Philly Arts Worth $3.3 Billion

The arts and cultural sector in Philadelphia, Pa., has a $3.3-billion impact on the region’s economy, employing 44,000 jobs and is outperforming the nation as a whole, according to research published by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance.

The Arts, Culture and Economic Prosperity in Greater Philadelphia report details how spending by cultural organizations and their audiences ripples through the economy, generating revenues for businesses, families and local governments.

The report also compares Philadelphia against 181 other cities, regions and communities to show how Philadelphia and its cultural community stack up against the rest of the country. Among participating regions, Southeastern Pennsylvania’s cultural sector ranks first in job creation, accounting for 11 jobs per 1,000 residents, nearly double the national average. The City of Philadelphia is third in per-capita cultural expenditures in a ranking of major cities, coming in below Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, but above Chicago, Seattle and Atlanta.

According to the report, the cultural sector generates 44,000 jobs and returns $1 billion to local residents in the form of paychecks and household income. Arts and culture generates $169 million in tax revenues for state and local governments.

“In many places, culture is viewed as an amenity. Here in Philadelphia, it’s interwoven into the fabric of everything we do,” said Cultural Alliance President Tom Kaiden. “Arts and culture is a vital regional asset that supports thousands of jobs, benefits business in every industry and helps grow our economy.”

Among the findings in the report:

• Southeastern Pennsylvania’s cultural organizations and their audiences have a combined impact of $3.3 billion on the region’s economy. It starts with $1.4 billion of direct expenditures by organizations and audiences. This first round of spending triggers subsequent rounds of spending and results in an additional $1.9 billion in indirect expenditures locally.
• Arts and culture supports 44,000 full-time equivalent jobs throughout the region, supporting workers in nearly every industry and in every community.
• Arts and culture returns $1.04 billion in household income to Southeastern Pennsylvania residents. Approximately half goes to people living in the City of Philadelphia, and $349.5 million divided up among residents in Chester ($60.6 million), Bucks ($65.5 million), Delaware ($103.5 million) and Montgomery ($119.9 million) counties. The remainder ends up in other Pennsylvania counties and to out of state residents in New Jersey and Delaware.
• Cultural tourism is a valuable asset for the region, injecting nearly $230 million in direct spending into the economy. Though visitors make up 29 percent of cultural attendees, they account for nearly 44 percent of total audience spending. On average, cultural visitors spend nearly twice as much as local residents per excursion ($45 vs. $24 per person).
• Arts and culture are a boon to the restaurant and hospitality industries. Cultural audiences spend $237.8 million on meals before and after events, and another $84.3 million on hotels and overnight lodging.

The report breaks down economic impact by cultural discipline. The region’s Science and Nature organizations have the largest impact on the sector with a total economic impact of $658.1 million. This is closely followed by the History ($616 million) and Museums, Galleries and Visual Arts ($604 million).

Performing arts disciplines have a combined economic impact of $675 million, with Music as the highest performer with an economic impact of $242.2 million. Theater and Dance generate $242.2 million and $61.5 million in economic impact respectively.

The Cultural Alliance gathered data on spending, employment, attendance, and other relevant areas for 345 local arts and cultural organizations through the Pennsylvania Cultural Data Project. The Alliance also collected 2,039 audience spending surveys from patrons at 78 arts and cultural events held by 53 organizations throughout 2011.

For more information, visit www.philaculture.org