literary Arts, Praxis Fiber Workshop, Maelstrom Collaborative Arts, ArtHouse, Cleveland Public Theater and SPACES Gallery. Music has been and still is a huge part of Cleveland’s cultural fabric. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is seated downtown and many musical artists, live music clubs and music educational institutions call the city home. Cleveland attracts a healthy mix of traditional, non-traditional and experimental musicians, and is a growing hub for many literary artists and writers as well, attracted by the low cost of living coupled with the high-quality arts and cultural anchors. Local support is strong and increasing, including a cigarette excise tax in Cuyahoga County supporting the arts; Cleveland’s Percent for Art program, increasing public artworks, particularly in the public transportation areas; and large support from a collective and implementation perspective from the healthcare community. There are a wide variety of arts festivals and events annually in Cleveland, and 2018’s most recent additions include FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art and the InCuya Music Festival. There have been growing investments in the writing community, as well as an effort to unite the city’s writers, including Cleveland Book Week, the development of Literary Cleveland and the Brews + Prose monthly readings. Given this support base, it is no surprise that Cleveland ranks in the top 2% of all communities on overall Arts Dollars, with particular strength in program revenue, coming in 6^th for this sub-category.

#20 Pittsburgh, PA (pop. 2,342,299)

Arts Providers		63^rd
	Independent artists	367^th
	Arts and culture employees	19^th
	Arts and culture organizations	155^th
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	41^st
Arts Dollars		18^th
	Program revenue	24^th
	Contributed revenue	39^th
	Total expenses	18^th
	Total compensation	13^th
Government Support		55^th
	State arts dollars	128^th
	State arts grants	401^st
	Federal arts dollars	23^rd
	Federal arts grants	49^th

The Pittsburgh, PA, MSA is reaping the rewards from the region’s long-term commitment to the arts and community development. Situated at the confluence of three rivers, Pittsburgh is anything but the smoky steel town it once was, with renewed greenspaces welcoming thousands of visitors to outdoor arts festivals and experiences. Annually, over two million tourists visit arts venues and artworks, and the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council (GPAC) and VisitPITTSBURGH (Pittsburgh’s tourism agency) work closely with regional cultural partners to ensure that the arts are central to the Pittsburgh experience for visitors and residents alike.

Supporting this overarching effort, GPAC recently launched Artsburgh, an online arts events site, to promote thousands of arts experiences. Most notably, because of continuous foundation support and government funding through the unique Allegheny Regional Asset District (RAD), arts audiences in Pittsburgh have a robust, diverse supply of the arts, yielding social and cultural benefits that lead to audience spending and positive economic impacts. Through the Allegheny County government, RAD is financed from an additional 1% sales tax. In 2018, RAD financed arts organizations with $11.9 million (12% of total RAD grants) for general operating support, special programs (including accessibility programs), capital projects, and shared services partnerships. RAD is an important part of why Pittsburgh ranks in the top 2% of communities on Arts Dollars. Greater Pittsburgh is strong in all artistic disciplines, with arts infused throughout 90 distinct neighborhoods and even an artist residency program at the Pittsburgh International Airport. Championing art in the public realm is the Office of Public Art, part of GPAC, which supports artists and public art through technical assistance, placemaking initiatives, education, and funding. The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, established some 30 years ago, worked with The Heinz Endowments, Richard King Mellon Foundation, and many other sources to establish a Cultural District in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh, with theaters and venues now considered Pittsburgh icons. The 14-square-block District transformed a city’s former blighted area to a bustling, diverse scene with arts venues attracting millions to Pittsburgh’s urban core. It is home to notable institutions such as the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Public Theater, August Wilson Center for African American Culture, Wood Street Galleries, and the Byham Theater. In addition, the Strip District is home to the Pittsburgh Opera, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Heinz History Center, and Contemporary Craft, while The Andy Warhol Museum, Mattress Factory Museum of Contemporary Art, and Carnegie Science Center are located on the nearby North Side. Homewood Artist Residency, Kelly Strayhorn Theater, and the Penn Avenue Arts District are shining examples of grassroots neighborhood-based arts initiatives.

The top 10 medium-sized communities

This section provides insights into the arts and cultural scene for the top-10 medium MSAs, listing each community’s ranking on Arts Providers, Arts Dollars and Government Support. Each community on this list has a population between 100,000 and 1,000,000. The Census Bureau names the MSA for the principal city rather than the county. However, it is important to keep in mind that all MSAs are made up of at least one county, so we capture the activity of the entire county, not just the principal city.

We remind readers that Arts Providers and Arts Dollars are weighted 45% each and Government Support is weighted 10%. The rankings on the metrics and measures are from a high of 1 to a low of 953 since there are 953 unique MSAs and Metro Divisions. Any ranking between 1 and 95 still puts that community in the top 10% of cities on that measure, and a ranking of 96-190 means the community is in the top 20^th percentile, etc. Being ranked in the top 10 roughly means being in the top 1%.

#1 Santa Fe, NM (pop. 148,651)

Arts Providers		5^th
	Independent artists	7^th
	Arts and culture employees	18^th
	Arts and culture organizations	1^st
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	62^nd
Arts Dollars		3^rd
	Program revenue	4^th
	Contributed revenue	9^th
	Total expenses	4^th
	Total compensation	5^th
Government Support		1^st
	State arts dollars	9^th
	State arts grants	3^rd
	Federal arts dollars	3^rd
	Federal arts grants	1^st

Santa Fe, NM, has always been a cultural haven, with more artists, writers, and designers than just about any city in the country and home to one of the largest art markets in the country. Native arts are a cultural mainstay that predates Spanish and Anglo contact. Traditional Spanish Colonial arts made cultural contributions that were in place as Santa Fe became a modern railroad trade center. New Deal government funding enhanced the role of the arts as a valued asset through the contracting of murals, pottery, and other more traditional art forms in the interest of supporting art as a valued cultural asset. The visual arts are particularly strong with seven museums and over 150 galleries in Santa Fe.

