Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015 (ICPSR 36984)

Version Date: Mar 2, 2018 View help for published

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
Roland J. Kushner, Muhlenberg College; Randy Cohen, Americans for the Arts (Organization)

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR36984.v1

Version V1

The Local Arts Index was developed in response to an interest in "scaling-down" the National Arts Index (NAI) to the community level and to the growing demand for comparative information on arts at the community level. The LAI was developed in partnership with arts leadership organizations in over 100 communities and is comprised of a variety of indicators to understand who we are as a community and how that manifests itself through cultural activities and participation. Indicators are a systematic data collection initiative that is conducted regularly over time. The LAI compresses many arts indicators into one number that is calculated the same way and at regular time intervals, making it easy to compare performance between time periods.

The LAI collected county level data such as nonprofit arts revenue and expenditures, creative businesses and nonprofit arts organizations per 100,000 residents, arts share of businesses, employees, establishments, and payroll, estimated expenditures on arts equipment, number of visual and performing arts degrees, and adult population attending arts and culture activities. Demographic information includes median measures of age, household income, and year housing was built, as well as population density, and population share that was over 65, non-English speakers, and non-white.

Kushner, Roland J., and Cohen, Randy. Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2018-03-02. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR36984.v1

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Kresge Foundation, Paul Allen G. Family Foundation, The Rhode Island Foundation, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation

County

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
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2009 -- 2015
2011 -- 2015
For more information on the Local Arts Index, please visit the Local Arts Index website.
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The purpose of the Local Arts Index (LAI) is to provide a set of measures to understand the breadth, depth and character of the cultural life of a community, as well as provide a framework for relating arts and culture to community priorities and aspirations.

The P.I.s used the county as the unit of analysis; the 2010 Census lists 3,143 counties or equivalents in the 50 states plus the District of Columbia. To measure a wide range of local arts and culture activity, the P.I.s gathered several hundred micro-level, specific measures of arts activity, resources, participation, and character, from which a smaller number of useful county-level indicators of arts and culture were produced. The P.I.s set each of the indicators in a conceptual framework, the Community Arts Vitality Model. The secondary data sources provide information for varying numbers of counties. Typically, there is ample data to describe urban counties, less for rural counties. The indicators span multiple years, and almost all are from 2011 or later.

Secondary data was obtained from over 25 different sources including: the federal government; private membership organizations, professional societies, and trade groups; research institutions; and commercial data providers. Criteria for including a particular data point in the Local Arts Index are:

  • The indicator has at its core a meaningful measurement of arts and culture activity
  • The data are measured at the county level
  • The data are produced annually by a reputable organization
  • The data are statistically valid, even if based on sample
  • Future years of data are expected to be available for use in the Index
  • The data are affordable within project budget constraints

Time Series: Discrete

Counties within the United States.

County

Americans for the Arts

National Assembly of State Arts Agencies

Bureau of the Census

Chorus America

Bureau of Labor Statistics

League of Historic American Theatres

National Endowment for the Arts

Internal Revenue Service

Institute for Museum and Library Science

American Association for State and Local History

National Dance Educators Organization

Association of American Museums

National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts

National Center for Education Statistics

Opera America

National Art Education Association

Theatre Communications Group

Bureau of Economic Analysis

Scarborough Research

Dun and Bradstreet

National Parks Service

National Office for Arts Accreditation

National Association for Music Education

League of American Orchestras

Claritas-Nielsen

National Center for Charitable Statistics at the Urban Institute

Educational Theatre Association

administrative records data

This study has 3146 cases and 147 variables. Variables include county-level information on adult cultural participation, nonprofit arts expenditures, per capita arts expenditures, nonprofit art program revenues, government art grants per capita, arts-related establishments per 100,000 residents, weight of arts sector in community's business population, grant success rate, institutional or entrepreneurial factor of cultural character, number of historic places per 100,000 residents, and professional arts training. Demographic information includes bureau of economic analysis region, population density, median age, population share over 65, population share that are non-English speakers, population share that is non-white, median year housing built, population share with a bachelor's degree, household income, population share commuting to work, per capita income, and total population.

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2018-03-02

2018-03-02 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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The data are not weighted.

