State of the Arts 2024: Arts Vibrancy Rankings for All 50 States
Published December 5, 2024
In its second annual release, our State of the Arts:Arts Vibrancy Rankings analyzes measurements of arts-vibrancy for all the 50 states, using a comprehensive, data-driven approach that considers factors like supply, demand, and public support for arts and culture, along with adjustments for cost of living and population size.
Observations from last year’s inaugural analysis revealed that states with high arts vibrancy often have higher proportions of urban populations and lower poverty rates. These trends remain consistent, though some exceptions stand out. New York, our top-ranked state for two years running, has a higher-than-average poverty rate, while Minnesota and Virginia–both in the top 10–feature above-average proportions of rural populations, based on 2020 census data.
Highlights from the Rankings:
- Top Five Consistency: 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
- New States on the Top 10 List: Rhode Island climbed to #7 (up from #11 in 2023), while Pennsylvania secured the #9 spot (up from #12 in 2023)
- Illinois on the Rise: Illinois advanced two spots, moving from #8 in 2023 to #6 in 2024
#10 California
Ranked second on measures of arts providers, here is how California fared across all measures of arts vibrancy.
| Category | Subcategory | Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Arts Providers | 2nd | |
| Independent artists | 2nd | |
| Arts and culture employees | 6th | |
| Arts and culture nonprofits | 41st | |
| Arts and culture firms | 2nd | |
| Arts Dollars | 15th | |
| Program revenue | 18th | |
| Contributed revenue | 9th | |
| Total expenses | 16th | |
| Total compensation | 17th | |
| Public Support | 41st | |
| State arts funding | 49th | |
| State arts grants | 50th | |
| Federal arts funding | 20th | |
| Federal arts grants | 12th | |
| Total government support | 14th |
#9 Pennsylvania
Ranked seventh on measures of arts dollars, here is how Pennsylvania fared across all measures of arts vibrancy.
| Category | Subcategory | Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Arts Providers | 25th | |
| Independent artists | 37th | |
| Arts and culture employees | 11th | |
| Arts and culture nonprofits | 27th | |
| Arts and culture firms | 25th | |
| Arts Dollars | 7th | |
| Program revenue | 15th | |
| Contributed revenue | 7th | |
| Total expenses | 9th | |
| Total compensation | 7th | |
| Public Support | 14th | |
| State arts funding | 18th | |
| State arts grants | 20th | |
| Federal arts funding | 15th | |
| Federal arts grants | 11th | |
| Total government support | 12th |
#8 Oregon
Ranked fourth on measures of arts dollars, here is how Oregon fared across all measures of arts vibrancy.
| Category | Subcategory | Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Arts Providers | 6th | |
| Independent artists | 9th | |
| Arts and culture employees | 9th | |
| Arts and culture nonprofits | 11th | |
| Arts and culture firms | 6th | |
| Arts Dollars | 4th | |
| Program revenue | 37th | |
| Contributed revenue | 13th | |
| Total expenses | 6th | |
| Total compensation | 4th | |
| Public Support | 15th | |
| State arts funding | 19th | |
| State arts grants | 12th | |
| Federal arts funding | 17th | |
| Federal arts grants | 9th | |
| Total government support | 27th |
#7 Rhode Island
Ranked sixth on measures of public support for the arts, here is how Rhode Island fared across all measures of arts vibrancy.
| Category | Subcategory | Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Arts Providers | 24th | |
| Independent artists | 35th | |
| Arts and culture employees | 17th | |
| Arts and culture nonprofits | 8th | |
| Arts and culture firms | 24th | |
| Arts Dollars | 16th | |
| Program revenue | 7th | |
| Contributed revenue | 14th | |
| Total expenses | 17th | |
| Total compensation | 24th | |
| Public Support | 6th | |
| State arts funding | 7th | |
| State arts grants | 2nd | |
| Federal arts funding | 9th | |
| Federal arts grants | 4th | |
| Total government support | 15th |
#6 Illinois
Ranked sixth on measures of arts dollars, here is how Illinois fared across all measures of arts vibrancy.