Three major visual arts markets – International Folk Art Market Santa Fe, Indian Market, and Spanish Market – take place each year. Innovative galleries, the presence of SITE Santa Fe, and small nonprofits devoted to new arts experiences energize the thriving contemporary arts scene. The Santa Fe Opera is a performing arts mainstay that attracts an international audience. Dance is heavily represented with companies such as Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Entreflamenco, and Arte Flamenco Society featuring Juan Siddi Flamenco. There are the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, and numerous museums and centers dedicated to culture, nature, and science. Meow Wolf’s House of Eternal Return has become a major arts-related business in Santa Fe. Since its opening, over 300,000 visitors have been logged, 400 jobs created and an estimated $25 million in marketing value generated. In addition, the New Mexico Museum of Art celebrated 100 years this year with remodeled galleries, while looking to open a new contemporary museum, the Vladem Contempory, on the Railyard. Plans continue to move forward on Creative Santa Fe’s Arts + Creativity Center, which will provide affordable live-work housing for low-income artists in the up-and-coming Siler Road area. The Santa Fe MSA ranks in the top 1% of communities on overall Arts Providers, Arts Dollars and Government Support, and in the top 1% on all but two underlying measures.

#2 Pittsfield, MA (pop. 126,903)

Arts Providers		10^th
	Independent artists	81^st
	Arts and culture employees	36^th
	Arts and culture organizations	6^th
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	20^th
Arts Dollars		2^nd
	Program revenue	2^nd
	Contributed revenue	7^th
	Total expenses	2^nd
	Total compensation	3^rd
Government Support		6^th
	State arts dollars	8^th
	State arts grants	10^th
	Federal arts dollars	15^th
	Federal arts grants	10^th

The Pittsfield, MA, MSA is best known as the Berkshires. Berkshire County is home to a myriad of world-class art, theater, dance, music, film, and historic sites. Berkshire Theatre Group, Jacob’s Pillow, the Norman Rockwell Museum, Barrington Stage, Aston Magna Festival, Berkshire Music School, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and Tanglewood are among the outstanding organizations that call the Berkshires home. MASS MoCA’s vast galleries and numerous indoor and outdoor performing arts venues allow it to embrace all forms of art: music, sculpture, dance, film, painting, photography, theater, and new, boundary-crossing works of art that defy easy classification. In Pittsfield’s Upstreet Cultural District, The Lichtenstein Center for the Arts features a gallery/performance space, a ceramic studio, and working artist studios. Pittsfield Artscape announced expansion this past year of the Pittsfield Paintbox Program, which encourages artists to paint electrical boxes around the city. The creative economy is part of 1Berkshire’s countywide economic development strategy. The city has recently formalized its commitment to culture by becoming one of six communities in the Commonwealth to join the Mass Cultural Council Cultural Compact. The abundance of renowned arts and cultural activity and support drives Pittsfield to rank in the top 1% of communities on overall Arts Providers, Arts Dollars and Government Support, and either in the top 1% or 2% on nearly every underlying measure.

#3 San Rafael, CA (pop. 260,651)

Arts Providers		7^th
	Independent artists	50^th
	Arts and culture employees	26^th
	Arts and culture organizations	37^th
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	9^th
Arts Dollars		31^st
	Program revenue	40^th
	Contributed revenue	54^th
	Total expenses	35^th
	Total compensation	19^th
Government Support		41^st
	State arts dollars	249^th
	State arts grants	297^th
	Federal arts dollars	31^st
	Federal arts grants	5^th

San Rafael, CA, located across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, is the seat of Marin County and one of the Metro Divisions of the larger San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward MSA. Marin County is home to a number of world class musicians, internationally recognized artists, authors, and performers because of the attraction to the Greater Bay Area. Each Marin community has its own specialization in the arts, including painting, sculpting, music, and outdoor theater groups. Some of the outstanding and varied organizations include Sonoma Jazz Plus, Marin Ballet, Marin Dance Theatre, the Marin Symphony, Mill Valley Philharmonic, California Film Institute, Sausalito Film Festival, Marin History Museum, O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Porchlight Theatre Company, Golden Gate Opera, Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, Lark Theater, MarinMOCA, Marin Theatre Company, and Marin Summer Theater.

Filmmaker George Lucas has had a large influence on bringing the entertainment industry to Marin, which is home to Skywalker Ranch, one of Lucasfilm’s campuses that focuses on sound design post-productionsound design, mixing and audio post-production facility sound design, mixing and audio post-production facility. There is a recently designated Arts District in Downtown San Rafael, and in 2017 it was selected as one of California’s premier state-designated arts and culture districts. San Rafael scores in the top 1% of communities on Arts Providers and in the top 5% on Arts Dollars and Government Support. While California state arts funding is relatively low, the San Rafael MSA is 5^th in the country in its attraction of federal arts grants on a per capita basis.

#4 Traverse City, MI (pop. 148,684)

Arts Providers		41^st
	Independent artists	40^th
	Arts and culture employees	55^th
	Arts and culture organizations	39^th
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	236^th
Arts Dollars		4^th
	Program revenue	1^st
	Contributed revenue	32^nd
	Total expenses	6^th
	Total compensation	2^nd
Government Support		160^th
	State arts dollars	27^th
	State arts grants	152^nd
	Federal arts dollars	271^st
	Federal arts grants	336^th

Despite being one of the smaller cities in the medium-size category, Traverse City, MI possesses a well-developed arts scene. The city is best known culturally for the Interlochen Center for the Arts, which hosts the Interlochen Arts Camp where student actors, artists, musicians, and dancers from around the world flock to spend the summer. Notable alums include Josh Groban and Jewel. Interlochen Center is also home to the Interlochen Arts Festival, as well as some 750 concerts and theatrical productions held throughout the year. Several other theaters and auditoriums dot the landscape throughout the city, boasting a variety of musical and dramatic performances including specialization in world music, acoustic music, and the blues.