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1 to 50 of 59

Humanities and heritage nonprofit organizations per 100,000 population, 2009

Culture, heritage, history, and study are at the center of these organizations' activities. In generating reflection and comparison, they preserve important elements of our social character in diverse ways. Organizations of this type include ethnic and racial heritage organizations promoting long-held customs and traditions, as well as those that focus on distinctly local history, commemoration, and attributes. This indicator measures the number of humanities and heritage organizations for every 100,000 county residents, referring to organizations with the following NTEE codes. -A23 Cultural/Ethnic Awareness -A70 Humanities Organizations -A80 Historical Societies and Related Activities Data come from the 2009 Core Files from the National Center for Charitable Statistics.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
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Humanities and heritage nonprofit organizations per 100,000 population, 2010

Culture, heritage, history, and study are at the center of these organizations' activities. In generating reflection and comparison, they preserve important elements of our social character in diverse ways. Organizations of this type include ethnic and racial heritage organizations promoting long-held customs and traditions, as well as those that focus on distinctly local history, commemoration, and attributes. This indicator measures the number of humanities and heritage organizations for every 100,000 county residents, referring to organizations with the following NTEE codes. -A23 Cultural/Ethnic Awareness -A70 Humanities Organizations -A80 Historical Societies and Related Activities Data come from the 2010 Core Files from the National Center for Charitable Statistics.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
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Humanities and heritage nonprofit organizations per 100,000 population, 2012

Culture, heritage, history, and study are at the center of these organizations' activities. In generating reflection and comparison, they preserve important elements of our social character in diverse ways. Organizations of this type include ethnic and racial heritage organizations promoting long-held customs and traditions, as well as those that focus on distinctly local history, commemoration, and attributes. This indicator measures the number of humanities and heritage organizations for every 100,000 county residents, referring to organizations with the following NTEE codes . -A23 Cultural/Ethnic Awareness -A70 Humanities Organizations -A80 Historical Societies and Related Activities -A82 Historical Societies & Historic Preservation Data come from the 2012 Core Files from the National Center for Charitable Statistics.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
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National arts service organization members per 100,000 population, 2009

The performing arts field is especially rich with national service organizations, but it is not the only place where organizations in an industry work together through a service organization. This indicator incorporates the total membership of eight such national service organizations: -Americans for the Arts -American Association for State and Local History -Chorus America -League of American Orchestras -League of Historic American Theaters -National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts -Opera America -Theatre Communications Group All of these organizations responded positively to a request to share the zip codes of every one of their members in 2010, a total of almost 13,000 institutions and individuals, with institutions making up the great majority of members.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
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Other arts nonprofit organizations per 100,000 population, 2010

The last indicator of specific nonprofit types includes the "catch-all" or miscellaneous types of organizations. Organizations in this group either span multiple types of arts and culture - and are thus too broad to fit into any of the other NTEE codes - or conduct some kind of activity that is in the arts and culture domain, but with small counts such that it has not been assigned an NTEE code. This indicator measures the number these other arts organizations for every 100,000 county residents. The two NTEE codes included are: -A20 Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose -A99 Other Art, Culture, Humanities Organizations/Services Not Elsewhere Classified Data come from the 2010 Core Files from the National Center for Charitable Statistics.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Other arts nonprofit organizations per 100,000 population, 2012

The last indicator of specific nonprofit types includes the "catch-all" or miscellaneous types of organizations. Organizations in this group either span multiple types of arts and culture - and are thus too broad to fit into any of the other NTEE codes - or conduct some kind of activity that is in the arts and culture domain, but with small counts such that it has not been assigned an NTEE code. This indicator measures the number these other arts organizations for every 100,000 county residents. The two NTEE codes included are: -A20 Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose -A99 Other Art, Culture, Humanities Organizations/Services Not Elsewhere Classified Data comes from the 2012 Core Files from the National Center for Charitable Statistics.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Other arts nonprofit organizations per 100,000 population, 2009

The last indicator of specific nonprofit types includes the "catch-all" or miscellaneous types of organizations. Organizations in this group either span multiple types of arts and culture - and are thus too broad to fit into any of the other NTEE codes - or conduct some kind of activity that is in the arts and culture domain, but with small counts such that it has not been assigned an NTEE code. This indicator measures the number these other arts organizations for every 100,000 county residents. The two NTEE codes included are: -A20 Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose -A99 Other Art, Culture, Humanities Organizations/Services Not Elsewhere Classified Data come from the 2009 Core Files from the National Center for Charitable Statistics.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Field service arts nonprofit organizations per 100,000 population, 2009

"Field service" is used to group together the variety of nonprofit organizations that support arts organizations. Providing technical assistance, professional membership, research, and resource development help are critical supports for a county's nonprofit arts community. Organizations like these tend to cluster more in larger communities, where there is a bigger pool of nonprofits to work with. This indicator measures the number of field service arts organizations in the following NTEE groups for every 100,000 county residents. -A02 Management & Technical Assistance -A03 Professional Societies & Associations -A05 Research Institutes and/or Public Policy Analysis -A11 Single Organization Support -A12 Fundraising and/or Fund Distribution -A19 Nonmonetary Support Not Elsewhere Classified -A26 Arts Council/Agency -A90 Arts Service Activities/ Organizations Data come from the 2009 Core Files from the National Center for Charitable Statistics.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Field service arts nonprofit organizations per 100,000 population, 2010

