New Study Shows that Arts Bring Billions to NY Annually

The results of a new study by the Alliance for the Arts show the arts industry in New York City and State is a vital and integral part of the economy with an economic impact of $21.2 billion and generating more than 160,000 jobs.

The results, from which the complete study can be found online at this link, illustrate the significant growth in the industry that the Alliance for the Arts has been able to quantify.

The study, supported by the New York City Economic Development Corporation and New York State Development Corporation, estimates the economic contribution of the arts industry in New York City has grown 86% since the study was first done in 1983 and 61% since the last study in 1993.  In addition to the benefits of spending by all the components of the industries, arts, as an industry, generated $904 million in local taxes to the city.

"These numbers illustrate how vital the arts are to the economy in New York," said Randall Bourscheidt, President of the Alliance for the Arts.  "The study reflects the impact of institutions ranging from Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Studio Museum in Harlem, and Dia: Beacon (in Beacon, NY) -- approximately 2,600 nonprofit cultural institutions in total. And large or small, arts institutions are helping New York's bottom line more than ever before."

New York State was estimated at $25.7 billion; employment generated by the arts at 194,000 jobs; and taxes returned to the State as a result of this activity at more than $1.2 billion.

New York City drew 7.5 million arts-motivated visitors (defined by those who travel to New York City expressly for a cultural purpose or who extend a trip that was made for another purpose to visit an arts venue) in 2005, generating an unprecedented $5.4 billion.

Mr. Bourscheidt continued, "The non-profit cultural institutions in the city and the state, as well as Broadway, are industries which actually attract visitors and continue to surge, resulting in the second largest component after film production."

In New York City, nonprofit cultural organizations make a major contribution to the city's economy, totaling $5.8 billion in 2005, doubling since it was first measured in 1982 and the sector that has shown the most economic growth.

In New York State, the nonprofit cultural organizations also made a major contribution, with an impact of $7.7 billion in 2005, comprising 30% of the total industry statewide.

Movie and television production continue to be the largest component of the arts industry in New York City since it was first measured in 1983.  The economic impact in 2005 was $6.6 billion with 43,450 jobs generated and $261 million in taxes to the city.  For the state, the impact totaled $8.4 billion and resulted in $359 million in taxes.

This study used the same methodology and definition of the industry and has been conducted by the same core study team in 1983 and 1993 which was led by Rosemary Scanlon, former Chief Economist of the Port Authority (Alliance's partner in '83 & '93), former NY State Deputy Comptroller for NYC, professor at NYU

All the information on direct expenditures was obtained from: official government sources; surveys designed specifically for this study; state and city industry sources; and interviews with experts in both the nonprofit and commercial sectors.

The Alliance for the Arts is an advocate for all the arts, organizing common efforts to increase funding and involve cultural institutions in the city's economic and educational policy making. Its publications actively promote support for the arts in general and for arts education in particular. The Alliance is a publisher of numerous books, reports and electronic publications.