Other events include the Downtown Art Walks, the Traverse City Film Festival, and the Summer Solstice Art & Wine Walk. The city is home to the City Opera House, built in 1891, and one of only six historically intact Victorian opera houses in the state. In addition to the performance series throughout the year, the House also hosts the National Writers Series. Traverse City is filled with commercial and public galleries, as well as several museums and arts centers such as Crooked Tree Arts Center and The Dennos, which undertook a 15,000-square-foot expansion last year. In 2014 the city established an Arts Commission, which is charged with bringing more works of art to the public spaces in the city. Traverse City is ranked 1^st in program revenue per capita, and is in the top 4% of communities in all other Arts Dollar measures.

#5 Asheville, NC (pop. 452,319)

Arts Providers		13^th
	Independent artists	60^th
	Arts and culture employees	6^th
	Arts and culture organizations	106^th
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	56^th
Arts Dollars		60^th
	Program revenue	209^th
	Contributed revenue	2^nd
	Total expenses	149^th
	Total compensation	130^th
Government Support		210^th
	State arts dollars	79^th
	State arts grants	203^rd
	Federal arts dollars	420^th
	Federal arts grants	288^th

The Asheville, NC, MSA is recognizable as the setting for several Hollywood films, including The Hunger Games series and Serena. Asheville is an arts and cultural boomtown, ranking 6^th on arts and culture employees, and 13^th on Arts Providers overall. Live music and crafts play a big role in Asheville and its surrounding area. The town is home to the Asheville Symphony Orchestra and Asheville Lyric Opera, as well as many bluegrass, country, and traditional mountain musicians. Black Mountain College Museum and Arts Center calls Asheville home, along with a variety of museums: Asheville Museum of Art, Asheville Pinball Museum, Folk Art Center featuring artists of Appalachia, and the Museum of the Cherokee Indian.

The Flood Gallery Fine Art Center focuses on bringing excellent, provocative art to Asheville from artists working around the world. North Carolina Stage Company is a resident professional theatre located in downtown Asheville. It is joined by many small and experimental theatre companies including Anam Cara Theatre Company, Dark Horse Theatre, and Black Swan Theater. The Biltmore Estate and University of North Carolina at Asheville are part of the fabric of the local cultural scene. You can also find the Silver River Center for Chair Caning, Southern Appalachian Radio Museum, and Wheels Through Time vintage motorcycle museum. The River Arts District houses artists and an eclectic array of working studios in 22 industrial historical buildings along the French Broad River. In addition to providing grants, programs, and services, the Asheville Area Arts Council established The Refinery Creator Space, designed to provide space for artists to work, collaborate, and grow their creative businesses. It also houses five resident organizations: Asheville Darkroom, Asheville Makers, Bright Angle, and Local Cloth.

#6 Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA (pop. 924,129)

Arts Providers		86^th
	Independent artists	145^th
	Arts and culture employees	142^nd
	Arts and culture organizations	160^th
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	47^th
Arts Dollars		16^th
	Program revenue	25^th
	Contributed revenue	10^th
	Total expenses	20^th
	Total compensation	34^th
Government Support		13^th
	State arts dollars	70^th
	State arts grants	15^th
	Federal arts dollars	29^th
	Federal arts grants	43^rd

Situated among the picturesque Loess Hills and Missouri River, the Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA, MSA is a growing arts hub. The area-wide support for this development leads to the area’s ranking among the top 4% in all Arts Dollars measures. The MSA is home to an abundance of arts organizations: Joslyn Art Museum, Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Polina and Bob Schlott Performing Arts Center, Holland Performing Arts Center (home to the Omaha Symphony), and Opera Omaha, housed in the historic Orpheum Theater. The area places particular emphasis on hands-on artistic experiences, with organizations like Harvester Artist Lofts and Hot Shops Art Center, as well as many local galleries and shops featuring instructional arts and crafts.

The entire MSA is dotted with public art displays, though in Council Bluffs the biggest arts and culture growth is concentrated in the South Main district. Pottawattamie Arts, Culture and Entertainment (PACE) is one of the leading institutions driving the area’s growth, and is nearing the end of its $27M capital campaign to build the new Hoff Family Arts and Culture Center that will be home to the Chanticleer Theater, Kanesville Symphony Orchestra, Ballet Nebraska, and the Kitchen Council. On the other side of the river, Bluebarn Theatre recently moved into new quarters thanks to a successful $7M capital campaign. Across all disciplines, there is a truly collaborative spirit, with organizations and local patrons forming partnerships and collaborative activities designed to get young people in the area excited about music, theater, and art. Within the MSA, support for the arts comes from a variety of sources: local organizations, local and national foundations, government, historic tax credits, and businesses, as well as individual donors and artists. The MSA ranks 13^th in overall Government Support per capita, and is in the top 8% for every sub-category.

#7 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC (pop. 559,535)

Arts Providers		48^th
	Independent artists	116^th
	Arts and culture employees	93^rd
	Arts and culture organizations	73^rd
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	55^th
Arts Dollars		46^th
	Program revenue	55^th
	Contributed revenue	71^st
	Total expenses	40^th
	Total compensation	32^nd
Government Support		65^th
	State arts dollars	89^th
	State arts grants	211^th
	Federal arts dollars	77^th
	Federal arts grants	104^th

A hub of universities, Durham-Chapel Hill, NC, draws inspiration for the arts from the strong entrepreneurial culture, historic preservation, and well-known food scene. The universities in the area house museums, galleries, and performing halls and they attract artists as faculty. Nasher Art Museum, Ackland Art Museum, PlayMakers Repertory Company, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, Carolina Performing Arts, and American Dance Festival were either developed at or moved to the area because of the capabilities and support offered by Duke and UNC at Chapel Hill. North Carolina Central University has a strong African American art collection and jazz and performance programs.

