Broadway Demographics Report Reveals Increased Audience Diversity, Overall Attendance Trending Up

The Broadway League has released its annual demographics report, The Demographics of the Broadway Audience 2022-2023, which provides a comprehensive analysis of the theatregoers who attended Broadway shows in New York City last season. The League resumed audience surveying with the 2022-2023 season, the first complete season since Broadway reopened following the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. This report is the 23rd publication in a longitudinal study that tracks the trends and changes of Broadway audiences over time and aids in predicting trends for the future.

The analysis is based on extensive survey data gleaned from audience questionnaires distributed throughout the 2022-2023 Broadway season in New York City highlighting both audience demographics and their ticket purchasing habits. Each year brings fluctuations to the make-up of audiences due to a variety of reasons such as content, weather, the economy, and changing competition for leisure activities. Therefore, this longitudinal analysis demonstrates wider trends and changes of the audience over multiple seasons.

“While we are not yet back to pre-COVID attendance levels, audiences are returning,” said Charlotte St. Martin, President of The Broadway League. “The demographics report revealed the highest percentage of audience diversity to date as 29% of attendees identified as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, or People of Color). This is likely from a combination of outreach efforts as well as more shows being written and/or starring people of color.”

SELECTED KEY STATS FROM THE 2022 – 2023 REPORT

• The 2022-2023 season garnered 12.3 million admissions, 16.8% shy of the record-breaking 2018-2019 season pre-COVID (the last complete season before the shutdown).
• Approximately 35% of attendances were by people from the New York City metropolitan area (21.7% from New York City and 13.6% from the surrounding suburbs).
• Another 47.5% were by theatregoers from the United States (but outside New York City and its suburbs).
• Seventeen percent of theatregoers (or 2.1 million admissions) were from other countries. This was comparable with pre-COVID seasons. 
• Sixty-five percent of the audiences identified as female. 
• The average age of the Broadway theatregoer was 40.4 years old. That was the youngest in the past twenty seasons.
• Twenty-nine percent of attendees identified themselves as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, or People of Color), the highest percentage to date.
• Of theatregoers aged 25 or older, 85.8% had completed college and 43.0% had earned a graduate degree.
• The average number of attendances by the Broadway theatregoer was four in the past year. The group of devoted fans who attended 15 or more performances comprised only 4.9% of the audience but accounted for 30.2% of all tickets (3.7 million admissions). 
• The strongest motivating factors for show selection were the music and personal recommendation.
• The average reported date of ticket purchase for a Broadway show was 34 days before the performance, compared to 47 days in the 2018-2019 season.
• Most theatregoers attended in pairs or small groups of family or friends.
• Ninety-five percent of attendees said they plan to see another Broadway show in the future.
• Twenty percent of theatregoers worked in New York City.

The Demographics of the Broadway Audience is published by The Broadway League, the clearinghouse for information on the business, demographics, and economic impact of Broadway theatre throughout North America. The League compiles various statistics and publishes extensive reports on a number of topics. The reports are available for purchase online at https://www.broadwayleague.com/research/order-research-reports/.