Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account

The National Endowment for the Arts partners with the Bureau of Economic Analysis (U.S. Department of Commerce) to provide annual reports of the economic impact of arts and culture in the United States. These reports are based on supplementary statistics called the Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account, or ACPSA.

The ACPSA measures the total economic output for arts and cultural industries and goods and services, as well as total employment and compensation numbers for workers in those industries. It also tallies consumer spending on arts and culture and import/export activity. Because the data are presented as a time series (going back more than two decades), it is possible for researchers, policy-makers, and industry groups to monitor short- and long-term trends in arts and cultural production. The BEA routinely publishes articles based on these estimates, while the Arts Endowment posts research briefs, interactive graphics, and data tables.

Also on an annual basis, the Arts Endowment and BEA estimate and report state-level figures from the ACPSA. These data are presented in fact-sheets (one for each state), data tables, research briefs, maps, and a set of online dashboards that the Arts Endowment has created in partnership with the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA). 

Selected resources are available here:

• BEA webpage for the ACPSA
• NEA Arts Data Profile series (webpages devoted to the national and state-level estimates, along with interactive graphics, research briefs, data tables, and other materials):
  • The U.S. Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account (2017-2022)
  • State-Level Estimates of the Arts’ Economic Value and Employment (2017-2022)
• Creative Economy State Profiles (based on the ACPSA) at the NASAA