Many of the smaller independent organizations draw on the talent that is available through university faculty, adjunct faculty, and instructors. Other area programs dedicated to the arts include an Artists-in-Residence program, a Juried Exhibitions Series at the Chapel Hill Town Hall, and Sculpture Visions. The Durham Performing Arts Center, the music club and brewery scene, and the foodie scene provide a commercial layer of entertainment. Piedmont Blues is the primary indigenous art form. The area provides many options for film buffs, particularly documentaries. It hosts the Art of Cool Jazz Festival, and abounds in modern dance and experimental theater, including Manbites Dog. The City and County own or support key arts facilities in the area: the Carolina Theatre, Durham Arts Council Building, Hayti Heritage Center, Durham Performing Arts Center and the Museum of Life & Science. The Durham Arts Council provides grant support for local artists and organizations, some of which is re-granted from the NC Arts Council, which also makes grants directly to several local arts organizations. Recently the area has shown increased willingness to include public art components in large public projects, an interest furthered by the NC Arts Council SmART Initiative. Durham-Chapel Hill ranks among the top 5% of communities in overall Arts Providers and Arts Dollars.

#8 Rapid City, SD (pop. 145,661)

Arts Providers		14^th
	Independent artists	15^th
	Arts and culture employees	182^nd
	Arts and culture organizations	8^th
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	38^th
Arts Dollars		239^th
	Program revenue	221^st
	Contributed revenue	292^nd
	Total expenses	235^th
	Total compensation	211^th
Government Support		36^th
	State arts dollars	31^st
	State arts grants	5^th
	Federal arts dollars	104^th
	Federal arts grants	156^th

Rapid City, SD’s rich western and Native American heritage provide an inspiring backdrop for the city’s art scene, which specializes in the visual arts. Downtown Rapid City in particular has seen an outpouring of support for the arts. One of the largest publicly owned displays of art, the life-sized bronze City of Presidents sculpture series, is located here, along with Art Alley with its large street art murals. The Rapid City MSA includes all activity in Pennington County, SD, which is home to Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

History and the natural landscape surrounding the city play a role in another recent project, the Sculpture Project: Passage of Wind & Water, which features granite sculptures by Masayuki Nagase illustrating the natural changes of this region. Other offerings for the visual arts enthusiast include the Dahl Arts Center, Suzie Cappa Art Center, and Prairie Edge Trading Co., along with numerous commercial galleries. Rapid City also offers more than visual arts; it is home to the Black Hills Symphony Orchestra, Black Hills Dance Theatre, Black Hills Community Theatre, historic Elks Theatre, and hands-on Journey Museum and Learning Center. Community is front and center for Rapid City arts and culture, evident in the number of events held as well as public support for the arts. Events include Art Night Downtown, a juried Native American art show named Native POP, an Art and Wine Festival, as well as a summer concert series. Public support is rife throughout the city for the arts; the Dahl Arts Center is city-owned, and many of its famous sculptures, including the City of Presidents and the Sculpture Project, are privately funded public art works. In fact, the Sculpture Project is one of the largest privately funded, public art commissions underway in the U.S. at $2 million. Rapid City also ranks 5^th in state arts grants, and is in the top 4% of communities across most Arts Provider measures.

#9 Burlington – South Burlington, VT (pop. 217,365)

Arts Providers		44^th
	Independent artists	118^th
	Arts and culture employees	50^th
	Arts and culture organizations	78^th
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	84^th
Arts Dollars		80^th
	Program revenue	65^th
	Contributed revenue	141^st
	Total expenses	89^th
	Total compensation	64^th
Government Support		25^th
	State arts dollars	241^st
	State arts grants	77^th
	Federal arts dollars	19^th
	Federal arts grants	14^th

The Burlington-South Burlington, VT, MSA arts scene has a variety of arts and cultural organizations in addition to two anchors, Burlington City Arts and the South End Arts District (SEABA). Burlington City Arts supports and promotes Vermont artists and advances the creation of new work, offers a spectrum of arts education and engagement opportunities, presents exhibitions and events, promotes critical dialogue and encourages local participation, and makes the arts integral to the City of Burlington's economic and civic development, urban design, and livability. Its BCA Center is an art gallery, arts education/studio center, and cultural events space. SEABA includes the SEABA Center Gallery, South End artist studios, an annual Art Hop, and Art Under the Influence, which joins members of the community with local artists. It also curates art exhibits at 10 galleries and other venues.

The University of Vermont Medical Center has an extensive collection of art by Vermont artists designed to ease the stress of being in a hospital and to help visitors experience the healing power of art. With the aid of Burlington City Arts, the collection is now available online in a virtual gallery for patients and the public. In addition, the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts and Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center serve multiple performing and performance arts groups. Thanks to these organizations and others (e.g., Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, Vermont Symphony, Vermont Mozart Festival, and University of Vermont’s Robert Hull Fleming Museum of Art Burlington), Burlington scores in the top 10% on overall Arts Provider, Arts Dollar and Government Support per capita measures. Burlington attracts progressive, independent-minded folks who like a sense of community, who are attuned to a local-first ethic, and who like to work collectively.

#10 Missoula, MT (pop. 116,130)

Arts Providers		28^th
	Independent artists	80^th
	Arts and culture employees	23^rd
	Arts and culture organizations	66^th
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	58^th
Arts Dollars		153^rd
	Program revenue	125^th
	Contributed revenue	251^st
	Total expenses	146^th
	Total compensation	118^th
Government Support		75^th
	State arts dollars	113^th
	State arts grants	9^th
	Federal arts dollars	173^rd
	Federal arts grants	137^th

The Missoula, MT, MSA has an engaged and active population, who are just as likely to participate in outdoor recreation as they are to go to the symphony or attend a theater production. It ranks in the top 9% or better of cities on every Arts Provider measure. Throughout the year there are numerous festivals – film, literary, cultural, theater, dance, music (jazz, roots, choral, e.g.) – and monthly gallery walks. Missoula is home to the University of Montana, and there is a strong town-gown partnership. Although there is no designated arts district, more than 60 nonprofit arts and cultural organizations operate in Missoula; a handful are nationally known, most notably the Missoula Children’s Theatre, but most are small.