"Field service" is used to group together the variety of nonprofit organizations that support arts organizations. Providing technical assistance, professional membership, research, and resource development help are critical supports for a county's nonprofit arts community. Organizations like these tend to cluster more in larger communities, where there is a bigger pool of nonprofits to work with. This indicator measures the number of field service arts organizations in the following NTEE groups for every 100,000 county residents. -A02 Management & Technical Assistance -A03 Professional Societies & Associations -A05 Research Institutes and/or Public Policy Analysis -A11 Single Organization Support -A12 Fundraising and/or Fund Distribution -A19 Nonmonetary Support Not Elsewhere Classified -A26 Arts Council/Agency -A90 Arts Service Activities/ Organizations Data come from the 2010 Core Files from the National Center for Charitable Statistics.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Field service arts nonprofit organizations per 100,000 population, 2012

"Field service" is used to group together the variety of nonprofit organizations that support arts organizations. Providing technical assistance, professional membership, research, and resource development help are critical supports for a county's nonprofit arts community. Organizations like these tend to cluster more in larger communities, where there is a bigger pool of nonprofits to work with. This indicator measures the number of field service arts organizations in the following NTEE groups for every 100,000 county residents. -A02 Management & Technical Assistance -A03 Professional Societies & Associations -A05 Research Institutes and/or Public Policy Analysis -A11 Single Organization Support -A12 Fundraising and/or Fund Distribution -A19 Nonmonetary Support Not Elsewhere Classified -A26 Arts Council/Agency -A90 Arts Service Activities/ Organizations Data come from the 2012 Core Files from the National Center for Charitable Statistics.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Performing arts and events nonprofit organizations per 100,000 population, 2009

Live performance is central to so many kinds of arts organizations in music, theatre, dance, and other performance disciplines. Nonprofits with performing arts programs are typically among the marquee names in a community's set of arts organizations. The medium of performance may be at the center of the artistic vision of these organizations, but educational activities are very often in the programming mix of performing arts and event organizations. This indicator measures the number of performing arts and events organizations for every 100,000 county residents, referring to organizations with the following NTEE codes. -A60 Performing Arts -A61 Performing Arts Centers -A62 Dance -A63 Ballet -A65 Theater -A68 Music -A69 Symphony Orchestras -A6A Opera -A6B Singing Choral -A6C Music Groups, Bands, Ensembles -A84 Commemorative Events -N52 County/Street/Civic/Multi-Arts Fairs and Festivals Data comes from the 2009 Core Files from the National Center for Charitable Statistics.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Performing arts and events nonprofit organizations per 100,000 population, 2010

Live performance is central to so many kinds of arts organizations in music, theatre, dance, and other performance disciplines. Nonprofits with performing arts programs are typically among the marquee names in a community's set of arts organizations. The medium of performance may be at the center of the artistic vision of these organizations, but educational activities are very often in the programming mix of performing arts and event organizations. This indicator measures the number of performing arts and event organizations for every 100,000 county residents, referring to organizations with the following NTEE codes: -A60 Performing Arts -A61 Performing Arts Centers -A62 Dance -A63 Ballet -A65 Theater -A68 Music -A69 Symphony Orchestras -A6A Opera -A6B Singing Choral -A6C Music Groups, Bands, Ensembles -A84 Commemorative Events -N52 County/Street/Civic/Multi-Arts Fairs and Festivals Data come from the 2010 Core Files from the National Center for Charitable Statistics.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Performing arts and events nonprofit organizations per 100,000 population, 2012

Live performance is central to so many kinds of arts organizations in music, theatre, dance, and other performance disciplines. Nonprofits with performing arts programs are typically among the marquee names in a community's set of arts organizations. The medium of performance may be at the center of the artistic vision of these organizations, but educational activities are very often in the programming mix of performing arts and event organizations. This indicator measures the number of performing arts and event organizations for every 100,000 county residents, referring to organizations with the following NTEE codes: -A60 Performing Arts -A61 Performing Arts Centers -A62 Dance -A63 Ballet -A65 Theater -A68 Music -A69 Symphony Orchestras -A6A Opera -A6B Singing Choral -A6C Music Groups, Bands, Ensembles -A84 Commemorative Events -N52 County/Street/Civic/Multi-Arts Fairs and Festivals Data come from the 2012 Core Files from the National Center for Charitable Statistics.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Cultural and ethnic awareness nonprofits per 100,000 population, 2009