| Category | Subcategory | Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Arts Providers | 7th | |
| Independent artists | 12th | |
| Arts and culture employees | 8th | |
| Arts and culture nonprofits | 33rd | |
| Arts and culture firms | 7th | |
| Arts Dollars | 6th | |
| Program revenue | 17th | |
| Contributed revenue | 4th | |
| Total expenses | 10th | |
| Total compensation | 8th | |
| Public Support | 10th | |
| State arts funding | 13th | |
| State arts grants | 10th | |
| Federal arts funding | 10th | |
| Federal arts grants | 10th | |
| Total government support | 8th |
#5 Maryland
Ranked third on measures of public support for the arts, here is how Maryland fared across all measures of arts vibrancy.
| Category | Subcategory | Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Arts Providers | 16th | |
| Independent artists | 27th | |
| Arts and culture employees | 14th | |
| Arts and culture nonprofits | 29th | |
| Arts and culture firms | 16th | |
| Arts Dollars | 14th | |
| Program revenue | 9th | |
| Contributed revenue | 6th | |
| Total expenses | 15th | |
| Total compensation | 23rd | |
| Public Support | 3rd | |
| State arts funding | 1st | |
| State arts grants | 3rd | |
| Federal arts funding | 4th | |
| Federal arts grants | 8th | |
| Total government support | 1st |
#4 Minnesota
Ranked first on measures of public support for the arts, here is how Minnesota fared across all measures of arts vibrancy.
| Category | Subcategory | Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Arts Providers | 13th | |
| Independent artists | 13th | |
| Arts and culture employees | 7th | |
| Arts and culture nonprofits | 36th | |
| Arts and culture firms | 12th | |
| Arts Dollars | 5th | |
| Program revenue | 22nd | |
| Contributed revenue | 5th | |
| Total expenses | 5th | |
| Total compensation | 12th | |
| Public Support | 1st | |
| State arts funding | 2nd | |
| State arts grants | 9th | |
| Federal arts funding | 1st | |
| Federal arts grants | 2nd | |
| Total government support | 18th |
#3 Massachusetts
Ranked fifth on measures of public support for the arts, here is how Massachusetts fared across all measures of arts vibrancy.
| Category | Subcategory | Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Arts Providers | 9th | |
| Independent artists | 29th | |
| Arts and culture employees | 3rd | |
| Arts and culture nonprofits | 9th | |
| Arts and culture firms | 9th | |
| Arts Dollars | 3rd | |
| Program revenue | 19th | |
| Contributed revenue | 10th | |
| Total expenses | 2nd | |
| Total compensation | 3rd | |
| Public Support | 5th | |
| State arts funding | 6th | |
| State arts grants | 7th | |
| Federal arts funding | 5th | |
| Federal arts grants | 5th | |
| Total government support | 11th |
#2 New Jersey
Ranked third on measures of arts providers, here is how New Jersey fared across all measures of arts vibrancy.
| Category | Subcategory | Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Arts Providers | 3rd | |
| Independent artists | 4th | |
| Arts and culture employees | 2nd | |
| Arts and culture nonprofits | 43rd | |
| Arts and culture firms | 3rd | |
| Arts Dollars | 2nd | |
| Program revenue | 3rd | |
| Contributed revenue | 2nd | |
| Total expenses | 4th | |
| Total compensation | 2nd | |
| Public Support | 4th | |
| State arts funding | 4th | |
| State arts grants | 5th | |
| Federal arts funding | 7th | |
| Federal arts grants | 3rd | |
| Total government support | 6th |
#1 New York
Ranked first on measures of arts dollars and arts providers, here is how New York fared across all measures of arts vibrancy.
| Category | Subcategory | Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Arts Providers | 1st | |
| Independent artists | 1st | |
| Arts and culture employees | 1st | |
| Arts and culture nonprofits | 31st | |
| Arts and culture firms | 1st | |
| Arts Dollars | 1st | |
| Program revenue | 1st | |
| Contributed revenue | 1st | |
| Total expenses | 1st | |
| Total compensation | 1st | |
| Public Support | 2nd | |
| State arts funding | 5th | |
| State arts grants | 1st | |
| Federal arts funding | 3rd | |
| Federal arts grants | 1st | |
| Total government support | 3rd |