Missoula’s museums are diverse, ranging from the National Museum of Mountain Flying and the Rocky Mountain Museum of Military History to the Montana Museum of Art & Culture and the Missoula Art Museum. Performing arts organizations include Missoula Symphony Orchestra and Chorale, String Orchestra of the Rockies, Montana Repertory Theatre, and Missoula Community Theatre. The entertainment industry has grown dramatically in recent years. The University of Montana’s Washington-Grizzly Stadium has presented the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and Pearl Jam, and in 2017 two distinct 4000+ outdoor amphitheaters opened with full summer schedules of national acts. The region has a full and diverse event schedule, great engagement through volunteerism, and overall tremendous community support. Missoula attracts many writers, visual artists, and musicians. It ranks in the top 2% on state arts grants. Arts Missoula is the local arts agency, serving as a resource for the coordination, development, and support of art and culture for the benefit of the Missoula community.

The top 10 small communities

In this section we provide insights into the arts and cultural scene for the top-10 small MSAs, listing each community’s ranking on Arts Providers, Arts Dollars and Government Support. All 10 communities listed here are considered Micropolitan statistical areas by the Census Bureau, meaning they are counties with a principal city that has a population between 10,000 and 50,000, plus adjacent territory that has a high degree of integration with that core city. The Census Bureau names the MSA for the principal city rather than the county. However, it is important to keep in mind that all MSAs are made up of at least one county, so we capture the activity of the entire county, not just the principal city.

The rankings on the metrics and measures are from a high of 1 to a low of 953 since there are 953 unique MSAs and Metro Divisions. Many of these communities might be described as small artist colonies or tourist destinations supported by part-time residents. We remind readers that Arts Providers and Arts Dollars are weighted 45% each and Government Support is weighted 10%. With 953 unique MSAs and Metro Divisions, any ranking between 1 and 95 on a measure puts that community in the top 10% of cities on that measure, and a ranking of 96-187 means the community is in the top 20^th percentile, etc. Being ranked in the top 10 roughly means being in the top 1%.

#1 Edwards, CO (pop. 53,989)

Arts Providers		23^rd
	Independent artists	13^th
	Arts and culture employees	186^th
	Arts and culture organizations	64^th
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	34^th
Arts Dollars		32^nd
	Program revenue	67^th
	Contributed revenue	23^rd
	Total expenses	19^th
	Total compensation	65^th
Government Support		71^st
	State arts dollars	245^th
	State arts grants	225^th
	Federal arts dollars	81^st
	Federal arts grants	17^th

The Vail Valley, Edwards, CO, offers a diversity of cultural and educational activities suited for both locals and guests. Although best known for outdoor recreation, the cultural scene is well developed, and offers access to theatre, music, arts, and educational experiences meant to enrich the soul and enliven the spirit. Special event and performance venues abound in nearby towns, including the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater and Vilar Performing Arts Center, which regularly host world-class orchestra and dance performances, globally recognized comedians and musical artists, and political and cultural thought leaders. Residents and visitors alike are surrounded by special arts events such as Art on the Rockies, the Vail Jazz Festival and the Beaver Creek Arts Festival. Additionally, local organizations and institutions holding regular arts and culture programs include the family-focused Alpine Arts Center, Colorado Mountain College, Walking Mountains Science Center, and the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Museum and Hall of Fame. Edwards is particularly strong in the performing arts, with emphasis on jazz, dance, and music, and it attracts artists who enjoy the mountain way of life. The arts in this town are primarily funded through private giving – the town is in the top 3% in contributed revenue per capita – though the towns and communities have begun to build significant infrastructure to continue this support, leading to the area being in the top 2% in federal arts grants.

#2 Jackson, WY – ID (pop. 34,151)

Arts Providers		12^th
	Independent artists	3^rd
	Arts and culture employees	153^rd
	Arts and culture organizations	10^th
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	51^st
Arts Dollars		102^nd
	Program revenue	147^th
	Contributed revenue	60^th
	Total expenses	76^th
	Total compensation	145^th
Government Support		186^th
	State arts dollars	194^th
	State arts grants	83^rd
	Federal arts dollars	216^th
	Federal arts grants	349^th

The Jackson, WY-ID, MSA is a mountain community of great beauty and innovation that includes both Teton County, ID and Teton County, WY. All art forms are represented, at times recognized nationally or internationally for excellence. The area is home to the National Museum of Wildlife Art, which offers a Sculpture Trail in addition to its indoor, permanent collection. The Center for the Arts is a 78,000-square-foot campus with 19 local, regional and statewide arts and cultural organizations that call the Center home. It has an art gallery, performance theater, dance studios, classrooms, and offices, and it facilitates sharing and collaboration among resident organizations. Some of the resident companies include Off Square Theatre Company, the Jackson Hole Community Band, Jackson Community Theater, the Jazz Foundation of Jackson Hole, the Jackson Hole Chorale, and pARTners, an organization that integrates arts into school curriculum. The Grand Teton Music Festival is a summer classical music festival that brings prestigious soloists and musicians from renowned orchestras to Jackson Hole to share their passion with the local community. Strong mid-size and smaller organizations include the Dancers’ Workshop, Jackson Hole Public Art, and the Art Association. The Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival is an internationally known organization that runs film awards for the wildlife film industry and also is a powerhouse of arts education programming. Jackson ranks 3^rd on independent artists per capita and 12^th on overall Arts Providers. Local individuals, foundations and government are very supportive with funding, and contributed revenue is in the top 7% of all communities.

#3 Summit Park, UT (pop. 40,307)

Arts Providers		42^nd
	Independent artists	18^th
	Arts and culture employees	201^st
	Arts and culture organizations	242^nd
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	32^nd
Arts Dollars		55^th
	Program revenue	51^st
	Contributed revenue	76^th
	Total expenses	53^rd
	Total compensation	57^th
Government Support		8^th
	State arts dollars	67^th
	State arts grants	54^th
	Federal arts dollars	4^th
	Federal arts grants	19^th

The Summit Park, UT, MSA includes all of Summit County, home to Park City and its three ski resorts. At times of the year, the tourist population of Park City greatly exceeds the number of permanent residents, making the availability of the arts high on a per capita basis. Additionally, the city is home to the Sundance Film Festival, the United States’ largest independent film festival, the Sundance Institute, Park City Institute, Park City Chamber Music Society, Park City Arts & Music Conservatory, Egyptian Theatre, FilmUtah, and the Deer Valley Music Festival, which is the Utah Symphony/Utah Opera’s summer home. Park City Summit County Arts Council has incubated numerous arts and culture organizations, built audiences for established and emerging artists, and helped promote the area as a world-class cultural tourist destination. It produces programs such as the Art Elevated annual holiday gift market, Summit Arts Showcase and the County Fair Fine Arts exhibit annually, and it works in partnership with other nonprofits to connect creative content to the community. The area is ranked 3^rd on independent artists and arts, 8^th on culture and entertainment firms per capita, and the area’s federal arts dollars and grants are both in the top 1% of communities.