There were 619 counties with one or more organizations with an NTEE code of A23 in the 2009 Core File from the National Center for Charitable Statistics. This indicator measures the number of such organizations for every 100,000 residents as another aspect of a community's particular cultural character, especially when viewed in context of both the language diversity and ethnic diversity of the population. A larger number of such organizations in a community shows how the nonprofit sector in a community serves its ethnic population.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Cultural and ethnic awareness nonprofits per 100,000 population, 2010

There were 619 counties with one or more organizations with a NTEE code of A23 in the 2010 Core File from the National Center for Charitable Statistics. This indicator measures the number of such organizations for every 100,000 residents as another aspect of a community's particular cultural character, especially when viewed in context of both the language diversity and ethnic diversity of the population. A larger number of such organizations in a community shows how the nonprofit sector in a community serves its ethnic population.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Cultural and ethnic awareness nonprofits per 100,000 population, 2012

There were 657 counties with one or more organizations with an NTEE code of A23 in the 2012 Core File from the National Center for Charitable Statistics. This indicator measures the number of such organizations for every 100,000 residents as another aspect of a community's particular cultural character, especially when viewed in context of both the language diversity and ethnic diversity of the population. A larger number of such organizations in a community shows how the nonprofit sector in a community serves its ethnic population.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Revenue share of millennial arts nonprofits, 2009 (percentage)

The number of millennial arts organizations is just part of the "institutional or entrepreneurial" factor in cultural character. Generally, new organizations have less revenue than established organizations, and their revenue may have a different profile. While close to one-third of arts organizations are new, they are bringing in less than one fifth of total revenue. There are several possible explanations for this difference. Millennial organizations may be more productive and efficient, with a smaller infrastructure that needs less support. They may rely on the drive of a founder. Or, they may face a very tough competitive environment that makes it hard to build revenue. These possible scenarios may be seen in many counties, and are part of the character of that county's arts economy. This indicator measures the share of total arts nonprofit revenue in each county that was recorded by arts nonprofits founded since 2000, in 425 counties with 20 or more arts nonprofits. Data for this indicator are from the 2009 Core Files at the National Center for Charitable Statistics.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Revenue share of millennial arts nonprofits, 2010 (percentage)

The number of millennial arts organizations is just part of the "institutional or entrepreneurial" factor in cultural character. Generally, new organizations have less revenue than established organizations, and this revenue may have a different profile. While close to one-third of arts organizations are new, they are bringing in less than one fifth of total revenue. There are several possible explanations for this difference. Millennial organizations may be more productive and efficient, with a smaller infrastructure that needs less support. They may rely on the drive of a founder. Or, they may face a very tough competitive environment that makes it hard to build revenue. These possible scenarios may be seen in many counties, and are part of the character of that county's arts economy. This indicator measures the share of total arts nonprofit revenue in each county that was recorded by arts nonprofits founded since 2000, in 417 counties with 20 or more arts nonprofits. Data for this indicator are from the 2010 Core Files at the National Center for Charitable Statistics.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Media arts nonprofit organizations per 100,000 population, 2009

In an increasingly technologically-oriented society, nonprofits in the media arts field generate and transmit information across multiple communication platforms. They house their own creative artists and collaborate with artists in other disciplines. More than most other types of arts organizations, the services of these media arts organizations may be felt both far away and locally, and not all have the same effect on a community that a live performance has on its audience. That being said, this indicator measures the number of media arts organizations in the following NTEE groups for every 100,000 county residents. -A30 Media, Communications Organizations -A31 Film, Video -A32 Television -A33 Printing, Publishing -A34 Radio Data come from the 2009 Core Files from the National Center for Charitable Statistics.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Media arts nonprofit organizations per 100,000 population, 2010

In an increasingly technologically-oriented society, nonprofits in the media arts field generate and transmit information across multiple communication platforms. They house their own creative artists and collaborate with artists in other disciplines. More than most other types of arts organizations, the services of these media arts organizations may be felt both far away and locally, and not all have the same effect on a community that a live performance has on its audience. That being said, this indicator measures the number of media arts organizations in the following NTEE groups for every 100,000 county residents. -A30 Media, Communications Organizations -A31 Film, Video -A32 Television -A33 Printing, Publishing -A34 Radio Data come from the 2010 Core Files from the National Center for Charitable Statistics.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Media arts nonprofit organizations per 100,000 population, 2012

In an increasingly technologically-oriented society, nonprofits in the media arts field generate and transmit information across multiple communication platforms. They house their own creative artists and collaborate with artists in other disciplines. More than most other types of arts organizations, the services of these media arts organizations may be felt both far away and locally, and not all have the same effect on a community that a live performance has on its audience. That being said, this indicator measures the number of media arts organizations in the following NTEE groups for every 100,000 county residents. -A30 Media, Communications Organizations -A31 Film, Video -A32 Television -A33 Printing, Publishing -A34 Radio Data comes from the 2012 Core Files from the National Center for Charitable Statistics.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Arts education nonprofit organizations per 100,000 population, 2009

