Arts, Culture & Economic Prosperity in Greater Philadelphia

Please note: This is the 2007 report; for the 2012 report, click here.

The regional non-profit cultural sector is a tremendous asset to the local economy. Cultural organizations and their audiences in Greater Philadelphia spend $1.3 Billion annually, according to Arts, Culture, & Economic Prosperity in Greater Philadelphia. The report documents 40,000 jobs generated by the economic activity of the cultural sector and $158 million in taxes returned to state and local communities.

The report also demonstrates that the general public strongly supports the sector, and participates in a variety of ways. Local resident attendance is 10% higher than the national average and 83% of regional residents attended an arts and cultural event last year. Additionally, 88% of attendees surveyed voted in the previous general election.

This report relied on data collected from 177 arts and cultural organizations and over 2,300 audience spending surveys collected from arts patrons. Economic modeling for the report was developed by economists at the Georgia Institute of Technology. To produce this report, the Cultural Alliance partnered with Americans for the Arts, Drexel University Arts Administration Graduate Program, the Metropolitan Philadelphia Indicators Project, and the Pennsylvania Cultural Data Project (PACDP).

The Prosperity Report was made possible by the William Penn Foundation and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Design, printing and distribution was generously underwritten by 1706 Rittenhouse Square Associates.

View the Prosperity Report online at Issuu! (opens in new tab)