National Survey of Artists, [United States], 2024 (ICPSR 39447)

Version Date: Nov 18, 2025

Cite this study |

Principal Investigator(s):
National Opinion Research Center

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR39447.v1

Version V1

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Summary

A crucial segment of the U.S. artist population is largely uncounted in federal population and labor surveys because they do not structure their artmaking in a way that those surveys typically define and measure "work" and "labor." Thus, there is insufficient data on the number of working artists nationwide and how their lives and livelihoods are structured. This limits the ability of funders and policymakers to make crucial decisions about how best to support them.

With support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) engaged artists, sector experts, and researchers to inform a new survey reaching an expansive, nationally representative sample of artists. This sample includes the previously "invisible" population of artists who were recruited from NORC's AmeriSpeak panel and multiple nonprobability panels.

Their survey explores the following questions:

  • How many artists live and work in the United States today?
  • Who are these artists?
  • How do they describe their creative practice(s)?
  • How are their work arrangements structured?
  • How do they support themselves financially?
  • What can be learned about their physical and mental health and wellbeing?

    • Citation

    National Opinion Research Center. National Survey of Artists, [United States], 2024. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2025-11-18. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR39447.v1

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    Funding

    Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

    Subject Terms

    Geographic Coverage

    Smallest Geographic Unit

    Region

    Distributor(s)

    Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
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    Time Period(s)

    2024

    Date of Collection

    2024-09 -- 2024-11
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    Study Purpose

    The purpose of this research was to develop and field a nationally representative survey to reach this not previously well-defined population.

    Study Design

    This study used NORC's TrueNorth Methodology which uses both probability and non-probability samples. The non-probability sample is calibrated using machine learning to the results of the probability sample.

    Sample

    The NSoA used three sample sources.

  • NORC's AmeriSpeak probability-based panel with sampling strata based on age, racial identity, Hispanic ethnicity, education, and gender.
  • A non-probability panel operated by the external vendor, Lucid, to fill quota buckets for demographic strata.
  • A random sample of graduates of arts and design schools and colleges provided by SNAAP.

    • Time Method

    Cross-sectional

    Universe

    Adult (18 or older) artists living in the United States in 2024.

    Unit(s) of Observation

    Individuals

    Data Type(s)

    Mode of Data Collection

    Response Rates

    Response rates of the AmeriSpeak survey sample:

  • Screener Completion Rate of 19.6%
  • Incidence/Eligibility Rate of 19.0%
  • Interview Completion Rate of 98.5%
  • Survey Completion Rate of 19.3%
  • Weighted Cumulative Response Rate of 3.9%

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    Original Release Date

    2025-11-18

    Version History

    2025-11-18 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:

    • Created online analysis version with question text.
    • Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.

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    Weight

    There is a single sampling weight variable in the data file: WEIGHTS. Applying WEIGHTS generates an estimate that is representative of the U.S. population of artists 18 years or older.

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    Notes

    • The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.

    NADAC logo

    This study is maintained and distributed by the National Archive of Data on Arts & Culture (NADAC). NADAC is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.