Arts education nonprofit organizations are an integral element in the mix and ecology of the arts community. They often serve as the primary interface with the broader community as designated hubs for learning and personal participation. This indicator measures nonprofit organizations that focus on arts education, specifically schools of visual and performing arts. This indicator measures the number of arts education organizations with the two NTEE codes below for every 100,000 county residents. -A25 Arts Education/Schools -A6E Performing Arts Schools Data come from the 2009 Core Files from the National Center for Charitable Statistics.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Arts education nonprofit organizations per 100,000 population, 2010

Arts education nonprofit organizations are an integral element in the mix and ecology of the arts community. They often serve as the primary interface with the broader community as designated hubs for learning and personal participation. This indicator measures nonprofit organizations that focus on arts education, specifically schools of visual and performing arts. This indicator measures the number of arts education organizations with the two NTEE codes below for every 100,000 county residents. -A25 Arts Education/Schools -A6E Performing Arts Schools Data come from the 2010 Core Files from the National Center for Charitable Statistics.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Arts education nonprofit organizations per 100,000 population, 2012

Arts education nonprofit organizations are an integral element in the mix and ecology of the arts community. They often serve as the primary interface with the broader community as designated hubs for learning and personal participation. This indicator measures nonprofit organizations that focus on arts education, specifically schools of visual and performing arts. This indicator measures the number of arts education organizations with the two NTEE codes below for every 100,000 county residents. -A25 Arts Education/Schools -A6E Performing Arts Schools Data come from the 2012 Core Files from the National Center for Charitable Statistics.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Collections-based nonprofit organizations per 100,000 population, 2009

This group includes nonprofit organizations whose programming centers around their collections, and which are educational and cultural resources for their communities. These organizations tend to be among the most capital intensive of nonprofits as they need facilities to house their collections - think of the land and buildings used by zoos, aquariums, and botanical gardens, as well as libraries and museums. This indicator measures the number of collections-based organizations for every 100,000 county residents, as indicated by nine specific NTEE codes: -A50 Museum & Museum Activities -A51 Art Museums -A52 Children's Museums -A54 History Museums -A56 Natural History, Natural Science Museums -A57 Science & Technology Museums -B70 Libraries -C41 Botanical Gardens and Arboreta -D50 Zoos and Aquariums This indicator is data from fiscal year 2010 obtained from National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) Core Files.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Collections-based nonprofit organizations per 100,000 population, 2010

This group includes nonprofit organizations whose programming centers around their collections, and which are educational and cultural resources for their communities. These organizations tend to be among the most capital intensive of nonprofits as they need facilities to house their collections - think of the land and buildings used by zoos, aquariums, and botanical gardens, as well as libraries and museums. This indicator measures the number of collections-based organizations for every 100,000 county residents, as indicated by nine specific NTEE codes: -A50 Museum & Museum Activities -A51 Art Museums -A52 Children's Museums -A54 History Museums -A56 Natural History, Natural Science Museums -A57 Science & Technology Museums -B70 Libraries -C41 Botanical Gardens and Arboreta -D50 Zoos and Aquariums This indicator is data from fiscal year 2010 obtained from National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) Core Files.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Collections-based nonprofit organizations per 100,000 population, 2012

This group includes nonprofit organizations whose programming centers around their collections, and which are educational and cultural resources for their communities. These organizations tend to be among the most capital intensive of nonprofits as they need facilities to house their collections - think of the land and buildings used by zoos, aquariums, and botanical gardens, as well as libraries and museums. This indicator measures the number of collections-based organizations for every 100,000 county residents, as indicated by nine specific NTEE codes: -A50 Museum & Museum Activities -A51 Art Museums -A52 Children's Museums -A54 History Museums -A56 Natural History, Natural Science Museums -A57 Science & Technology Museums -B70 Libraries -C41 Botanical Gardens and Arboreta -D50 Zoos and Aquariums This indicator is data from fiscal year 2012 obtained from National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) Core Files.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Visual arts nonprofit organizations services per 100,000 population, 2009

This indicator measures the number of visual arts organizations for every 100,000 county residents. This only represents the tally of one specific NTEE code, A 40, unlike those in other groups, which contain two or more related types of arts nonprofits grouped together to make per capita measures. Data come from the 2009 Core Files from the National Center for Charitable Statistics.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Visual arts nonprofit organizations services per 100,000 population, 2010