#4 Hood River, OR (pop. 23,232)

Arts Providers		24^th
	Independent artists	8^th
	Arts and culture employees	383^rd
	Arts and culture organizations	7^th
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	68^th
Arts Dollars		19^th
	Program revenue	30^th
	Contributed revenue	6^th
	Total expenses	44^th
	Total compensation	74^th
Government Support		403^rd
	State arts dollars	54^th
	State arts grants	45^th
	Federal arts dollars	820^th
	Federal arts grants	862^nd

For such a small population, the Hood River, OR, MSA boasts a large number and range of artists. While individual artists comprise the bulk of the arts landscape, there are also several small arts organizations, in addition to several world class museums within 20 miles of one other. The MSA includes the Columbia Center for the Arts and the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum. It is no surprise, then, that Hood River is in the top 1% of communities for independent artists and arts and culture organizations per capita. The city hosts a Big Art Walk every year, which has nearly doubled the number of installations since its inception three years ago. Support for the arts is strong, coming from a diverse set of advocates: the City, the Chamber of Commerce, and several foundations, with a significant amount coming from the city’s citizens themselves. Hood River ranks 6^th in per capita contributed revenue, and is within the top 8% of communities on all other Arts Dollar measures.

#5 Durango, CO (pop. 55,623)

Arts Providers		9^th
	Independent artists	21^st
	Arts and culture employees	137^th
	Arts and culture organizations	3^rd
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	42^nd
Arts Dollars		139^th
	Program revenue	282^nd
	Contributed revenue	109^th
	Total expenses	119^th
	Total compensation	108^th
Government Support		325^th
	State arts dollars	322^nd
	State arts grants	287^th
	Federal arts dollars	319^th
	Federal arts grants	436^th

Durango, CO’s remote location in the Four Corners region and rugged San Juan Mountains is inspiring in and of itself, but the historic and cultural aspects take it to another level. Founded in 1881 by the D&RG Railroad to supply miners, there is a strong Old West-era vibe. Pre-dating the miners were ancient cultures and civilizations dating back over 2500 years, depicted by traditional and contemporary art of over 20 Native tribes and cultures. Durango’s thriving art scene touts local and internationally renowned artists and over a dozen art galleries, from small, local art cooperatives to world-famous works. Art is becoming increasingly important to the public life of the city: from 2016 to 2017, several nonprofits from the area partnered with the city to lead the Americans for the Arts’ Arts and Economic Prosperity 5 (AEP5) study, capturing the impact of arts and cultural organizations on local economics, and the city boasts over 30 public artworks throughout the parks, streets and civic buildings. Other city-driven initiatives include adding an Arts, Culture and Creative Economy chapter in its comprehensive plan, maintaining a Public Art Commission, and launching a mini-grants program known as Durango Creates.

Downtown Durango is on the National Register of Historic Districts and features over a dozen art galleries, several museums, theaters and sculptures dotting the landscape. The Durango Arts Center is a multi-faceted hub for community arts that hosts and promotes contemporary visual and performing arts, arts education, dynamic exhibits, an active docent program and the annual Durango Autumn Arts Festival. Durango is well known for its extraordinary collection of Western art and a distinctive collection of contemporary and traditional fine art and jewelry; represented artists include Kevin Red Star, Star Liana York, and former U.S. Senator Ben Nighthorse. Music also plays a big role, from bluegrass to a fully integrated festival of orchestra, chamber music and young artists’ performances in conjunction with Music in the Mountains Conservatory. The Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College provides a stage for the eclectic traveling bands and productions on tour, while Stillwater Music and iAM Music provide opportunities for music education and ongoing professional development through training and performing bands. Additionally, the Durango Independent Film Festival takes place every year in February, followed by a number of live theater and musical performances throughout the spring and summer. October 2018 marks the 30th anniversary of the Durango Cowboy Poetry Gathering, where nationally acclaimed cowboy poets, storytellers and musicians perform both traditional and contemporary poems and songs. Because of the diversity of offerings, Durango ranks 9^th in overall Arts Providers, and 3^rd in the number of arts and cultural organizations.

#6 Key West, FL (pop. 79,077)

Arts Providers		54^th
	Independent artists	12^th
	Arts and culture employees	848^th
	Arts and culture organizations	2^nd
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	98^th
Arts Dollars		40^th
	Program revenue	14^th
	Contributed revenue	53^rd
	Total expenses	29^th
	Total compensation	102^nd
Government Support		138^th
	State arts dollars	50^th
	State arts grants	380^th
	Federal arts dollars	142^nd
	Federal arts grants	232^nd

Key West, FL, is home to a number of unique arts-related events and sites, including the only presidential museum in the state, the Truman Little White House. In addition to many public artworks, Key West features a large number of galleries, particularly along White and Duval streets. Residents and tourists alike participate in the many art walks, such as the Walk on White, Art and Ambiance Walks, and Upper Duval Street Stroll. Key West historically inspired and attracted many American authors, including Tennessee Williams, Robert Frost, and Ernest Hemingway. The city embraces this literary history, hosting the annual Key West Literary Seminar and Hemingway Days celebration. Other historical arts traditions are honored through the Tropic Cinema, Key West Film Festival, Audubon House and Tropic Gardens, and the Key West Art and History Museum at the Custom House, as well as the nature-filled Crane Point Museum and Nature Center. Rounding out the diverse arts offerings are numerous performing arts venues and organizations, including Waterfront Playhouse, Red Barn Theatre, Dance Key West, Key West Theater, Tennessee Williams Theatre, the Glynn R. Archer Center for the Performing Arts, and the eclectic Studios of Key West. Key West ranks in the top 2% of communities for arts and culture organizations, independent artists, and program revenue per capita.

