About the Dataset 

This analysis includes data from 6,513 arts and culture organizations across the United States. These organizations come from all regions of the country and represent all disciplines, sectors, and budget sizes. Below is a breakdown of the organizations included by budget size.

Budget Size	# of Organizations
Under $500K	4,092
$500K - $1M	813
$1M +	1,608

 

Samples by Fiscal Year  

In this analysis, we use a broad sample to improve the representativeness of the six-year trend findings. When calculating values for each fiscal year, we include data from every organization who completed a Cultural Data Profile (CDP) for that year regardless of whether they consistently provided data throughout the six-year period. This approach allows us to access the largest and most representative sample possible in our analysis and reduces potential selection bias, since organizations who have completed the CDP over the course of six years may share other characteristics such as long-term relationships with funders participating in the CDP.   

Below is a list of organization counts by fiscal year. Our research team analyzed the sample for each year to make sure there are no significant shifts in sample composition by budget size which might skew trend data.

Fiscal Year	# of Organizations
2019	5,011
2020	4,219
2021	3,952
2022	3,661
2023	2,914
2024	1,486

 

Averages, Medians, Outliers and Inflation

Averages (means) are calculated by adding up all the values in a set and dividing by the number of organizations in our sample, while medians are the values at the midpoint of the set. In this analysis we primarily present average values (means) because they account for all experiences across the sample and are additive, meaning averages of subcategories can add up to the average of the whole. (For example, the average of personnel and non-personnel expenses add up to average total expenses.)   

Averages are affected by values at the high and low ends of the range or responses. We exclude the extremely large values—likely outliers or erroneously reported data—that exceed 25 percent of the sum of the remaining values for the variable, prior to conducting the analysis.

In some cases, we have chosen to share the median because the average is still heavily influenced by the remaining large values and is a less representative of the experience of a typical organization in the field. In other cases, we present the percentage of organizations with increases or decreases over time to provide a fuller picture of sector-wide experiences.

For analyses focusing on a six-year trend, we take inflation into account, since what cost $1 at the end of 2019 cost $1.23 at the end of 2024. Inflation adjusted figures will be called out in the text as inflation adjusted, or real dollars, or labeled as such in data visualizations.