This indicator measures the number of visual arts organizations for every 100,000 county residents. This only represents the tally of one specific NTEE code, A 40, unlike those in other groups, which contain two or more related types of arts nonprofits grouped together to make per capita measures. Data come from the 2010 Core Files from the National Center for Charitable Statistics.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Visual arts nonprofit organizations services per 100,000 population, 2012

This indicator measures the number of visual arts organizations for every 100,000 county residents. This only represents the tally of one specific NTEE code, A 40, unlike those in other groups, which contain two or more related types of arts nonprofits grouped together to make per capita measures. Data come from the 2012 Core Files from the National Center for Charitable Statistics.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Total nonprofit arts organizations per 100,000 population, 2009

To classify arts organizations, this indicator uses the National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE), which includes about 400 different organizational types. Of special interest are those in 43 different categories in NTEE Major Group "A" (Arts Culture and Humanities), such as music, theatre, visual arts, dance, museums, and media, and some in other major NTEE Groups, describing fairs, festivals, libraries, botanical gardens and arboreta, and zoos and aquariums (NTEE B70, C41, D50, and N52). We include these last types in our tally because of their focus on collections and on their continuing educational roles.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Total nonprofit arts organizations per 100,000 population, 2010

To classify arts organizations, this indicator uses the National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE), which includes about 400 different organizational types. Of special interest are those in 43 different categories in NTEE Major Group "A" (Arts Culture and Humanities), such as music, theatre, visual arts, dance, museums, and media, and some in other major NTEE Groups, describing fairs, festivals, libraries, botanical gardens and arboreta, and zoos and aquariums (NTEE B70, C41, D50, and N52). We include these last types in our tally because of their focus on collections and on their continuing educational roles.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Total nonprofit arts organizations per 100,000 population, 2012

To classify arts organizations, this indicator uses the National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE), which includes about 400 different organizational types. Of special interest are those in 43 different categories in NTEE Major Group "A" (Arts Culture and Humanities), such as music, theatre, visual arts, dance, museums, and media, and some in other major NTEE Groups, describing fairs, festivals, libraries, botanical gardens and arboreta, and zoos and aquariums (NTEE B70, C41, D50, and N52). We include these last types in our tally because of their focus on collections and on their continuing educational roles.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

National arts education organization members per 100,000 population, 2009

In a time period when arts education is imperiled across the country, professional associations serving K-12 arts educators have an especially important role in supporting the teachers who actually deliver arts education services to students. The four main disciplines that make up the bulk of the arts curriculum in the U.S. are art, music, dance, and theatre. The associations for these four fields generously provided membership data for the LAI reports: -Educational Theater Association -National Art Education Association -National Association for Music Education -National Dance Education Organization These associations provided postal zip codes on the location of their membership, which were associated with a county using the procedure to convert zip codes to FIPS designations described in the Methodology section (See the FAQ page at www.artsindexusa.org). Their total membership exceeded 72,000 nationally in late 2010 and early 2011. This indicator examines the local presence of these national professional societies through summing the total members of the four societies in each county to determine how many serve every 100,000 county residents. This indicator provides a measure of the density of skilled, educated arts professionals in a community. Not surprisingly there is a wide range of per capita membership in these professional societies, with big cities having relatively small per capita numbers, and more sparsely populated counties having large ones - even though they have smaller total numbers.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Nonprofit arts program revenue per capita, 2009

This indicator measures program revenue per capita in each county for all arts and culture organizations. Program revenues typically include admission, subscription, and other fees paid by arts consumers. This indicator shows the dollar amount that nonprofit arts organizations in a county have earned from their arts activities for every county resident. Note that it does not actually say how much those residents paid, because arts organizations draw paying customers from outside as well as inside their home counties. Symmetrically, residents in one's own county are able to leave and consume the arts in another county. Even recognizing this, total program revenue is still a good proxy for how the organizations in each community are able to draw in resources from their county and region in exchange for presenting arts programs and services.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Nonprofit arts program revenue per capita, 2010

This indicator measures program revenue per capita in each county for all arts and culture organizations. Program revenues typically include admission, subscription, and other fees paid by arts consumers. This indicator shows the dollar amount that nonprofit arts organizations in a county have earned from their arts activities for every county resident. Note that it does not actually say how much those residents paid, because arts organizations draw paying customers from outside as well as inside their home counties. Symmetrically, residents in one's own county are able to leave and consume the arts in another county. Even recognizing this, total program revenue is still a good proxy for how the organizations in each community are able to draw in resources from their county and region in exchange for presenting arts programs and services.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Nonprofit arts program revenue per capita, 2012