#7 Bennington, VT (pop. 36,191)

Arts Providers		49^th
	Independent artists	157^th
	Arts and culture employees	52^nd
	Arts and culture organizations	63^rd
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	85^th
Arts Dollars		65^th
	Program revenue	106^th
	Contributed revenue	66^th
	Total expenses	57^th
	Total compensation	56^th
Government Support		59^th
	State arts dollars	170^th
	State arts grants	241^st
	Federal arts dollars	52^nd
	Federal arts grants	37^th

The Bennington, VT, MSA is home to a diverse population of visual artists who are community oriented and take part in public art projects, individual showings, and nonprofit events. The MSA includes Bennington and Manchester, VT, where you will find Bennington College, Southern Vermont Arts Center, and Bennington Art Guild. The Bennington Center for the Arts hosts music concerts and houses a Native American art collection; works by a world-famous bird sculptor, who conducts annual workshops; natural history paintings; a small works collection; and a gallery for the Bennington Plein Air Artist Works, among other exhibits. Bennington Museum houses the largest collection of Grandma Moses original paintings and features a once-a-year exhibit of the Jane Stickle Quilt, which was made during the Civil War. In addition, the area benefits from the Oldcastle Theatre Company, Manchester Music Festival, and the American Museum of Fly Fishing. Bennington is home to the Vermont Arts Exchange, which provides studio-based programs, many of which are focused on working in an environmental setting. Visual artists, filmmakers, and musicians are drawn to the area. Cultural Bennington Arts Council is made up of artists, performers, teachers, arts organizations, and community leaders, and has helped move the arts to the forefront of the town’s economic development efforts.

#8 Oneonta, NY (pop. 60,097)

Arts Providers		61^st
	Independent artists	328^th
	Arts and culture employees	21^st
	Arts and culture organizations	102^nd
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	86^th
Arts Dollars		92^nd
	Program revenue	97^th
	Contributed revenue	116^th
	Total expenses	101^st
	Total compensation	79^th
Government Support		69^th
	State arts dollars	72^nd
	State arts grants	273^rd
	Federal arts dollars	71^st
	Federal arts grants	98^th

Otsego County, represented as the Oneonta, NY, MSA, takes community development and living green to heart. Culture is abundant with world class opera, national art exhibitions, theater and concerts, and a rich historical past. The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum can be found in Cooperstown, which draws nearly 300,000 visitors per year. Cooperstown is also home to the Fenimore Art Museum, The Farmers’ Museum, The Petrified Creatures Museum of Natural History, and the Glimmerglass Opera. The Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Center serves a three-county area with performing arts events and educational outreach. Foothills was also deemed the “greenest” building to ever go through the NYSERDA program, earning the venue increased funding. Arts in Oneonta is supported through the Community Arts Network of Oneonta.

#9 Juneau, AK (pop. 32,468)

Arts Providers		115^th
	Independent artists	477^th
	Arts and culture employees	98^th
	Arts and culture organizations	16^th
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	226^th
Arts Dollars		66^th
	Program revenue	101^st
	Contributed revenue	78^th
	Total expenses	68^th
	Total compensation	51^st
Government Support		5^th
	State arts dollars	47^th
	State arts grants	16^th
	Federal arts dollars	14^th
	Federal arts grants	2^nd

The Juneau, AK, MSA may be a tucked-away capital city, but nonetheless, it is undeniably alive with arts and culture. A nationally recognized theater, two opera companies, a ballet company, a community orchestra and several chamber ensembles, choirs, vibrant and deeply rooted Native arts and culture organizations, and an abundance of small arts groups create an amazing array for such a small town. Artists, poets, authors, photographers, musicians, carvers, weavers, and creators of all sorts enliven daily life. Juneau is among the top 2% of communities in number of arts and culture organizations per capita, and ranks 5th in overall Government Support and 2nd in federal arts grants per capita. As the state capital, Juneau boasts several museums, including the award-winning Father Andrew P. Kashevaroff State Library, Archives & Museum completed two years ago.

Public art dots the landscape, with recent additions including an award-winning “Empty Chair” honoring the Japanese residents interned during World War II, adding to the collection of murals, sculptures, and totems found all around town and on the waterfront. Indigenous arts, language, and culture thrive thanks to several organizations including the Sealaska Heritage Institute, Goldbelt Heritage Foundation, and The Canvas. Native dance groups, local carvers, weavers, and artists are carrying traditional art forms into the future, teaching young people and sharing with the community. Tlingit Language/Indian Studies programs are offered in schools, and over 600 students participate in a free music program based on the El Sistema program that uses the power of music ensembles to help youth reach their fullest potential. The Alaska Folk Festival, celebrating its 42nd year, a Public Market of crafts and artwork now in its 36th year, and the annual Juneau Jazz & Classics Festival, now in its 32nd year, all bring people to Juneau and contribute significantly to the overall sense of the city as an arts center as well as to the local economy. The Juneau Arts & Humanities Council is the official arts agency of the City and Borough of Juneau, and is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year. The Council brings performances, exhibits, grants, scholarships, and support for other arts organizations to the city, manages the Juneau Arts & Culture Center (the former National Guard Armory), and is in the middle of building a new arts and culture center for the community.

