The 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. Syracuse, NY; Auburn, NY; Branson, MO and Taos, NM secure rankings for the first time ever.
Executive Summary
SMU DataArts, the National Center for Arts Research recognizes and celebrates the Top 40 communities according to our 2024 Arts Vibrancy Index. Shifts in arts participation, rising costs, the winding down of unprecedented levels of relief funding, as well as long-standing inequities in access, funding, and employment continue to challenge arts communities—yet the undeniable richness that arts and culture bring to society endures.
When assessing a community’s vibrancy, we take a data-driven approach drawing on 13 unique measures which cover aspects of supply, demand, and public support for arts and culture, which are adjusted for cost of living and population.
In these rankings, we highlight and celebrate communities big and smal that have cultivated higher levels of arts activity per person living in the community. Each of these communities sustain their vibrancy through various resources, including public support and engagement, local arts agencies, convention and visitor bureaus, as well as other institutions committed to promoting cultural enrichment and fostering creative expression to ensure that the arts remain an integral part of community life. In addition to the top arts-vibrant communities listed in this report, arts vibrancy scores for every county in the United States can be explored in an interactive map to explore how arts vibrancy differs across the nation.
While our approach to assessing Arts Vibrancy is robust, we readily acknowledge that there are other characteristics of vibrancy that are not possible to capture and assess evenly on a national scale for every community, especially tribal communities. We are continually evaluating new datasets for potential inclusion in our calculations. For now, we base metrics in this report on the most reliable and geographically inclusive sources of data available.
Key Movements & New Communities
- Highly arts vibrant communities are dispersed broadly throughout the United States. Every region of the country is represented in this list. This finding arises from objective analysis of the data, not from any selection of communities to achieve geographic representation. From Ohio to Colorado, New York to Alaska, arts vibrant communities recognize regional artistic diversity and community success.
- Four new communities made the lists this year:
- Syracuse, NY joined the list of medium communities
- Auburn, NY joined the list of small communities
- Branson, MO joined the list of small communities
- Taos, NM joined the list of small communities
- Wilmington, DE returned to the list after an absence since 2020.
- After a brief lapse last year, Newark, NJ-PA and Vineyard Haven, MA returned to the list.
- Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI returned to the list of large communities after their 2023 debut, rising to the 14th spot on the list.
- Seventeen communities have made the list every year since 2015, although many of their rankings have shifted over time, including:
- San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA remains in the top position on the list of large communities.
- Boston, MA ranked in the third spot on the list of large communities, its highest position ever.
- Santa Fe, NM ranked first among medium communities.
- Jackson, WY ranked first among small communities for the fifth year in a row.
Dr. Jennifer Benoit-Bryan
Executive Director, SMU DataArts
“The Arts Vibrancy Index illuminates how arts communities have continued to demonstrate their resilience and the undeniable richness they bring to towns and cities across the country.”