This indicator measures program revenue per capita in each county for all arts and culture organizations. Program revenues typically include admission, subscription, and other fees paid by arts consumers. This indicator shows the dollar amount that nonprofit arts organizations in a county have earned from their arts activities for every county resident. Note that it does not actually say how much those residents paid, because arts organizations draw paying customers from outside as well as inside their home counties. Symmetrically, residents in one's own county are able to leave and consume the arts in another county. Even recognizing this, total program revenue is still a good proxy for how the organizations in each community are able to draw in resources from their county and region in exchange for presenting arts programs and services.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Revenue share of millennial arts nonprofits, 2012 (percentage)

The number of millennial arts organizations is just part of the "institutional or entrepreneurial" factor in cultural character. Generally, new organizations have less revenue than established organizations, and this revenue may have a different profile. While 38 percent of arts organizations are new, they are bringing in just over one fifth of total revenue. There are several possible explanations for this difference. Millennial organizations may be more productive and efficient, with a smaller infrastructure that needs less support. They may rely on the drive of a founder. Or, they may face a very tough competitive environment that makes it hard to build revenue. These possible scenarios may be seen in many counties, and are part of the character of that county's arts economy. This indicator measures the share of total arts nonprofit revenue in each county that was created by arts nonprofits founded since 2000, in 427 counties with 20 or more arts nonprofits filing Form 990 financial information with the IRS. Data for this indicator are from the 2012 Core Files at the National Center for Charitable Statistics.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Household share donating to public broadcasting or arts and culture, 2009-11 (percentage)

This indicator uses data from 2009, 2010, and 2011 from Scarborough Research. It measures the three-year average percentage of respondents whose households supported arts and culture organizations including public broadcasting. It is limited to the 525 counties where Scarborough gathered data from a minimum of 180 respondents over the three years. This provides another view of the generosity of county residents to the arts, supplementing what can be seen in the measure of nonprofit arts contribution revenue per capita. For example, evidence that a county's nonprofit arts organizations have high per capita contributions in a county with a small population share contributing to the arts indicates that those organizations do well raising contributions from local businesses and foundations, out-of-county donors, and local residents.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Household share donating to public broadcasting or arts and culture, 2012-14 (percentage)

This indicator uses data from 2012, 2013, and 2014 from Scarborough Research. It measures the three-year average percentage of respondents whose households supported arts and culture organizations including public broadcasting. It is limited to the 518 counties where Scarborough gathered data from a minimum of 180 respondents over the three years. This provides another view of the generosity of county residents to the arts, supplementing what can be seen in the measure of nonprofit arts contribution revenue per capita. For example, evidence that a county's nonprofit arts organizations have high per capita contributions in a county with a small population share contributing to the arts indicates that those organizations do well raising contributions from local businesses and foundations, out-of-county donors, and local residents.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Revenue concentration in the nonprofit arts, 2009 (percentage)

A "four-firm concentration ratio" is the share of the total market that is captured by the four largest arts organizations in that market. We used 2009 Core File data from the National Center for Charitable Statistics for 426 counties with 20 or more arts nonprofits. This indicator measures the share of total expenditures made by the four largest arts organizations in each county. We interpret this as a proxy for what percentage of the arts those top four deliver, as across the arts field, program expenses account for the majority of all spending. In counties across the country, the top four organizations spend an average of 58 percent of total expenditures. In the median county, the concentration ratio is even higher, 65 percent. This indicator is "reverse scored," meaning that comparatively lower values on this ratio for a given county suggest more competition, while a higher number is a place more dominated by the biggest players.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Revenue concentration in the nonprofit arts, 2010 (percentage)

A "four-firm concentration ratio" is the share of the total market that is captured by the four largest arts organizations in that market. We used 2010 Core File data from the National Center for Charitable Statistics for 417 counties with 20 or more arts nonprofits. This indicator measures the share of total expenditures made by the four largest arts organizations in each county. We interpret this as a proxy for what percentage of the arts those top four deliver, as across the arts field, program expenses account for the majority of all spending. In counties across the country, the top four organizations spend an average of 58 percent of total expenditures. In the median county, the concentration ratio is even higher, 65 percent. This indicator is "reverse scored," meaning that comparatively lower values on this ratio for a given county suggest more competition, while a higher number is a place more dominated by the biggest players.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Revenue concentration in the nonprofit arts, 2012 (percentage)

A "four-firm concentration ratio" is the share of the total market that is captured by the four largest arts organizations in that market. We used 2012 Core File data from the National Center for Charitable Statistics for 427 counties with 20 or more arts nonprofits. This indicator measures the share of total expenditures made by the four largest arts organizations in each county. We interpret this as a proxy for what percentage of the arts those top four deliver, as across the arts field, program expenses account for the majority of all spending. In counties across the country, the top four organizations spend an average of 58 percent of total expenditures. In the median county, the concentration ratio is even higher, 65 percent. This indicator is "reverse scored," meaning that comparatively lower values on this ratio for a given county suggest more competition, while a higher number is a place more dominated by the biggest players.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Nonprofit arts contributions revenue per capita, 2009