#10 Fredericksburg, TX (pop. 26,521)

Arts Providers		22^nd
	Independent artists	10^th
	Arts and culture employees	20^th
	Arts and culture organizations	17^th
	Arts, culture & entertainment firms	394^th
Arts Dollars		107^th
	Program revenue	31^st
	Contributed revenue	117^th
	Total expenses	92^nd
	Total compensation	254^th
Government Support		408^th
	State arts dollars	488^th
	State arts grants	161^st
	Federal arts dollars	411^th
	Federal arts grants	549^th

Located in the Texas Hill Country, the Fredericksburg, TX, MSA prides itself on being an American art destination. Artists have long been attracted by the expansive landscape, and this continues even today thanks in part to the lively social scene including renowned local wines and culinary creations. Many of Fredericksburg’s numerous galleries participate in the city’s celebrated First Friday Artwalk. Fredericksburg ranks 10^th in independent artists per capita, and is in the top 2% of communities in most other Arts Provider measures. It is home to the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park, the National Museum of the Pacific War, and the Sculpture Ranch and Galleries. Fredericksburg and nearby Luckenbach, Texas, also have a thriving live music tradition. The area is home to well-known country, folk, rock, bluegrass, and blues venues including Luckenbach, Hondo’s on Main, Crossroads Saloon and Steakhouse, and Pat’s Hall. There is an annual Hill Country Wine and Music Festival, and the local wineries feature live music on pleasant weekend afternoons. The summer months in particular call for several live music events, such as the live Roots Music Concerts presented by the Pioneer Museum. The Fredericksburg Theater Company, Hill Country Film Festival, and Rockbox Theater round out the arts scene.

Conclusion

Arts vibrancy is multifaceted and its constellations manifest in different ways, depending on strengths that develop out of the character of a place and the people who live there. Communities that value arts and culture invest in it, and those investments are reflected in the number of arts providers, the arts dollars, and the level of government support attracted from state and federal sources.

About NCAR

The SMU National Center for Arts Research (NCAR) acts as a catalyst for the transformation and sustainability of the national arts and cultural community. Its mission is to be the leading provider of evidence-based insights that enable arts and cultural leaders to overcome challenges and increase impact. NCAR integrates data from its numerous partners and provides analysis, insights, and free tools such as the NCAR KIPI Dashboard that enable arts leaders to understand more about the field and their organizations from their own data. For more information, visit www.smu.edu/artsresearch.

[1] Arts and Culture Are Closer Than You Realize: U.S. Nonprofit Arts and Cultural Organizations Are a Big Part of Community Life, Economy, and Employment —and Federal Funding Enhances the Impact, SMU National Center for Arts Research, March, 2017.

[2] Stern, M. J. and S. Seifert, The Social Wellbeing of New York City’s Neighborhoods: The Contribution of Culture and the Arts, Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Social Impact of the Arts Project, March, 2017.

[3] See: 1) Fine Arts Fund, “The Arts Ripple Effect: A Research-Based Strategy to Build Shared Responsibility for the Arts” (2010), http://www.topospartnership.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Arts_topos_1-10.pdf. Accessed 27 March 2018. 2) ArtPlace America’s online Library for links to numerous resources, http://www.artplaceamerica.org/resources. Accessed 27 March 2018.

[4] Bloomberg Philanthropies, The Public Art Challenge, https://publicartchallenge.bloomberg.org/. Accessed 27 March 2018.

[5] http://www.naco.org/topics/arts-culture. Accessed 29 March 2018.

[6] Merriam-Webster Dictionary, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vibrant. Accessed 27 March 2018.

[7] At What Cost? How Distance Influences Arts Attendance, SMU National Center for Arts Research, October, 2017.

[8] https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/bulletins/2017/b-17-01.pdf Accessed 28 March 2018, page 7.

[9] Zients, Jeffrey D. (2013), OBM Bulletin Number 13-01, Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget.

[10] https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/bulletins/2017/b-17-01.pdf. Accessed 28 March 2018.

[11] http://www.worldcitiescultureforum.com/cities/new-york. Accessed 30 March 2018.

[i] The data that NCAR has integrated for this report comes from numerous sources. Organizational data that forms the basis of the Arts Dollar measures is from the Internal Revenue Service, DataArts’ Cultural Data Profile, and Theatre Communications Group. Community data that forms the basis of the Arts Provider measures is from the Internal Revenue Service and the Census Bureau, which is reported by county, zip code, and census tract. State funding data is from the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies and Federal funding data is from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

DataArts, formerly the Cultural Data Project, is a nonprofit organization that brings the language and leverage of data to the business of culture. Any interpretation of the data is that of the authors, not DataArts. For more information on DataArts and the Cultural Data Profile, visit www.culturaldata.org.

[ii] The 12 categories of arts and cultural sectors and their associated NTEE codes are as follows:

Arts Alliance and Service Organizations: Alliances & Advocacy (A01), Management & Technical Assistance (A02), Professional Societies & Associations (A03), Fund Raising & Fund Distribution (A12)

Arts Education: Arts Education/Schools (A25) and Performing Arts Schools (A6E)

Art Museums: Art Museums (A51)

Community: Arts and Cultural Organizations – Multipurpose (A20), Cultural & Ethnic Awareness (A23), Folk Arts (A24), Arts & Humanities Councils/Agencies (A26), Community Celebrations (A27), Visual Arts (A40)

Dance: Dance (A62) and Ballet (A63)

Music: Music (A68), Singing & Choral Groups (A6B), and Bands & Ensembles (A6C)

Opera: Opera (A6A)

Performing Arts Centers: Performing Arts Centers (A61)

Symphony Orchestra: Symphony Orchestras (A69)

Theater: Theater (A65)

Other Museums: Museums & Museum Activities (A50), Children’s Museums (A52), History Museums (A54), Natural History & Natural Science Museums (A56), and Science & Technology Museums (A57)

Multidisciplinary Performing Arts: Performing Arts (A60)

[iii] Organizations are assigned to arts sectors using the National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE), which is a classification system for nonprofit organizations. The NCCS website gives an excellent summary description of what NTEEs are and how they came about: http://nccs.urban.org/classification/NTEE.cfm. Organizations report their NTEE when filing their IRS 990 and they report it as part of DataArts’ Cultural Data Profile survey. If an organization has a parent organization, we opted for their arts discipline NTEE (e.g., performing arts center) rather than their parent organization’s NTEE (e.g., university) if available. “Arts and Culture” is one of the NTEE’s 10 major groups of tax-exempt organizations (the “A” category), and within Arts and Culture there are 10 subcategories that contain 30 additional subdivisions.

[iv] See i above.

The Top 40 Most Vibrant Arts Communities in America (2018)