Music festivals, art exhibitions and other cultural events are responsible for more than $300 million in annual economic activity — and over 4,000 jobs — in Palm Beach County, according to a new study.
The Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 (AEP6) report, conducted every five years by the nonprofit Americans for the Arts, shows that the arts and culture sector across the nation is a $151 billion industry creating 2.6 million jobs.
This year, officials commissioned an additional report for Palm Beach County — and it shows that the industry is a major revenue-driver locally too.
The study examined economic and social benefits in Palm Beach County communities driven by arts and culture. In 2022, researchers estimated the nonprofit arts and culture sector in the county generated more than $330 million in economic activity.
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It’s not just residents — according to the study, a third of attendees to arts and culture events were from outside Palm Beach County. And even when consumers weren’t spending on the arts themselves, they were spending elsewhere locally.
Randy Cohen, vice president of Research for Americans for the Arts and the study's lead author, told WLRN the art industry is “central to our communities.”
“It's part of our history, our heritage, our culture, our neighborhoods,” Cohen said after leading a presentation of the study at the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County this week. “It's who we are. It's where we've been and where we're going.”
Economic impact is typically not how residents and tourists think about the arts, but Cohen says cultural leaders are raising awareness because “art isn’t just food for the soul, it's putting food on the table.”
In fact, the study states that art is responsible for more than 4,300 jobs in Palm Beach County and around 91,000 statewide.
A vibrant arts community
The Cultural Council for Palm Beach County commissioned the county study, specifically for active cities with a growing art industry — Jupiter, West Palm Beach, and Boca Raton.
Of the more than 8,900 people surveyed, nearly three in five said they visited the county for a specific art event.
The typical attendee in the county spends an average of just over $34. But 31% of arts and culture attendees were from outside the county, and they spent an average of $53.30.
"That's going to restaurants, parking garages, hotels," Cohen said. "A vibrant arts community is good for local merchants.”
Commissioner Greg Weiss, who serves as a liaison to the Cultural Council, told members of the community during the presentation that the “the culture and the arts play a huge role in the country,” he said. “It makes the recruitment to the county a lot easier.”
The nationwide survey documents how the art industry provides both cultural and economic benefits and serves as a guideline for decision makers in the county, Cohen explained.
“Most decision makers are under a lot of pressure about how the public dollars are spent or how sponsorship dollars are spent,” Cohen told WLRN.
“This gives them an economic lens to go with those social, educational [and] community well-being benefits that also come with the arts.”
Nationally, more than 87% of respondents in the study said art and culture was “a source of neighborhood pride for the community.”
“Art is not a one time transactional thing,” Cohen told WLRN. It’s “a source of pride and community identity in our community."