This indicator measures total private giving to arts and culture organizations in each county in 2009, divided by the county's 2010 population to create a per capita figure. These revenues certainly come from local residents, foundations, and businesses, but may also include outside sources. Like program revenues, contributions may move from place to place. While consumers of program services pay program revenues (they are more likely to be local), contributed revenues might as well come from either individuals or institutions (foundations, businesses) from outside the area, especially when local arts organizations obtain regionally- or nationally-funded grants.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Nonprofit arts contributions revenue per capita, 2010

This indicator measures total private giving to arts and culture organizations in each county in 2010, divided by the county's 2010 population to create a per capita figure. These revenues certainly come from local residents, foundations, and businesses, but may also include outside sources. Like program revenues, contributions may move from place to place. While consumers of program services pay program revenues (they are more likely to be local), contributed revenues might as well come from either individuals or institutions (foundations, businesses) from outside the area, especially when local arts organizations obtain regionally- or nationally-funded grants.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Nonprofit arts contributions revenue per capita, 2012

This indicator measures total private giving to arts and culture organizations in each county in 2012, divided by the county's 2012 population to create a per capita figure. These revenues certainly come from local residents, foundations, and businesses, but may also include outside sources. Like program revenues, contributions may move from place to place. While consumers of program services pay program revenues (they are more likely to be local), contributed revenues might as well come from either individuals or institutions (foundations, businesses) from outside the area, especially when local arts organizations obtain regionally- or nationally-funded grants.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Nonprofit share of arts establishments, 2009 (percentage)

This indicator measures that blend of arts and business as the arts nonprofits' share of all arts establishments. The first figure, total arts nonprofits, comes from the 2009 Core data used in other LAI indicators; the second figure, total arts-centric businesses, is from the "Creative Industries" data collected in 2011 by Dun & Bradstreet. To be clear, this indicator measures numbers of organizations, not revenues or expenses. A large or small share of arts organizations is not a matter of strength or weakness for any given arts community so much as it is an element of individual character or nature. Many major perspectives of arts success are based primarily on the nonprofit arts sector, but commercial arts companies surely make very significant contributions to the makeup of the arts in communities, such as when a well-known nightspot or commercial gallery is a significant part of a community's arts identity.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Nonprofit share of arts establishments, 2010 (percentage)

This indicator measures that blend of arts and business as the arts nonprofits' share of all arts establishments. The first figure, total arts nonprofits, comes from the 2010 Core data used in other LAI indicators; the second figure, total arts-centric businesses, is from the "Creative Industries" data collected in 2011 by Dun & Bradstreet. To be clear, this indicator measures numbers of organizations, not revenues or expenses. A large or small share of arts organizations is not a matter of strength or weakness for any given arts community so much as it is an element of individual character or nature. Many major perspectives of arts success are based primarily on the nonprofit arts sector, but commercial arts companies surely make very significant contributions to the makeup of the arts in communities, such as when a well-known nightspot or commercial gallery is a significant part of a community's arts identity.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

Nonprofit share of arts establishments, 2012 (percentage)

This indicator measures that blend of arts and business as the arts nonprofits' share of all arts establishments. The first figure, total arts nonprofits, comes from the 2012 Core data used in other LAI indicators; the second figure, total arts-centric businesses, is from the "Creative Industries" data collected in 2011 by Dun & Bradstreet. To be clear, this indicator measures numbers of organizations, not revenues or expenses. A large or small share of arts organizations is not a matter of strength or weakness for any given arts community so much as it is an element of individual character or nature. Many major perspectives of arts success are based primarily on the nonprofit arts sector, but commercial arts companies surely make very significant contributions to the makeup of the arts in communities, such as when a well-known nightspot or commercial gallery is a significant part of a community's arts identity.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1

'Creative Industries' businesses per 100,000 population, 2009

This indicator measures "Creative Industries" businesses by county for every 100,000 residents. It can be interpreted as a measure of how much is available and how much competition there is for each organization. High per capita numbers may mean there are many options available to residents, but also that each arts business competes with all the others for a share of consumer dollars and time. Comparatively low per capita numbers suggest comparatively few offerings - which could be a positive signal to entrepreneurs of need or market opportunity.

Taken from: Local Arts Index (LAI), United States, 2009-2015.
numeric
DS1
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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.

Free and easy access to data on the arts and on the arts' value and impact for individuals and communities