ForEvery County in the U.S.
The Arts Vibrancy Index Report & Map
Identifying the 40 most arts-vibrant communities across the U.S. based on data-informed indices
SMU DataArts recognizes that arts and cultural organizations are inextricably tied to their communities and combines data from nonprofit arts and cultural organizations with data for the communities in which they reside to identify factors that affect the health and sustainability of arts organizations across the nation.
The report provides insight into which counties across the United States have the highest scores on three key measures: Arts Providers, Arts Dollars, and Government Support, which can fluctuate year to year. Additionally, our interactive map provides scores for every county across the United States, allowing readers to explore and compare the differences with the latest available data.
Use This Report and Map To:
- Celebrate and remind ourselves of the arts’ enduring importance, resiliency, and vibrancy.
- Help arts leaders, businesses, government agencies, funders, and engaged citizens understand the overall intensity and capacity of the community’s arts and culture sector.
- Get the recognition your community deserves from its mayors, city council members, and state legislators.
- Consider what markets are ripe for touring performances or exhibitions or possibly relocation of operations.
- Benchmark your community 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.
- Better understand how investments to increase arts vibrancy might be best directed in the communities they serve, given existing strengths and opportunities for improvement.
Top 40 Most Arts-Vibrant Communities of 2024
San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA remains in the top spot on the list of most arts-vibrant large communities, while Santa Fe, NM and Jackson, WY-ID top the medium and small sized community lists, respectively.
Our 2024 Arts Vibrancy Rankings for All 50 States
Data-driven arts vibrancy rankings for all 50 states reveals the top five states remained unchanged from 2023, with New York holding the #1 spot for the second year in a row, followed by New Jersey, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Maryland.
Scores for Every County in the U.S.
What factors make up a community's arts vibrancy, and which cities possess them? We provide scores for every county across the nation on measures of Arts Dollars, Arts Providers, Government Support, Socio-economic and Other Leisure characteristics. Explore and compare how these community characteristics drive performance as well as your community's relative strength on each characteristic.
Arts Vibrancy Through the Years
2023 |
This year's Arts Vibrancy Index highlights the continued resilience of the arts sector, with cities like San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA, reclaiming the top spot on the list of most arts-vibrant large communities for the first time since 2018 and Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI and Canton-Massillon, OH make their debut on this year's lists. |
|
|
|
2022 |
The 2022 Arts Vibrancy Index includes cities listed for the first time: Salt Lake City, UT; Ann Arbor, MI; Kalamazoo-Portage, MI; and Brevard, NC. The report also reflects increased community involvement and innovation in medium and small cities nationwide. |
|
|
|
2021 |
In solidarity with the arts organizations that were forced to close their doors, artists and staff who became unemployed, and with all who were lost, we forgo publishing the Arts Vibrancy Report 2021. |
|
|
|
2020 |
Four cities make their debut on the list: Cincinnati, OH; Wilmington, DE; Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA; and Hailey, ID. |